Tag Archives: Aerial

by CigarCraig | July 20, 2018 · 10:54 am

Two New Cigars: The Gent and The Mistress from Cornelius and Anthony

One of the big things I miss about not going to the IPCPR show is getting early access to new cigars, there’s a list of stuff I’m looking forward to trying. Perhaps Sunday’s post will cover some of the cigars I hope to try based on news I’ve heard from or before the show. Fortunately, when my friends at Cornelius and Anthony heard I wasn’t making it to the show this year, they were kind enough to send a parcel my way with a couple of their new offerings, the Gent and the Mistress. I posted a news item on this back on July 5th, but I had seen ads for these in industry publications months ago and was intrigued, being a fan of the brand. There are very few brands where I can say I like every cigar in their portfolio, this is one. I have a least favorite, but I still would smoke it over a lot of other cigars. So I was excited to try the Gent and Mistress, which are limited production.

The Gent is a box pressed cigar, in this case a 5″ x 52is robusto, with a Rosado wrapper of undisclosed origin (Ecuador?), a US (believe it to be Virginia) binder, and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. Like all other cigars in the line, save for the Cornelius, this and the Mistress are made at La Zona in Esteli. These are also available in Corona Gorda (5 ½” x 46), Toro (6″ x 50), Gordo (6″ x 60), I look forward to trying the Toro as I almost always find the toro to be my favorite vitola across the board int he Cornelius and Anthony brand, but that’s just me. Anyway, I believe the Gent to be the first box press in the range, and it’s a very suave and sophisticated cigar. It’s not without some strength, as a gentleman should have, but it’s character is very refined and elegant. There’s some spice, and some pleasant flavor, and I really enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. I highly recommend this cigar, and it climbs into the top five in my favorite C&A cigar list.

The Mistress is in the round, also was the robusto version, and is offered in the same sizes as the Gent above. The cigar has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, the US binder (presumably Virginia again, I’m making assumptions based on the company owner’s ties to Virginia family tobacco operations going back generations) and Pennsylvania filler. There is nothing I can find anywhere that indicates that there is anything but PA tobacco in the filler, this would have been great to have included in last week’s post about cigars with PA tobacco! Unlike a Gent, a Mistress carries a less wholesome connotation. I’m sure mistresses can be nice people, but let’s face it, they are involved in cheating and deceit, and this one might have been a deceitful bitch! First, I was mightily impressed with the strength, and it takes some strength to be the other woman, I suppose (or stupidity, never had one, don’t plan on getting one!). It had great rich flavor, and a load of spice and sweetness that I really dug. As I took the band off and got ready to finish it up, I started to feel the power of this strumpet, she was having her way with me. I put her down at this point, and went in to the house and found the metaphorical stuffed bunny in the pot on the stove (this is a movie reference), tried to get some sugar, but ended up hugging porcelain and having a bad night all around. Now, not blaming the cigar, maybe it was something I ate. As a cigar geek, the thought went through my mind to have another one to see if it did the same thing again, but I really wasn’t feeling that masochistic right away…if it was the cigar, she’s a sneaky bitch, be careful around her! Wow, not sure if I should have included all that, might not present the cigar in the best light…let’s go with bad food, yeah, that’s it, dinner didn’t agree with me, bad coincidence. I still want to try the toro!

Of course, I was gun-shy after having a bad night so I dialed back last night I smoked the Cornelius and Anthony Aeriel Corona Gorda to complete the C&A trifecta for the week. This is a great Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar that’s by no means mild, but full of flavor and burns well. I can’t say I prefer this in one size over the other, as the Corona Gorda is a great representation of the blend, but it might just be because the smaller ring gives the impression that there’s a bit more strength than a larger gauge. Another great cigar from La Zona and Cornelius and Anthony. Despite my experience with the Mistress, give it a try and let me know what your findings are, I really am curious (and a little sadistic, maybe?). I’ve got a lot going on and I’d love to eliminate the cigar from the possible cause of my distress the other night!

