Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is light brown and has a couple of slightly raised veins that carry a lighter color. The seams are slightly raised and easily visible while the head is finished off with a well applied triple cap. The two bands are in line with the normal branding where the primary is the same across all cigars and carries the company name and the secondary strip band carries the line name with a silver and black color combination for this line. The aroma from the wrapper is wood, hay and a light dry earth. The foot brings hay, stone fruit sweetness and a mild white pepper. The pre-light draw is cedar and crushed red pepper and the pepper carries a medium level burning sensation on my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto has a lovely press and comes with a solid triple cap. The wrapper is light Colorado in coloring and it is smooth in texture. There are some veins present, but they are small to medium in size. The foot has an aroma of milk chocolate, raisins, leather and sweet tobacco while the wrapper was giving off sweet spice, leather, earth and tobacco notes.

Pre-light Experience

The Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto has a primary and secondary band. The primary band is gold on black, and the secondary band is black on silver indicating “The Gent”. The cigar itself has a soft box press, with firmly pressed veins on the chocolate brown wrapper. I picked up aromas of baking spices and cedar at a medium minus strength, with sweet hay in the foot.

Pre-light Experience

The Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto has a rather dull medium brown wrapper shade. Construction looks and feels well executed as major veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and a thick layered cap. Aromas from the wrapper give pungent barnyard, cedar and hay. Aromas from the foot tell raisins, sweet and creamy nuttiness and a hint of white pepper. Cold draw gives raisins, cedar, saw dust and hay.

First Third

The cigar begins with a very full bodied combination of equal levels of cedar, cream and cinnamon. At a quarter inch in, a light floral perfume note has joined the profile. At a half inch in, the cedar and cream are even up front while the cinnamon and floral perfume are even in the background. At an inch in, the cinnamon is now very faint. The retrohale presents an even mix of cedar, cream and the floral perfume. At an inch and a quarter, there is a fairly drastic transition as the profile now has a creamy bread note up front with a light cedar and floral perfume in the background. The strength in this third started at slightly above medium but settled in at mild-medium.

First Third

The first third opens up with some great red pepper notes and there is a sweet spice following that. I am getting touches of hazelnuts, leather and sweet tobacco, and the finish is that of milk chocolate. The cigar is medium in body and strength and is a flavor bomb.

First Third

The first third begins with cocoa and baking spices that come through at the end of the draw. The post draw takes on lingering pepper at a medium strength level. As the cigar progresses, the pepper increases in intensity to medium plus. By the 30 minute mark the pepper subsides in intensity with cocoa and cinnamon spices taking its place.

First Third

The initial quarter inch or so creates a flavor profile of honey, toast, roasted nuts and cedar. Past that mark, baking spices, minerals and a palate coating white pepper spice pulls through. Retrohaling the cigar provides greater depth of minerals, baking spices and naturally creaminess coming from roasted nuts. The finish has the spice components (minerals, baking spices, white pepper) lingering for minutes. Strength and body is medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the creamy bread is still up front with the floral note dropping the perfume aspect and settling in right behind the front notes. At a half inch in, the bread is replaced by oak and still carries the creamy note and the floral component is very faint in the background. The retrohale just carries the oak note. As the third comes to a close, char has replaced the cream and floral note to go along with the oak. The strength in this third has bumped up to slightly below medium.

Second Third

When I get into the second third of the cigar, I find an emergence of a smoky and mineral flavor profile, and it is paired with the hazelnut, sweet tobacco and rich earth notes from before. The finish is showing some faint milk chocolate notes and I am finding an increase in the strength and body, having the cigar smoke at a more medium-full level.

Second Third

As the cigar transitions into the second third, there is a lingering post draw cedar. As the cigar settles in there is a background sweetness on the post draw that begins to move forward on the palate. Minutes later the cedar intensity begins to decline as the cinnamon disappears, with baking spices still present on the retrohale at light plus.

