Cigar Review: La Antiguedad by My Father Cigars

Vitola: Corona Grande
Size: 6.375” x 47 ring gauge
Price $8.49
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

Several years ago My Father Cigars released what has become one of their most acclaimed lines, Flor de las Antillas. It was widely praised on blogs and went on to win Cigar of the Year from that semi-cigar-related-lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-ludicrous-magazine. That honor, of course, meant it sold out quickly in shops nationwide where it was carried and I will testify that the power of COTY still holds sway…when I work in the cigar shop, I still have people come in and ask for it because it won COTY a couple years back. I personally wasn’t a huge fan of the blend until the MAM-13 came out…it hit my palate like no other size in the line had and is definitely in contention for my COTY 2014.

Earlier this year, My Father announced a new line, La Antiguedad. It falls under the same general series heading as Flor de las Antillas because it is an old Cuban brand that they have revived, using the original artwork. The My Father website is still mostly non-functional, so I turned to halfwheel for the story on this cigar; tip of the hat to my friend, Patrick, for serving up the details on this cigar.

All the leaves, save the wrapper, were grown by My Father in Nicaragua. The fillers came from 3 different farms in San Rafael, Las Quebradas and San Jose and the process of curing, fermenting and aging was at least three and a half years for them all. The binder uses two Nicaraguan leaves: a Corojo and a Criollo. The wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado leaf. They are available now in 5 sizes, all of which are box-pressed (as was Antillas) and pricing is between $6 and $10. I picked up two at Burns recently, with this review stick being the second time I smoked the blend.

Prelight

For those who argue that appearance is not important, I challenge you to take a look at this cigar. Without the band and satin ribbon on the foot, it would surely just sit on the shelf looking Plain Jane and boring. But this band is just awesome. It’s highly colorful with good use of embossing and gold foil, while the texture of the paper is visible in certain light and lends a higher-end feel to it. The red ribbon on the foot is another nice touch that sets it apart on the very crowded shelves of your local tobacconist.

The wrapper leaf was slightly lighter than milk chocolate in color with some mottling and a nicely oily feel. It had an aroma of leather and cedar. The foot smelled like earth and anise. The pressing on these cigars is just about perfect; they are slightly wider than they are tall, the corners are all just about evenly rounded, and they are just rounded enough without getting those sharp edges. I don’t mean to dwell on the shape much, but it is just “right” somehow. The prelight draw had notes of berry, natural tobacco and coffee.

Flavor

The Antiguedad started up bold and spicy. Once fully lit I got lots of earth, along with some cedar and red pepper on the palate. The retrohale was nutty with a bit of pepper to it as well. There was a solid underlying sweetness right from the start; I really enjoyed it and thought it worked to achieve excellent balance for the blend within the first couple minutes. After a few minutes, I noted a strong peanut influence on the flavor on the palate, while there was still a good amount of cedar and pepper spice.

As I headed into the second third, I still picked up a strong peanut note. It was joined by a sweeter, almost syrupy note as well. All the while, earth, coffee and red pepper danced around just beneath.

The final third had a very pleasing balance of cedar, nuts, semi-sweet chocolate, and coffee, with just enough pepper hanging around to spice things up.

Construction

I experienced top-notch construction on this cigar. The burn line needed a few minor touchups, but the ash was solid and the draw was excellent.

Value

Once again My Father has delivered a great smoking experience where the largest vitola just hits $10. I’d call that a win.

Conclusions

If you’ve read the rest of the review, you’ll know by now that I did really love this cigar. Not only do I consider it superior to Flor de las Antillas (even the MAM-13 vitola), but I think this could be the best thing to come out under the My Father banner…ever (though I would still consider some of the blends they’ve done for Tatuaje…yes, I’m talking Broadleaf again…to be better still). La Antiguedad was a full-bodied, bold flavored cigar that had tons of complexity, ensuring that the experience never got dull. Truly a classic and definitely in the running for my 2014 Cigar of the Year.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10