Vitola: Toro- 6” x 54 ring gauge
- ~$12
- Purchased from Maxamar/Small Batch
Background
I heard briefly about La Opulencia from My Father Cigars over the summer, but having not attended this year’s trade show—and being busy with a ton of other stuff—I forgot about it until I saw it at Maxamar in October while I was out in California. I asked…and I bought a couple of them, smoking one that week and saving the other for review.
As is fairly traditional with the My Father lines, the filler and binder are all Nicaraguan leaf. Bucking tradition, though, the company revealed much more detail about exactly what kinds of Nicaraguan leaf was used:
Criollo and Corojo Binders, Corojo, Criollo and Habano Filler all coming from selected farms such as finca El Pedrero, Las Lometas and La Bonita, all property of the Garcia family, finished with a beautiful Mexico Rosado Oscuro wrapper, creating this medium to 3/4 body cigar with the perfect combination of aroma, flavors and complexity.
This is the first time I can ever remember the company giving this much detail on a blend and I will say that it’s refreshing and I hope it continues. And since they did give so much detail, I don’t have much to say about the background…so let’s move along…
Prelight
As is becoming standard in the My Father lines, the box part of the presentation is wonderful. This line gets a light reddish stain on the wood of the box, with an intricate piece of art from 1897 lining the inside of the lid. The regular “MF” band is front and center with a secondary band in the same color scheme denoting this as “La Opulencia.” Then everything is finished off with a green ribbon on the foot. This is, again, becoming a very standard way of presenting a new blend in the flagship “My Father” line from the Garcia family.
The wrapper leaf of La Opulencia was like dark chocolate brown mixed with a touch of redness. There was a little bit of slightly darker mottling and the leaf was smooth and oily under my fingers. Holding it to my nose, I got a rich earthiness, a touch of cedar and a hint of sweetness. The foot had more earth, along with notes of espresso and cocoa powder.
After cutting the head I got a very free draw that had a flavor so sweet and earthy that I would have possibly mistaken it for Connecticut Broadleaf if I hadn’t been told. That in itself is amazing, showing how far processing of Mexican leaf has come in the past decade.
Flavor
After lighting, La Opulencia started off with massive earthy flavor, a more subdued bittersweet chocolate and a slight maple syrup on the finish. The retrohale has notes of wood and leather, but almost no pepper. Actually there was little pepper on palate or nose, which is highly unusual for something that comes from the My Father factory. Surprising and refreshing. The smoke started off on the high end of medium-bodied, but by the time the first third was winding up it was started to creep into the medium-to-full territory. I continued getting woody and earthy notes primarily, along with some mild sweetness and finally some pepper spice.
The second third saw an emergence of floral notes which combined with the woody flavors in a very pleasing way. The sweet and spicy notes continued to be mild and subtle and occasionally I would get a note of cinnamon or anise in the mix.
In the last third, the pepper spice amped up a bit more, combining more fully with floral, sweet and earthy notes, while the notes of cedar and oak played a more supporting role.
Construction
The build quality was excellent, as you would expect from My Father. The draw was perfect, the burn line was even enough and the ash held on for a good long time. The only negative item I saw was too much blue on the secondary band, which pulled away a little chunk of wrapper when I removed it. This did not impact the experience, though.
Value
Like most of the rest of the flagship My Father line, the price on this is a little higher than average. The complex flavor profile makes it worth while, though.
Conclusions
My Father’s La Opulencia proved to be a great complex cigar that was rich in flavor, full-bodied and delightful. It is a very worthy addition to the flagship line, holding its own against Le Bijou, Connecticut, The Judge and the original blend, while being completely different.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
