Antonius

The Lighting up and Strength

At the initial draw, the Antonius cigars do provide certain hints of the underlying flavors. Just by looking at the cigar one can expect a full or medium body smoke. The deep red of the wrapper and the strength of the pre-light draw give the impression of knockout power. However, the start is surprisingly quite mild, which builds slowly to a medium body during the mid and last stages of the cigar.

The Burn of Antonius Cigars

Initially there is no hint of the expected pepper bite, and one experiences woody and buttery smoke. However, after an inch and half, the pepper surfaces along with a note of coffee and even fresh mint. After smoking halfway, the pepper flavor gets more intense, and a hint of cocoa emerges. The spicy and nutty flavors one would expect out of the Ecuadorian wrapper leaf comes through, but they are not biting or harsh. After crossing the halfway point of an Antonius, the smoke shifts from being creamy and takes on an earthy feel, and the pepper will start peaking to beyond medium bodied.

Nearing the end of the smoke, the Antonius wrapper seems to turn darker by a few shades. Down to the last inch, smokers distinctly taste coffee, cocoa, and lots of pepper. Throughout the smoke, up to now there was not sweetness, but now at the end there is distinct hint of caramel. The ash of the Antonius features a medium grey color that holds well, which loosens quite a bit towards the end. Judging by the host of flavors, the Antonius is definitely quite a complex cigar. This characteristic is deceptively hidden when you first come across the cigar, but the flavors build beautifully.

The cigar does require some re-lights; however, that does not affect the performance. From the start, the burn is a bit inconsistent, but corrects itself in most parts. For a smoker who prefers to puff through, the complexity of the Antonius could be lost. For people who savor every puff, this cigar is a good option. Reasonably priced, the Antonius is a great everyday cigar from the Dominican Republic.