Maestro, 5.5" x 52 ring gauge, $7.60The Air Bender is, for LFD fans at least, one of the most anticipated new cigars in a very long time. It started on December 30, 2009, when Cigar Aficionado ran a web article talking about Litto Gomez's love of Kung Fu movies and how that inspired the name for his newest creation. The following month was filled with rumor and intrigue involving where the name can from and nothing but a few pre-release samples that appeared for some shop owners. The actual release happened in late January/early February and seems to have spread very slowly with many regions still having no stock by the end of the month. These sticks are made with Dominican filler and binder, featuring Piloto Cubano, Sumatran and Corojo varietals. It is covered with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I thought originally that this is the same wrapper used for the Salomon, but I was wrong: the Salomon (and Habano Corona and Habano Perfecto) used Nicaraguan Habano wrappers...but to be honest, this one is very similar in color, aroma and flavor. The name seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with Kung Fu movies as originally reported, and it also definitely has nothing to do with James Cameron's Avatar film. Avatar: The Last Airbender is an Asian animated martial arts series that first aired in 2005 and it includes the first known reference of an "airbender" (also featured are fighters who can manipulate earth, water, and fire). This series is the basis for the upcoming film by M. Night Shyamalan The Last Airbender. If LFD doesn't have a movie tie-in deal they should work on that. The last bit of intrigue is the fact that the band of the Air Bender features crossed swords...Arabian-style crossed swords...which have really nothing to do with martial arts as far as I know...but I could be wrong, let me know. But onto more important things...like "is this a good smoke?"
The wrapper of the Air Bender was flawless, oily and leather and appearance. The veins were mostly small and there was just a tiny bit of tooth visible, but the oiliness prevented it from feeling like sandpaper. The aroma from the wrapper was earthy with maybe a little barnyard; from the foot I got a stronger compost and earth aroma along with some leather. The cold draw was excellent and had flavors of leather, hay and something sweet that I could not quite put my finger on. There was also a good amount of spiciness prelight.
Initial puffs brought a healthy black pepper, some leather and hay, and a very distinctive licorice flavor. The retrohale was a spicy blast from the start. When I asked Matt at Burns how these were his one word response was: "Sexy!" After the first third, I have to agree. There was lots of leather and earth, plenty of spice, and a few anise and coffee notes to round off what was proving to be a very complex stick. The burn line was razor straight and the ash held on for an inch or more, even on a breezy day. The draw remained perfect and, even though I cracked the cap on cutting it, it did not try to separate or come unraveled to this point. This stick started off squarely in the "full" department when you talk about body.
The complexity settled down in the second third, but it was no less flavorful, bringing mostly earth and a little medium-roast coffee to the proceedings. There was also a subtle nuttiness that was nice. The spice diminished to a minimum.
As I closed out the last third, I realized that this is one of the few "highly touted, highly anticipated" cigars of late that did not in any way disappoint. The stick remained fantastic until the end, giving up flavors of earth, pepper spice, and leather. It was full-bodied all the way through without being overwhelming and there was just enough nicotine kick to make you glad you ate a big meal. The flavors were complex and pleasing through and to top it all off, the cigar is less expensive than LFD's well-known Ligero and Double Ligero lines. Truly a classic smoke and well worth the time and money you will put into enjoying it.
Body: 9/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 9/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10
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