Second Third

The second third’s flavor is more intense and full. Great flavor profile of honey, roasted nuts, toast, cedar, minerals, baking spices and white pepper. The strength and body is still unchanged at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, a light floral note returns to the profile of the charred oak. At a half inch in, the oak gains a green/young note to go along with the char and light floral note. At three quarters of an inch in, a slight cream returns to the profile. The retrohale is now a creamy oak. As the third comes to a close, the oak loses the green/young note and the cream picks up while the floral note remains in the background. The strength in this third remained at slightly below medium.

Final Third

I am in the final third of the cigar now and it is continuing to show that smoky profile with a lot of spices. There is a great red pepper profile present and I am getting some cinnamon on top. There are some earth and leather qualities following that, and the finish is of sweet and strong tobacco. Still flavor focused, the cigar has grown in strength and body as well.

Final Third

The baking spices are at the forefront of the palate going into the last third. As the last third settles in, cedar takes over the profile.

Final Third

The last third loses out on some of the softer, creamier notes (roasted nuts, toast, honey) and highlights more of the spices (minerals, baking spices, white pepper). Strength and body finishes medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit of an adventure with the burn line wandering around and requiring touch-ups at the beginning of the second and final thirds. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Burn

The burn from start to finish on The Gent was solid and while not perfect, showed minor waves in the burn line. The ash held on firmly throughout the cigar and it produced a nice solid charcoal gray color.

Burn

The burn is slightly wavy in the first third, eventually necessitating a touch-up. Another touch-up is necessary in the middle third, and then the last third. Ash holds on well at one and a half inches before dropping off.

Burn

Burn performance was still considered good but it comes with some faults. Wrapper burn issues caused a few touch-ups. Other than that, the ash marks were one inch increments, fairly slow burn, and a cool burn.

Draw

The draw was perfect with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

The flavor profile started with cedar, cream and cinnamon and then gained a floral perfume note. As it progressed, the cinnamon left and the perfume portion of the floral note departed as the cedar transitioned to oak. The burn was a bit of an adventure but the draw was good and strength was right around medium the whole way. I would categorize the flavor profile as elegant through the first half of the cigar and the second half fell off a bit. This is a really nice addition to the C&A portfolio and one I could see myself revisiting often. I would be very interested in trying other vitolas to see where the sweet spot for me is. I would highly recommend others giving this a try.

Draw

The draw was perfect on this cigar and just to my liking. Had a nice little snugness to it and a great bit of smoke was produced with each draw.

Overall

Cornelius & Anthony has had a spectacular year with their new releases and it is hard to pick between The Gent and Mistress. With that being said, the Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto is a fantastic smoke that showed a lot of growth from start to finish in terms of strength and body. It continuously delivered an amazing amount of flavors, and was complex from start to finish. The depth and transitioning was fantastic as well and it is difficult to find the faults in this cigar. Definitely a great blend, I highly recommend this smoke to all out there. Will definitely be hard to follow up the 2018 year as a company.

Draw

The draw on The Gent is in the ideal place between resistant and open.

Overall

The Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto is a layered flavor experience that satisfies until the dying embers of the last third. The strength of the cigar momentarily peaks at medium plus levels before settling somewhere in the medium strength territory. The flavor profile itself is comprised of baking spices, cinnamon, cocoa, pepper and cedar. My total smoking time was 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Draw

The draw was a bit tight but it didn’t cause any material issues.

Overall

Since I was too scared to smoke the Mistress, I had to bank on The Gent for review this year. It ends up this truly was as unofficially advertised as “nuttier than squirrel’s nuts.” Creamy roasted nuts aside, there was also great spice and wood notes as well. For the fans of full flavor without heaviness, this will no doubt fit their profile.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.87

Cost/Point

$1.24

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

8.48

Cost/Point

$1.00

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

7.32

Cost/Point

$1.16

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.88

Cost/Point

$1.08

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Cornelius & Anthony The Gent Robusto