Going into 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, Cornelius & Anthony Cigars announced a pair of cigars that would bring the total number of offerings in its portfolio to eight. These two cigars are known as The Gent and The Mistress. Both of these offerings continued the process of rounding out the company’s portfolio. The names are significant because they reflect how different these cigars are. The Gent would introduce Cornelius & Anthony’s first box-pressed offering that was meant to be a cigar more in the medium/medium plus range. Meanwhile, The Mistress is a rounded parejo meant to be a powerhouse smoke showcasing the company’s use of U.S. grown tobacco. Today we turn our attention to The Gent and take a look at this cigar in the Robusto size.

Cornelius & Anthony is the premium cigar division of Bailey’s Virginia-based tobacco company, S & M Brands run by Steven Bailey. The Bailey family has been growing tobacco for over 150 years. The Cornelius & Anthony name is derived from Cornelius Bailey, Steven Bailey’s great-great-grandfather and the first member of the Bailey family to farm tobacco. It is also derived from Steven Bailey’s middle name, which is Anthony. Seven of the company’s eight lines come out of the La Zona factory. The one exception is the Cornelius line – which is being produced in the United States at the El Titan de Bronze factory in Little Havana.

One other difference with both The Gent and The Mistress is that these are intended to be more limited production offerings by the company as opposed to the six previous lines.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend Profile

The Gent consists of an Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper and a U.S. grown binder. One different thing about this blend is that there is Honduran tobacco included as a part of the filler (along with Nicaraguan tobacco). Hector Alfonso worked with Cornelius & Anthony to develop the blend.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado
Binder: United States
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (La Zona)

Vitolas Available

The Gent is available in four sizes. Each is packaged in 20-count boxes.

Corona Gorda: 5 1/2 x 46
Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 x 50
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper had a mostly medium coffee bean color to it. There was a rosado hue that could be seen, but that was dependent on how much light was on the wrapper. There was some oil on the surface of the wrapper. While there were some visible wrapper seams, this wrapper was almost void of any visible veins. The cigar also had a nice classic square press shape to it.

There are two bands to the Cornelius & Anthony Gent. The primary band is the same one found across other Cornelius & Anthony lines. The band is gray in color with white trim. Prominently displayed on the front of the band is the large white and gold interlocking “CA” logo. Above the logo are two gray ribbon designs trimmed in gold. One ribbon has the text “CORNELIUS” and the other has the text “& ANTHONY” – both in gold font. Below the “CA” logo is the text “EST 1866” in small, gold font. There are also some gold adornments on the front of the band. On both the left and right side of the band are a series of white, gold, and gray stripe patterns.

The secondary band sits just below the primary one. It is silver with black pinstripes near the top and bottom. In between the pinstripes is the text “THE GENT in black font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of The Gent Robusto. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with a pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a nice mix of coffee, earth, and cedar along with a tingly spice. Overall I found this pre-light draw to be excellent. At this point, I was ready to light up The Gent and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Gent Robusto commenced with notes of black pepper, coffee, and cedar. The black pepper had the edge early, but soon gave way to the coffee notes. As the cigar moved through the earlier phases some earthy notes joined the coffee notes in the forefront. Concurrently, the coffee and earth notes had a creamy undertone to them. Meanwhile, the pepper and cedar settled into the background and were joined by both natural tobacco and mineral notes. Meanwhile, there was a combination of black and red pepper on the retro-hale.

By the start of the second third of The Gent Robusto, the coffee and earth notes started to alternate in intensity. As the cigar experience progressed through this stage, there was more in the way of earth that surfaced. By the midway point, the earth took over as the sole primary note and the pepper notes started to increase. The natural tobacco notes and mineral notes remained in the background varying in different degrees of intensity – and occasionally surfacing as a primary note. There were also some cedar notes in the background.

Later in the second third, the mineral and pepper notes surfaced in the forefront with the earth notes.  The natural tobacco, coffee, and cedar were now background notes. This flavor profile held until the end of the smoking experience of The Gent Robusto. The cigar experience came to a close with The Gent Robusto finishing up with a cool and firm nub.

Burn

The Gent Robusto had somewhat of a wavy burn line. There were a couple of points where I thought the burn was getting ready to meander, but some touch-ups remedied the problem. The resulting ash was on the firm side with a salt and pepper color to it. Simultaneously, The Gent Robusto maintained an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature.

Draw

The draw to The Gent Robusto performed quite well. I particularly like how there was a touch of resistance to this cigar – making for the ideal draw. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

From both a strength and body perspective, The Gent started out as a medium strength, medium-bodied cigar. Both attributes increased in intensity along the way with the body increasing at a slightly higher rate than the strength. By the midway point the body progressed to medium to full territory and by the final third, I found the strength inched over the threshold to medium to full.

In terms of strength versus body, for the most part, I found the body had a slight edge over the strength.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Cornelius & Anthony offers two excellent Ecuadorian Habano releases with Venganza and Meridian. Despite the fact The Gent was introducing a box-pressed line, I still was unsure if there was room for this cigar in the Cornelius & Anthony portfolio. In the end, I could not have been more incorrect. The Gent Robusto not only delivered an excellent flavor profile, but it was one that was unique and had a nice level of complexity to it. In the end, I found the name of this cigar “The Gent” appropriate- a refined cigar that could satisfy any connoisseur. It’s a cigar that I would recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast. It’s also a great cigar for the novice looking for something in the medium/medium plus range. As for myself, this is a cigar that I would smoke again – and it’s one I’d recommend a box purchase of.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Earth, Natural Tobacco, Pepper, Cedar, Mineral, Cream
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Final Third)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Excellent

Rating

Value: Box Purchase
Score: 92

References

News: Cornelius – Anthony to Release Box Pressed Line with The Gent
Price: $8.50
Source: Cornelius & Anthony
Brand Reference: Cornelius & Anthony

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop