Vitola: Corona- 5.125” x 42 ring gauge
- ~$8.50
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Recently Burns Tobacconist was visited by Mr. Charles Robinson, a Choctaw Native American who lives in Franklin, Tennessee, and in 2017 established his own cigar brand: Atsiniki. Before he left, we had agreed to carry his blends. He was given the name “Atsiniki” on a visit to his wife’s Blackfoot tribe in Canada—it means Storyteller. I finally got to meet Charles recently on one of his visits and found him to be a knowledgeable, humble and very sincere man…honestly just talking to him makes you want to smoke his cigars often.
He ended up working with Arsenio Ramos of Aganorsa Leaf to develop his initial blends and the cigars are made in the same factory that produces Foundation’s Gueguense and Wise Man Maduro, as well as Illusione’s current crop of cigars. I will be tackling both blends, but I’m starting with one called Nanaiya—“Peace.” This cigar is available only in a Corona format. I believe that the filler and binder are Nicaraguan leaf, while the wrapper is a Honduran-grown Connecticut Shade hybrid.
Atsiniki Cigars are currently only available in the southeast region of the U.S. I have smoked a couple of this blend before this review sample, which I purchased at Burns Tobacconist.
Prelight
The Atsiniki band is very nice. This version uses turquoise, white and silver foil on a black background. There is a bison silhouette and the use of shapes definitely evokes a Native American “feel” to the artwork. It’s simple and very effective at getting the message across of what the cigar represents.
The wrapper leaf is a dusky gold color, even in color, smooth and slightly oily in feel. I got a clean grassiness on the nose from the wrapper, along with just a touch of something sweeter. The foot of the stick had earth and chocolate, with just a touch of a mocha aroma.
I clipped the end and got a very good cold draw that offered up flavors of sweet hay, mild coffee, natural tobacco and cedar.
Flavor
Nanaiya opens up with hay and wood flavors dominant, while roasted nuts and white pepper play around on in the background. The retrohale had a strong red pepper burn, along with more nuttiness. Late in the first third I started getting a strong lemon/citrus note while the pepper picked up on the palate. While this happened, notes of wood and nuts faded a bit.
The second third had the sweetness of the citrus getting stronger and taking on an almost molasses note, while the lemon quality diminished. There was red pepper on the palate and nose, as well as minor wood and nut notes on both.
The final third had the wood notes coming back and mixing with the citrus and sweetness, while the pepper faded a bit.
Construction
I had an excellent draw, even burn line and solid ash the entire way.
Value
Very good cigar that remains right in the sweet spot of the marketplace.
Conclusions
Nanaiya was a very good cigar that really defies what you might expect in a Connecticut Shade cigar, even when that Shade wrapper is a hybrid. It was creamy at times, but mostly woody and nutty and very peppery, keeping my interest from beginning to end. It burned slowly, taking nearly a full hour to smoke. If you see these in a shop you happen to be in, buy a couple and taken them out for a spin…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
