Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Aganorsa Leaf Stateline has varying shades of medium brown as it is a bit darker in the middle and lighter at the head and foot. There are a couple of lightly raised veins present, the seams are smooth and the caps are very well applied. There are two bands, both in a black and gold color combination. The primary has the company logo and the secondary denotes the store the cigar is an exclusive for. The aroma from the wrapper is a lightly sweet cedar while the foot brings a general wood note along with stone fruit sweetness. The pre-light draw brings aged cedar and a light black tea.

First Third

The cigar begins with musty, toasted cedar and mild baking spice. At a half inch in, the baking spice morphs into black pepper. The retrohale is a mirror image of the mouth draws with musty, toasted cedar and black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, there is a very light creaminess that has joined in. As the third comes to a close, the musty, toasted cedar is up front with the black pepper a bit behind and the light creaminess in the background. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the toast level increases a bit. At a half inch in, the black pepper has mellowed a bit. The retrohale is musty, toasted wood and light black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper is very light and a slightly dry bitterness has joined in. The strength in this third has dropped down to medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the profile is musty, toasted cedar with light black pepper. The dry bitterness has faded away. At a half inch in, the black pepper has left the profile. The retrohale remains musty, toasted wood and light black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the toast level becomes very heavy. The strength in this third bumped back up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit wavy throughout and the cigar went out once, requiring a re-light.

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The profile was fairly basic, focused around musty, toasted cedar and black pepper. The black pepper was a bit aggressive early on and then faded out by the final third. Overall, the flavor profile of the Aganorsa Leaf Stateline was average and didn’t really capture my attention. It was just a core set of flavors that are pretty easy to find in any number of cigars on the market. It was nice getting a chance to try this exclusive, but isn’t something I’d try to track down more of, that’s if they are even still available.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$1.85

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf Stateline