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aerial, cigar, cigars, Cornelius and Anthony, Gent, Mistress

by CigarCraig | January 17, 2018 · 8:15 pm

Sweet Jane, Cornelius and Anthony and Partagas Cigars

It’s still cold here in Pennsylvania, so instead of taking my cigar for a walk, I’ve been walking Macha first, then relaxing on the porch in the glow of the propane heater. Monday I felt like I was in the mood for something unique, so I selected a Sweet Jane from Drew Estate and Deadwood Tobacco. The Deadwood “Yummy Bitches” line is basically a variation on the Natural (or soon ” Larutan”). This line, along with the Natural, uses tobaccos from Syria, Turkey and Louisiana, wrapped in a Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper. I don’t recall the Sweet Jane having as much of the saccharine sweetness on the cap that the Natural ( I should get used to calling it Larutan, I’ll blame dyslexia), which for me is a plus. The Cigar has tons of interesting flavor with exotic spices and richness. Like Drew Estate’s Swamp Thangs, I like the variety and change of pace.

Last night I did take a cigar as it wasn’t bitter cold. I chose a Cornelius and Anthony Aerial Toro, it seems that I like the Toros across the Cornelius and Anthony line the best. One might think that an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper would crack in the cold, but I had no such problem. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the brand in general, my least favorite in the line i like more than maybe 80% of cigars out there. As far as shade wrapper cigars go, the Aerial is up there with my favorites. It has loads of flavor and a great burn. Later in the evening I was honored to take part in Developing Palates Cigar Media 2017 Recap show, with Aaron and Jiunn, Charlie from Halfweel.com, Will from Cigar-Coop.com and Eric from CigaDojo.com. Obviously my style is quite different from the rest of the panelists, but I’ve known all these guys for several years. I hope I had some positive contributions. If you missed it live, check it out on Developing Palates or their YouTube channel, or listen to the podcast version (like I will). There was a lot of interesting discussion.

Tonight I returned to my walk first, smoke later plan, fingers get cold trying to smoke even with gloves on. I gotta get some electric gloves or something. The upside of doing it his way is I get to smoke some of the robusto and Rothschild size cigars that used to be my go to size, but more recently I’ve had more time to enjoy larger vitolas. I’ve been wanting to revisit the Partagas Heritage Rothschild, so tonight presented a perfect opportunity. What’s interesting to me about the blend is the Olancho San Augustin wrapper ( CAO OSA Sol, Cohiba Blue) over a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, with fillers from Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico. This another tasty little bugger, rich, chocolaty with some spice. It has a fairly long finish, which I’m still enjoying as I type. The Honduran wrapper is fairly neutral in my opinion, but the rest of the blend is where the flavor is.

That’s all for now, I can’t think of anything else to drone on about. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aerial, cigar, cigars, Cornelius and Anthony, Developing Palates, drew estate, Partagas, Partagas Heritage, Sweet Jane

by CigarCraig | November 12, 2017 · 10:26 am

Cornelius and Anthony Cigars Event at Wooden Indian

Still trying to shake this cold, nothing tastes right which is the worst! However, when one of one’s favorite cigar brands is doing and event at one’s favorite cigar shop, one has to bite the bullet and man up. I’ve gushed about The Wooden Indian often. I have about a dozen cigar stores within a 15 mile radius of my house, and I visit them all periodically, but the one that’s the furthest, Wooden Indian, is the one where I feel like I’m welcomed as part of the family. I know the people at all the other shops, I like them and all, and they all have their forte, but I find myself at Wooden Indian most often. I suppose it helps that my daughter and her family live about a mile from the place and I can stop in and say hello, but it’s the staff and events that make me stop in the shop. It should be made clear that I’m not the consumer who stops in the shop for a daily smoke, I’m happier smoking from my own humidors on my walks or on the porch, so I generally only go to shops for events or to meet up with someone. I value my friendship with Dave and his staff at Wooden Indian, there are many great shops in the greater Philadelphia area, but this one stands out.

I got a message from Jose Galvez, who’s our area rep for Cornelius and Anthony Cigars, as well as other La Zona partner brands, to stop in to the Wooden Indian as they were having an event. Of course, when I received this message I was already on my way. In addition to my frequent gushing about the shop, I’ve also heaped praise on the Cornelius and Anthony brand, as they are probably my favorite overall brand of the last two years. The Miami made Cornelius line I put right there with Davidoff, Sobremesa, and whatever other high-end, medium and complex and delicious cigars you can think of. Their other lines, the Daddy Mac, Venganza, Meridian, and the new Aerial and Señor Esugars are all excellent cigars made at La Zona. In addition to really liking the cigars, I find the aesthetic part of the experience very pleasing, the bands are classy and appealing to me, and the box art is very cool. I bought a handful of cigars and lit up a Señor Esugars Corona Gorda which I could actually taste. I won’t say it tasted like it should because of my cold, but it didn’t taste terrible and I nursed about two hours out of it. It’s always nice to see Todd Vance, Cornelius and Anthony’s Director of Sales, and we were entertained by his playlist, which featured both kinds of music, county and western, although I found the country rendition of Purple Rain slightly disturbing. I can’t wait for this funk to lift from my head so I can just spend a week smoking through the Cornelius an Anthony line, which is highly recommended by me, for whatever that’s worth.

