January 23, 2020: This another of the 'My Father' cigar company range. It is beautifully constructed with a fine, habano wrapper and a delicious, musty, dry aroma. Despite the size of the cigar it is fairly lightly packed. The cigar very much resembled the Rocky Patel Grand Reserve, with the same defect, a bitter ammonia taste. The box from which the sample came was marked, "Aug 2020", suggesting that it's a little young. The cigar is rated 94 by Cigar Aficionado, so there's hope that it might improve with a little ageing.
Vitola: 6.5 inch x 56
Construction: Binder and filler from Nicaragua, wrapper from Ecuador. The wrapper is described by CigarDojo as, "Ecuadorian Sancti Spiritus, a hybrid between Pelo de Oro and Criollo tobacco, grown by the Oliva Tobacco Family in Ecuador." It is clear brown, without any aging spots.
Draw: Easy draw, at times a little too easy. The cigar is lightly packed and sometimes it required a few puffs to produce a decent amount of smoke.
Flavour: Similar to that of the Rocky Patel Grand Reserve, but mild to medium, occasionally creamy, developing more body in the second third, but marred by an ammonia bitterness, and developing a little pepper towards the end.
Finish: short to medium. Nothing of the satisfying long finish that sustains a good cigar.
Aroma: Pleasantly rich aroma throughout
Body: medium, never reaching full body, but building body from the second third.
Strength: mild to medium, never reaching full strength.
Consistency: best in the second third. The final section was marred by ammonia and lacked body. It became a bit boring.
Burn: One or two minor touch-ups required.
Time smoke: 90 minutes
Overall: Moderately satisfying. I would hope that this cigar will improve with a little ageing.
April 24th, 2021
Much improved after a few months of fallow. Dry aroma was a deliciously fragrant sweetness, which reminded me of a cigar rolled from Dominican tobacco at a cigar-rolling exhibition in Hong Kong, more than thirty years ago. It's remarkable how a scent can stay in the memory for decades. But here it was: a perfume to remember.
The first inch was probably the best; very smooth and balanced albeit quite mild but with good body and finish. The remainder of the cigar was quite good, much better than the first specimen. But it's difficult to put my finger on the balance. Let me try:
Draw and burn: quite a bit of resistance, despite the lightness of the cigar. Burn was fine, requiring no touch up until the very end.
Flavour: quite mild, milky chocolatey flavour with a light peppery touch throughout, making a very balanced mild to medium flavour.
Body and finish: at least medium body, possibly full body, if that's possible in a mild cigar. Finish was long throughout. This long finish was probably one of the most notable and satisfying qualities.
Strength: there was definitely some power in the cigar, nothing overwhelming, but quite potent.
Aroma: the aroma was good with occasional wafts of 'delicious'.
Consistency: there were a few moments where flavour petered out, but overall, this was a very pleasant cigar, much improved from the first, with fine balance.
Time: 90 minutes, as with the first.
Overall: Good to the nub. Quite satisfying.
June 6th, 2022: After more than a year, this cigar showed vast improvement in the first third. It was medium bodied and complex in a very refined and subtle way. However, strength ramped up in the second third, making the cigar unbalanced. At the beginning of the final third strength abated and the subtlety of the first third briefly returned. This didn't last long and the nub was a bit overwhelming.
I left the cigar at 100 minutes. Satisfying, but not as great as it would have been if the cigar had maintained its medium bodied subtlety of the first third. Perhaps a little more ageing might even the cigar out. I didn't notice any yellowing of the cellophane. Alternatively, this cigar might be too big for me. Maybe the shorter vitola would be better, however, the price is for a box of 15 and not quite worth it.
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| At the one hour mark: some excellent complexity but not consistent. |
November 18th, 2023: Another year and a half did the trick. This one was sublime: an excellent, rich Habano flavour, moving from medium in the first third to spicy and full bodied in the final third, but without any bitterness or harshness, having a delicious, long finish and an exquisite aroma. Draw was easy but a few touch ups required. 110 minutes. Very satisfying.
December 2nd, 2023: This one had some of the qualities of the previous, but it was by no means as rich nor did it have the complexity, body or exquisite aroma of the previous. I was just about to buy another box, but I will defer on that. Try one or more and see where the balance lies.
March 16th, 2024: This one was good: rich, complex and delicious Habanesque - a bit vegetal in the middle, but otherwise, very satisfying at around 90 minutes.
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