Fratello Novetta Atlantis (Boxer) 6 1/4 x 52

 

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, Omar de Frias and Fratello Cigars unveiled their fourth regular production line, known as Fratello Navetta. Navetta is Italian for “Shuttle” and the name pays homage to De Frias’ prior employer, NASA. Last year, De Frias retired from NASA and decided to focus on Fratello Cigars full-time. After going to La Aurora in the Dominican Republic to produce the Connecticut Shade Fratello Oro, De Frias returned Joya de Nicaragua cigars to produce the Fratello Navetta. Joya de Nicaragua was the place where the company’s first two lines – Fratello and Fratello Bianco were produced. Navetta also added an oscuro-wrapped blend into the company’s portfolio.

When Fratello Navetta was announced, De Frias pointed out specifically what he had in mind in terms of doing a project to pay homage to his NASA days:

“Blending Fratello Navetta was special as I wanted to translate the ultimate celebration our men and women of the space program felt after a successful mission. After being part of over 21 missions nothing beats the feeling of getting our astronauts home safe to their families.

Colleagues of mine would get together and smoke a very special cigar to commemorate the occasion. This very special blend carries the ultimate feeling of innovation, duty, honor and success.”



In addition to the Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper, the blend to the Fratello Navetta also incorporates tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Dominican Viso
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Joya de Nicaragua SA)


Vitolas Available
The Fratello Navetta is available in four sizes. Each is packaged in 20-count boxes. The Atlantis features the company’s box pressed torpedo vitola known as “The Boxer” – a staple found in each of the core lines.

Discovery: 5 x 50
Endeavor: 6 1/4 x 54
Enterprise: 6 x 60

Atlantis (Boxer): 6 1/4 x 52 (Box Pressed Torpedo) REVIEWED TODAY



The cigar is well made and box pressed. It's not a sharp box press but you can see it has a nice box pressed appearance.

I cut the minimum from the torpedo cap and the test draw was very good. The initial flavors were caramel, dry cedar, and brown sugar with a light black coffee base. There was white pepper which I rated at a 7. This is an interesting cigar because I rarely describe the lead flavor as caramel. 

At 2 inches in (36 minutes) the flavors have changed a little and they have improved. The cedar is a little richer and tangier now, probably due to the Nicaraguan tobacco. The caramel is now buttery. The brown sugar is still there and the flavors are mixing very well with a light black coffee base. The white pepper is intensifying. At this point I'd say it's a 7 1/2. The finish is one of caramel with a minor amount of lingering white pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The front end flavors are quite sweet. Smoking this cigar slowly brings out the best flavors and as you can see from the time at 2 inches I'm smoking the cigar very slowly. The first third score is 91.

About 4 inches in (1 hour 10 minutes) the flavors are by and large just like they were but now I'm getting hints and detections of whipping cream in the mix. The buttery notes are probably bringing those out. The cigar is still very sweet and still medium bodied. The finish is unchanged. There are a lot of sweet notes in this cigar and not a lot of lower level notes. There is a light black coffee base but that's it. With the additional sweet notes of whipping cream I am raising the second third score to a 92.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 40 minutes. Very nice burn time. From the second third to the end I had some changes and not for the better. I lost the whipping cream notes. I lost the tangy notes on the cedar. The black coffee notes became elevated and they took away some of the sweetness. The cigar went a little downhill from the 2/3 point. The cigar was still medium bodied. The finish was unchanged. With the loss of some flavors and the elevated coffee notes the final third score is lowered to an 89. But, the overall score is a respectable score of 91.

Overall Score: 91