Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac

By Tony Casas | July 10, 2017

So, you guys should all be familiar with Jeff by now. He’s our honorary Casas Fumando writer, and he kicked out tons of great reviews. If he keeps this up we are going to force him to join us full time. Until then, enjoy his newest “Guest” review.

-Tony

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Launched in 2016, Daddy Mac was created in homage to Cornelius & Anthony Premium Cigars founder Steven Bailey’s father, Mac.  The Bailey family has been involved in tobacco growing in Virginia since the 1860’s, and the Cornelius in the company’s name comes from Steven Bailey’s great-great grandfather.  While the company’s first release, the Cornelius, was produced by El Titan de Bronze in Miami, the Daddy Mac is made at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, and comes in four sizes – Corona Gorda 5.5 x 46, Robusto 5 x 52, Toro 6 x 50, and Gordo 6 x 60 – packed in boxes of 20, with prices ranging from $8.50 to $11.

The Basics:

Wrapper:  Brazil
Binder:  Ecuador
Filler:  Nicaragua
Size:  Corona Gorda 5.5 x 46
Price:  $8.50
Smoking time:  One hour, twenty minutes
Pairing:  Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale (ABV 8.5%)

Pre-light:

The Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac comes draped in a medium brown wrapper with some darker splotches dispersed throughout the lightly oily and slightly toothy cover.  Any veins are very fine and the pack is solid down to the foot, where it gets a little softer.  The band of gray, black, gold, and eggshell white looks great against the hue of the wrapper, and is complemented by a “Daddy Mac” secondary band in black and gold.  The aroma off of the wrapper is something that I haven’t experienced before – a meaty, almost beef jerky-like scent over an earthy background.  The foot gives up rich tobacco, meat, and smoky oak.  I’m really intrigued by this, and looking forward to seeing what this stick gives up in flavor.  A shallow clip of the cap allows for an ideal draw that surprisingly shows little more than light, sweet spice on top of natural tobacco.

First Third:

The Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac toasts up quickly, even in the light breeze out today, with initial flavors of earthy natural tobacco, light leather, and moderate but lingering pepper.  The retrohale deepens those notes while bringing in a bit of breadiness.  The burn is sharp and just little wavy, giving me no concern, and the ash gives way at about ¾”.  I am picking up some sweet oak and hints of musk and spice as the pepper smoothes out on the palate, but continues to smolder on the retrohale.  By the time I’ve gotten past the first inch, the texture of the smoke has become smooth and almost creamy.   The earthy tobacco, leather, and sweet woodiness have continued to propel the cigar, and the other flavor interweave with them.  The Daddy Mac winds up its first third at a low-medium in body, but rich in flavor and low in strength.

Middle third:

The Daddy Mac has begun the second section by bringing in a sweet citric tang to complement the base flavors.  The earthiness and leather have both dropped back, while the bread notes have moved up.  The pepper has dissipated from the palate, but is still very present on the retrohale.  A short section (1/4”) tunneled on me, but once past that, it picked up where it left off, gaining a bit more musk and spice and even bringing in a light savoriness.

Final third:

The final third of the Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac shows a deepening of flavors, with smoky oak becoming a bigger player, along with a re-emergence of pepper and a sprinkling of sweet nuttiness.  The musk has departed along with most of the spice, but wisps of citrus remain to keep me entertained.  While the body has mostly remained at a solid medium, the richness and complexity of the cigar have made it seem fuller than that.  The Daddy Mac winds down to a peppery nub; firm and cool, imparting little in the way of nicotine strength, and without any harshness.

Final thoughts:

I found the Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac to be a flavorful stick with enough complexity to keep my interest and keep me coming back for more.  In fact, I was a little disappointed when it ended, wanting to continue enjoying it for a while longer.  The little tunneling hiccup was not a deal breaker at all, as the one I smoked previous to this one didn’t have any such problem and it didn’t impact the remainder of the smoke.  Overall, construction and burn were excellent and the price is definitely in line with the quality.  This is a cigar that I could smoke just about any time of day.  I’m a sucker for medium bodied, richly flavored cigars, and would certainly recommend picking up on some of these to try out.

You can pick up the Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac from our friends at Cuenca Cigars here.

Pairing:

I’ve been on a bit of a Founders kick since they recently have become more widely available in my area, and the Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale has become a fairly regular addition to my basket while beer shopping.  With a low-medium body, smoky sweet malt, dark stone fruit and slight citrus notes, and a hoppy finish, it paired up extremely well with the Daddy Mac.  I could also see going very well with a rich, sweet Imperial IPA, a strong ale or brown ale, and for a matching spirit, would love to pair it with a nice aged rum or Highland Scotch.

– Review by Jeff Oda