You can read my thoughts on the IPCPR booth and releases, along with an interview with Stephan Bailey HERE.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as Aerial, cigar, cigars, Cornelius, Cornelius and Anthony, Daddy Mac, La Zona, Meridian, Señor Esugars, Venganza, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | August 2, 2017 · 9:25 pm

IPCPR 1017 – Cornelius and Anthony Cigars

Of course, one of the primary destinations for me at this IPCPR was the Cornelius and Anthony booth, where I was welcomed by Steven Bailey, Courtney Smith and Todd Vance. The first video I shot with Steven I was to find out, much to my dismay, had no audio, a problem that would rear it’s ugly head again (the great video I did with Matt Booth was sans audio, which didn’t come to light until I was home, nobody commented that it was silent, and a video interview with anyone with no audio sucks, especially with someone as entertaining as Mr. Booth). Steven was gracious enough to grant me a do-over, which is presented below. Naturally, as my luck would have it, YouTube Live wasn’t cooperating that day either, but I usually have options. As is apparent to the casual CigarCraig reader, I’m a big fan of the Cornelius and Anthony line, and was anxious to sample the newest offerings. Debuting at the show were two new lines and a new size in the Cornelius line, which is made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami. This new size is a Lonsdale, a 6½” x 42 cigar with the same Ecuador wrapper and binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. I couldn’t help but smoke one this week. I’ll make no bones about the fact that the Toro is my favorite in the Cornelius line, but I think the Lonsdale, due to it’s narrow ring gauge, has a little more bite, and might be perceived as stronger than the smooth and creamy Toro. It still smokes very well, like a high-end cigar should, and has the same rich, complex flavors that the larger rings have. Smaller ring cigars burn hotter and seem stronger because the flavors are sharper, so I smoked this slowly like I would a lancero. I very much enjoyed this cigar.

The new offerings are the Aerial and Señor Esugars, adding a Ecuador Connecticut and Mexican San Andres to the line. The Aerial is an Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigar with a USA binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Not a mild cigar at all, solidly medium to my palate, but an absolutely beautiful cigar. I smoked the Robusto, and it comes in Gordo, Toro and Corona Gorda, which are consistent sizes across the brand. I like the fact that they stick to the four classic sizes. The USA binder intrigues me as I know that the Bailey family has been growing tobacco for 150 years, one can’t help but wonder if this is something grown on their farms in Virginia or a PA or Connecticut leaf. Whatever it is, it works, as the smooth, velvety smoke has a sweetness and a hint of spice that is very pleasurable. The Aerial is a great addition to the Cornelius and Anthony line.

The Señor Esugars has the dark Mexican wrapper, with the USA binder (same as the Aerial?) and Nicaraguan fillers. This, along with the Aerial (Daddy Mac, Venganza and Meridian) is made in the La Zona factory in Esteli. The box has a great likeness of Steven Bailey’s dog Oscar, who Steven calls Mr. Sugars, sporting a derby, very cool imagery, another consistent theme. I just want to scratch that dog’s big, fluffy ears! Besides the cigars being great, the color and design of the bands and boxes appeal to me. Sorry, I don’t care how great a cigar is, if it has a crappy looking band it’s going to color my perception. Back to the Señor Esugars. Trade show samples and the fact that I’ve only let them rest for a couple weeks besides the point, this is destined to be a fantastic cigar. I would have like it to be a little drier, my fault, but it had some strength, and some rich, sweet flavors that are on the dark side that I enjoy. I want to smoke this with a Cuban coffee, I just rarely get the chance to make it. It’s another great addition to the line. I really have a hard time picking a favorite of the La Zona blends, Mr. Bailey and co. are really making some great cigars, they have the right people on board to present them and sell them. Super stuff, I’m glad they are on the shelves of some of the stores in my area, and I recommend them highly.