AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut Gran Robusto

Earlier this year, AGANORSA Leaf decided to make its flagship Aniversario line a trio. The company already had the Aniversario Corojo and Aniversario Maduro, but it added the Aniversario Connecticut.

The new blend uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a binder and fillers from Estelí and Jalapa, Nicaragua. It’s made alongside most of the rest of the AGANORSA Leaf’s cigars at the company’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

“The Aniversario Series is our Ultra-Premium expression of Aganorsa,” said Terence Reilly, vp of sales and marketing at AGANORSA Leaf, in a press release when the cigar was announced last month. “Between the gorgeous presentation, the beauty of the Connecticut wrapper, and the quality of the blend, we feel Aniversario Connecticut will join the Corojo and Maduro editions and become one of our best sellers. We encourage our retail partners to make sure to attend PCA and stop by our booth to ensure they have access to this amazing cigar.”

• Cigar Reviewed: AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut Gran Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Aganorsa
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Estelí & Jalapa)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí & Jalapa)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $14.50 (Box of 10, $145)
• Release Date: July 28, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut is a pressed cigar, but more of a trunk-pressed cigar than a box-pressed cigar. This means that it’s a softer press, which creates for a unique-looking cylinder. While one cigar has some obvious flat planes, the other two are typically somewhere between flat and round. The wrapper color is a light mustard color with some minor discoloration and well-hidden veins. Some parts of the cigar can be quite bumpy, but the texture is inconsistent throughout. The aroma from the wrapper is medium-full with woodiness and acidity—sometimes a citrus acidity—and mulch; remarkably consistent between the three cigars. The feet are closer to full with a muted sweet cocoa that smells like a bag of chocolates with generic woods and some scents that remind me of the smell of a standard red wine blend. Cold draws are more medium-plus with sweet vanilla cake batter, white rice, acidity and a touch of a harshness.

While the pre-light parts of the cigars were fairly consistent, the first puff of each cigar is different. One reminds me of the shell of a hard pretzel with minerals, nuttiness and black pepper. Another is more earthiness and nuttiness with some Worcestershire sauce. The final cigar has pistachio, oatmeal, creaminess and some underlying savory flavors that I can’t quite pick out. The AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut Gran Robusto is led by woodiness—sometimes more of a damp wood, other times more like redwoods—over earthiness, saltiness, creaminess and black pepper. Acidity varies between the cigars but is typically present to add some accents. The finish is saltier with white bread, leather and creaminess slightly edging out cashews, burnt flour, black pepper and some generic roasted flavors. Retrohales have burnt woods, less burnt woods and red apple over black pepper, oak and a very sharp spice, something that reminds me sort of anise. They finish with oak, some creaminess, leather, salt bread and pine. The finish—both when retrohaling and when not doing so—tends to be more intertwined than when the smoke is still in my mouth or nose. Flavor is medium-full or full, body is medium-full and strength is medium. Construction is fine. Minor quibbles include a slightly tight draw and some uneven burn, but none of the cigars get close to having issues that warrant a point deduction.

Lots of hickory and cedar take to the front of the profile during the second third. Everything is a bit more intense: flavor, body and strength. Toastiness is a more active part of the profile, though some puffs seem to show off classic Connecticut flavors of woods, creaminess and black pepper. It tends to be overwhelmed by the toastier and spicier elements, but that doesn’t happen at every puff. Nuttiness, leather and more savory flavors become more active after the halfway mark, and saltiness begins to play a big role right before the final third starts. The finish has a lot of barrel flavors along with some acidity; this makes me once again think of the smell of red wine. There are also some weird apple flavors: sometimes like a very artificial apple juice and other times more like tasting an actual apple. Retrohales are all over the place. One cigar has bright white pepper and lemon that transitions into grapefruit after five seconds. Another cigar has nuttiness, a generic acid, roasted flavors and creaminess. The first cigar I smoke is a mind trip, as it tastes like earthiness, cardboard and asparagus. I end up retrohaling nearly every puff for about five minutes just to make sure that I’m picking out things correctly, and the cardboard and asparagus notes are both very defined. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is medium-full but building. The draw tightens up on one cigar, but I’m good with it and it doesn’t cause any issues when it comes to keeping the cigar burning.

Nuttiness moves to the top of the profile, isolating itself from most of the rest of the profile. Oftentimes, the nuttiness is accompanied by some bitterness, though other times, it has an oily accent, more like a basic cooking oil than olive oil. Secondary flavors include bread, earthiness, creaminess, lemon, black pepper, white pepper and toastiness. The pepper and toastiness really increase right around the transition between the second and final thirds. There’s acidity, grains, bread or crackers and creaminess during the finish, though it’s fairly similar to the main flavor. What’s not similar is the retrohale. Blasts of white pepper dominate the retrohales, though soft breads and sweetness can be found underneath it. One cigar has a distinct horseradish flavor—both the burning sensation and the flavor—though the other cigars have a flavor that is more like a mixture of creaminess, crackers and only a mild pepper burn. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is full. Construction is generally fine, though the cigar with a tighter draw struggles with combustion and needs a touch-up.

Final Notes

• Whenever I see a blue band, I’m reminded that for decades, cigar companies stayed away from using blue as a primary color for cigar bands. From what I have been told, blue was believed to be a color that stimulated people against buying decisions. One brand that bucked this trend was J. Cortès, which used blue and became known for the color.
• The soft press and ratio of how the cigars’ dimensions are applied make for a unique look. The cigars don’t seem to truly have a flat plane, nor are there any sharp curves.
• Towards the final puffs of the cigar, I could feel the effects of the nicotine, but just barely. The cigar seemed to ramp up from medium-plus strength at the start to full strength by the end. Flavor and body were fairly full throughout.
• Only debuting a cigar in two vitolas is a relatively unique way to introduce a new line.
• AGANORSA Leaf advertises on halfwheel.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time is just under two hours.
• Site sponsors Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop carry the AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut Gran Robusto.