Principle stands as a distinctive boutique cigar firm, established by Darren Cioffi, hailing from Long Island, NY. Cioffi initiated the process of crafting and hand-rolling his personal cigars, which he would then distribute among his friends. This gradually evolved into the birth of Principle Cigars, after some prodding by Hendrik Kelner.
The Aviator Series is an interesting take on a line of cigars, and it’s one that I wonder about in respect to other blends. Principle Cigars claims to consistently tweak the blend over time to maintain the profile, even using different tobaccos if needed. The youngest leaf in the Aviator Series is 5 years old. Also worth noting is that the blend uses from 5-7 different tobaccos in the blend. This is an interesting approach to blending a New World cigar in my opinion, or at least the transparency in disclosing it. This method of blending is often used in the Old World of cigars, based off of availability and quality of tobaccos rather than sticking to a certain varietal no matter what. This in turn may mean that one box of the Aviator Series may not taste like another box produced a year later.
The Aviator Series Envoi is a Robusto, sitting at 5 inches x 50 RG. Dominican, Nicaraguan, and tobacco from the United States make up the bunch, which is double bound by Dominican Binder leaf. The wrapper is a lighter colored Ecuadorian Corojo leaf, at least in the samples I have smoked. Layers of cedar, barnyard, vanilla, and a slight dry spice drift in and out during the 1 hour and 15 minute smoke time. This blend reminds me of the LAT54 by L’Atelier, with a touch more complexity.
For me personally, The Aviator Series was a great introduction into the brand. I would most definitely recommend this cigar.