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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

2 Comments

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 17, 2016 · 9:23 pm

Cornelius & Anthony Venganza Robusto

One of the booths I stopped at the IPCPR show and didn’t get to spend much time in was Cornelius & Anthony. They were busy every time I went by, which is a good thing for them. I wanted to say hello to Courtney Smith, which I did, but I didn’t get to meet Steve Bailey, which was disappointing. I’ve had the good fortune to sample the Cornelius line, as well as the Daddy Mac, both of which were excellent, with my personal nod going to the Cornelius, although I like the mellowness of the larger ring gauges to the Corona Gorda, which has a little more of a bite. Not to say the Corona Gorda isn’t excellent, it’s just different and that little bite covers the nuance that I like in the Toro. The Daddy Mac is also very good, and the new Venganza is a step up in strength. Both are made at the La Zona factory in Esteli, Nicaraugua, a factory producing some of the better cigars I’ve smoked over the last couple years.

Cornelius & Anthony is the premium cigar division of the Bailey’s tobacco company that’s been growing Flue Cured tobacco in Virginia since the 1860s. The family has been involved in tobacco for five generations and the parent company, S&M Brands makes Bailey’s, Tahoe and Riverside cigarettes and Lex12 electronic cigarettes. The Cornelius line is made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami. They also have the rosado wrapped Meridian in the premium line, also made at La Zona.

Over the last couple evenings I smoked the Cornelius & Anthony Venganza Robusto, and it’s unusual for me to smoke the same cigar twice in a row, but this cigar was one I wanted to go back to. One was a sample from the trade show, and one was a sample that came in the mail. Both had a nice, open draw, after straight cutting the first, I decided to V-cut the second. The V-cut restricted the draw a little, and gave me a little longer smoking time, which I liked. It started out with a bit of strength, them mellowed a little, but still had some punch throughout. It went from spicy and woody to some nuts and coffee, with a bit of pepper throughout. Venganza means vengeance in Spanish, and the cigar fits the name, as it is more aggressive than the other cigars in the line, but still balanced and full of great flavor. I personally love the colors of the bands across the line, hardly a criteria for enjoyment, but it’s been hard for me to not pick one of these up as long as they are in my humidor. Great cigars!