Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $9.25
- Samples provided by company
Background
Cornelius and Anthony Cigars made a lot of noise in 2016, with several high-profile releases from a very old company that is taking its first steps in the premium cigar market. I have already looked at the Cornelius and Daddy Mac releases on Leaf Enthusiast (and Keith looked at both, too). Just before the trade show, I received samples of Venganza, one more release from C&A that is made in Eric Espinosa’s La Zona factory in NIcaragua. It took some time to actually get to the reviewing part of things as the last couple months has been very busy…and I realized as I prepped for this review that this could be the last review based on cigars sent to me by the manufacturers…a great big thank you to our federal government (who are just here to help, I’m sure) for protecting us from smoking more cigars. (My sense of sarcasm is intact, it seems.)
“Venganza” is Spanish for “revenge.” Against a nanny-state government, perhaps?
Venganza is blended with Nicaraguan filler and binder, along with an Ecuadorian wrapper. This is what the company has to say about it:
Venganza delivers an unmatched experience. This rich and flavorful powerhouse has a silky Ecuadorian wrapper that is highlighted by its Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. Venganza starts with a blast of bold flavor. This spice forward blend has a lingering sweetness and a long smooth finish that highlights its bold complexity. It is the pinnacle of balanced perfection.
I’ve smoked one or two of this blend and size prior to this review sample. All samples were provided by the company.
Prelight
Apparently the box for Venganza has a Gatling gun patent image…I guess that would be a good method of revenge, but I don’t remember hearing or seeing how specifically the image factors in to this release. The main band is the same as I have seen previously for the Daddy Mac and Cornelius releases. The secondary band is traditionally where C&A’s action is…this one is red with gold type and trim lines, stating the name of the blend very simply.
The wrapper leaf was a medium brown with plenty of red tones in it. The reddish color didn’t always come to the fore, but the sunlight definitely played it up. The wrapper was smooth and oily, smelling of earth and leather. The foot of the stick had rich earthy aromas, along with something sweet in the mix.
After cutting, I got a very good draw that had notes of wood and cherries, along with a bit of a chemical note that threw me off just a bit.
Flavor
The mid-ring gauge stick lit quickly and evenly. Soon the Venganza was producing hearty earthy flavors, mixed with cedar, hay and red pepper, along with a dark fruit finish. In the early going it was proving to be quite a complex blend. The retrohale had roasted nuts, along with more cedar and red pepper.
As I got into the second third, I noted that cedar flavor had increased to be the most prominent one, though the dark fruit sweetness was still having an influence. Pepper was a medium-level burn on my palate and seared my sinuses every time I retrohaled.
In the last third, the Venganza came all together with just enough cedar, just enough pepper, and just enough sweetness to make it all work exactly right.
Construction
I had a very good burn, even burn line and solid ash.
Value
Very good smoke for a decent price, so good value.
Conclusions
Venganza is easily the best thing from Cornelius & Anthony, to me. It is medium-to-full in body, with a great Nicaraguan flavor profile that has an almost perfect balance of earth, wood, pepper and fruit notes. It also has enough change-up in flavor dominance that it never gets boring, from end to end. Great entry in the series and very good blending by the La Zona folks.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
