Appearance and Construction:
The La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Chisel is certainly not your typical looking cigar. While similar in shape to a torpedo, instead of a pointed round tip, this cigar comes to a flat chisel tip. I will get to the effects of this chisel tip a little later. There are some small veins present, but certainly no soft spots as this is a tightly rolled well constructed cigar. The Ecuadorian wrapper is slightly oily and medium-dark in color.
Pre-Light:
The first question that popped into my head when sitting down to smoke this stogie was “How should I cut this thing?” If you enjoy a punch cut then you can simply punch the top or bottom of the chisel and you should get a nice draw. I wouldn’t suggest using a v cut as I just don’t think you will get enough out of the draw. Personally I like a straight cut and therefore cut off just the very tip (about 1.5 mm) of the chisel. This seemed to work out nicely as I got a nice easy/even draw very reminiscent of a tobacco pipe. The pre-light draw offers up a lot of sweet molasses followed by a nutty spice on the finish. I’m picking up similar notes of sweet tobacco on the foot as well. I take a sip of my Maker’s Mark 46 before lighting up just to prep the palate. Maker’s s Mark 46, bursting with flavors of sweet caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon, is one of my favorite bourbons and always a good choice when pairing bourbon with a cigar.
First Third:
As I torch the foot of this stogie I begin to pick up subtle notes of toasted coffee beans. The first draw is very nice and open offering up a nice mix of spicy and sweet tobacco along with a hint of that signature La Flor creamy cocoa. The smoke is surprisingly less dense than I was expecting, but this is certainly not reflected in the robust flavors coming from this cigar. Another observation right of the bat is the extremely clean finish on the palate. This clean crisp finish leaves the palate wide open for the Maker’s Mark to come in and layer it with rich flavors of caramel and vanilla.
Second Third:
The peppery spice from the first third begins to taper off a bit in the second third and almost turns into cinnamon. However, the other flavors remain pretty consistent. I want to focus more on the pairing in this section as the flavors really begin to mesh well at this point. Together this pairing is very smooth and reminiscent of sweet tea on a hot summer day. At certain times it’s hard to tell which is sweeter, and this is in no way a bad thing.
Final Third:
Vanilla notes begin to emerge in the final third. The spice that tapered off in the second third is back with a vengeance down the final stretch. However, I’m still amazed by how smooth this cigar is. The renewed spice brings out the last bit of flavor in my now slightly watered down glass of Maker’s Mark 46. With the last sip down and nothing but the chiseled tip of the Air Bender in my hand, it’s time to call it a night.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for something that’s a little off the beaten path, but still crafted with quality and precision, then the Air Bender is a must smoke. This is a great cigar and certainly one that I will have again in the future. The pairing was just about perfect with neither taking over the other. As I mentioned previously, the two actually meshed so well together that it was difficult to pinpoint which was giving off certain flavors. Notable pairing flavors: Sweet Tea, Vanilla, Cinnamon
