Cigar: Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive
Size: 6 3/4 x 50 (Presidente)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua MSRP: $12.50 per cigar
Samples provided by Drew Estate.
The Antaño Gran Reserva started life in 2005 by branching off from the original Gran Reserva recipe to that of a Nicaraguan Puro. The TAA exclusive is unique in that the cigar is rolled into a slightly different vitola: a box-pressed Presidente. The Presidente vitola measures a few inches shorter than a standard Churchill but is also a little bit overall. The cigar was announced to celebrate 50 years of business for not only Joya De Nicaragua, but for the Tobacconists’ Association of America as well, hence the secondary band on the cigar. I know that I have smoked the Antaño Gran Reserva at some point but have not recalled giving it an actual review, so I was excited to give the cigar a proper welcome and examination.
No construction issues with the cigar chosen for review. I received ample amounts of wood and earthy notes from the pre-light aroma while the cold draw brought tasty notes of raisin and faint leather. The draw was nicely balanced on the light and throughout the entire smoking of the cigar. The Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive starts out just slightly over the medium bodied mark and brings opening flavor notes of mild spice and pepper that hits the back of the throat plus wood and earth. The wood takes the forefront of flavors while the spice and pepper are more of an aftertaste after the release of smoke. The flavor balance stayed as is until the 25 minute mark where I began noticing heavier woody notes while the spice and pepper were strongly faded from the palette. 16 minutes after this, leathery notes began creeping in the mix while the wood began amplifying across the palette. Even the spice began a return on the aftertaste, although it was nowhere near the prominence from the beginning of the cigar. 30 minutes after that, the overall strength began rising steadily while pepper, leather and wood were the dominant flavors on the palette. The Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive finished at a easy-smoking medium-to-full strength with a final smoking time of 1:36.
Besides one re-light, I encountered no problems or issues with the Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive. All in all, it was a enjoyable cigar and one that I will look forward to having again.
By-The-Numbers
Pre-light: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.25/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.25/10
To recap the Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive:
- I feel like this has been a great year for cigars because like others this year, the Antaño Gran Reserva TAA Exclusive is a well balanced cigar with a complement of flavors geared towards fan of Nicaraguan cigars.
- The flavor profile and balanced strength makes this a cigar that could be enjoyed by the vast majority of cigar smokers.
- The price is on the edge of my comfortable rate but this is good enough to warrant the cost.
- I would buy this in my local B&M anytime I would see it.
A big thank you to Drew Estate for the opportunity to try this cigar and thank you very much for reading. I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
