I wrote these two reviews for a smoker we had last Friday night. A. Pontillo is a cigar made by a guy, AJ Pontillo, in Raleigh; rolled by the Olivas and blended to AJ's specs. These are probably the best selling cigar at our store. At the smoker I think they sold 23 boxes of his cigars that night (that's a lot). AJ is working his way across the country, so if you see them in your local store pick one up, they rock!


A. Pontillo Maduro Robusto

The first thing that is striking about this cigar is the wrapper. A nice oily sheen with lots of tooth, and not as veiny as other maduro wrapped cigars. The cigar is very firm to the touch, it feels as it is packed too tight, but the minute you clip the head and take a pre-
light draw you notice how well it draws. The cigar takes a light nicely, greeting your friends with plumes of velvety smoke. The
aroma is heady and floral consistent with rich Nicaraguan tobacco. The first taste on the palate is a touch of pepper followed by rich
dark chocolate and espresso flavors. The finish is long and sweet, reminiscent of quality rich dark chocolate. The cigar is rich and creamy but not overpowering. It could be smoked with a morning cup of coffee or after a nice steak dinner. The burn is dead-even which is remarkable considering how thick the Broadleaf wrapper is in this cigar. This is a cigar that is worth every penny and should find a place in your humidor as an everyday cigar and will be even better with age.


A. Pontillo Natural Robusto

This is a very elegant looking cigar, smooth oily wrapper with a little tooth and a high sheen. Very few visible veins make
this cigar seem much more expensive than its price point. Again, the cigar is real firm to the touch but draws like a dream. The cigar
has lots of leather and wood on the palate, particularly cedar. It tastes likes it's been aged for years, smooth but not dry on the
tongue. The natural is stronger than the maduro, but never gets harsh; you can smoke this to the nub as it never gets hot. And
notice when you remove the band from any A. Pontillo cigar, how you will never rip the wrapper off; indicative that special care has been taken to make every bit of this cigar a joy to smoke. The natural should get even better with a years age. Buy a box to smoke now and another to rest!



I believe he is coming out with a SunGrown this year as well as a limited Edition cigar.

Oh, the price point for the maduro and Naturals are around 5-6 per stick.