I’m back, having fully recovered from a case of the seasonal crud, and I’m happy to get back into the swing fo things with a review of the Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut. It’s the third in a series that includes the original blend with a Nicaraguan wrapper, and the follow up San Andres Maduro version. Though the main band has been modified to reflect the name change (Casa Fernandez is now Aganorsa Leaf, ICYMI), and the colors are different, there’s no mistaking the Connecticut blend’s connection to the other two.
Over the years I’ve seen the phrase “not your father’s Connecticut” a number of times, describing a number of amped up blends featuring a Connecticut wrapper. In fact, I think I’ve seen that said about every new Connecticut cigar released since 2007, including this one. In this case, it goes without saying. I’d be more worthy of mention if folks behind Aganorsa Leaf had actually succeeded in making a Connecticut that one’s hypothetical father would have smoked. My father doesn’t have a go-to Connecticut, and rarely smokes cigars, so I don’t a good way of testing the well-worn phrase. But let’s not worry about the old man’s opinion, let’s see what I think of Connecticut.
Cigar Stats:
Size: 5 1/4 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuador Connectiuct
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: MSRP $7.40
The Pre Light
The Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut is a good looking cigar that’s lightly box pressed (which isn’t always apparent in the pictures), with a light-colored wrapper that has few, fine veins. I spent a little time admiring the cap of the stick I photographed for this review, and couldn’t decide if it had a triple cap or a quadruple cap. I enjoy a cap made to repel bullets. The cigar had pretty uniform firmness, and was free of obvious surface imperfections, which has been my experience with all the ones I’ve had thus far. In the cold draw I tasted mild sweetness, earth, and floral notes.
The First Third
The cigar got off to a pretty impressive start, offering me a very nice array of flavors like cream, toast, earth, sweetness and some lingering spices. As it warmed up, the profile became creamier, and then suddenly it was pretty chocolaty, with some deep dark fruity sweetness. Before this third ended, the bready and toasty notes faded, concluding with milk chocolate, earth, and mild pepper. Top marks on construction in this third, it had good volume of smoke, long sturdy ashes, and even burn lines.
The Second Third
In the middle portion, the cigar picked up some jammy notes, the chocolate and earth continued, but there was a growth in earthier spices. It seemed to vary a bit where the spices came in, initially it tasted like anise and nutmeg, but then shifted to nutmeg, and then finally (actually more so in the next third), into paprika. The creaminess of the profile shifted into butteriness, and cedar notes made appearances. As before, the cigar continued to perform well in the combustion department.
The Final Third
I do have one small beef with the cigar in the final third, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the flavor, or really the way it burned. It’s the bands, not the appearance of them, but way the main one comes off- it takes tobacco with it. Bands that are glued to the wrapper are a pet peeve of mine, and a flaw that I get grouchier about as I get older. But that said, cigar continued to burn well, even with the damage. The flavor was a mixture rich chocolate, dense earth, a little sweet almond, cedar and the aforementioned nutmeg and paprika-ish spices.
The Verdict
With the exception of my final third gripe, the Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut is a well made and delightfully blended cigar. By the end of the first third, I found my self thinking, man, this is such a great cigar. And it deserves praise for burning well, even when smoked slowly, the way I prefer. There are a lot of great tasting cigars out there that just don’t do that well. This is a regular rotation cigar for me, and I expect it will continue to be one for the foreseeable future. But you know what? I still think my dad would enjoy this cigar. And yes, it’s box-worthy.
Nice review. I have smoked plenty of Casa Fernandez and will have to try this one at some point.
Brian, what do you think about the decision to change the name but keep the band so similar? In my opinion, changing the band’s motif, or even just the color scheme, would have created additional excitement.
Sure, a big change in appearance might have created a little buzz, but I think the Aganorsa Leaf lines have a following that might have been confused or put off by the change. (And we’ve seen cigars that change their appearance to generate excitement but then fail to achieve any excitement.) I think the similarity in appearance will actually entice fans of the original and maduro to give the Connecticut a shot. In the end, if it works, don’t fix it.
I’ll have to look for these but, your mention of the band taking tobacco made me grind my teeth. I love a My Father Connecticut in the morning with coffee but the dual bands can be a big problem even though I burn right to the edge of them to get them warm. I like the cigar enough to put up with it but man it can turn into an ugly stick at the end. Sounds like it bugs you as much as it bugs me. 🙂
Indeed. When I wrote that, I was thinking about other well known brand, made by a company famous for quality construction that consistently has bands glued to the wrapper. It’s perplexing and infuriating. They’ve done everything else right, why snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory?