Cigar Review: My Father Flor de las Antillas

Posted by WillyStyl on May 23, 2012 in Reviews | 8 comments

My Father Flor De Las  Antilles

Size: Box Pressed Robusto (5 x 50)

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Strength: Medium

Price: $7 msrp

Grade: 8.3

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The new My Father “Flor De Las Antilles” has been hitting retailers shelves the last few weeks and I love to try the new releases so when I saw this in the shop I had to grab one and give it a try.  Generally speaking I am a fan of the Cigars that come from the My Father factory.  My Father is well known not only for the brands they produce for themselves (Don Pepin, My Father, the soon to be released La Duena), but also for manufacturing other well regarded brands such as Tatuaje, 601, La Sirena, and Ortega Cigars.  Clearly, Don Pepin Garcia and Jaime Garcia are pumping out some great cigars including a few that are regulars in my rotation.

I had hear a little about this cigar prior to it’s release, namely that it was  a Nicaraguan puro and it was meant to be a bit milder of a cigar from a family that is well known for producing cigars with a trademark spice and fullness.

But enough about that, how’s it smoke?

Pre-Light:  (1.9)  For my review I went with my standard robusto and the Flor De Las Antilles was a beautiful specimen to behold.  The sun grown wrapper is a beautiful reddish brown, the box press had just a touch of roundness to it, the cigar features a red ribbon at the foot, and an incredibly ornate band.

The scent off the foot was that of barnyard and leather with just the faintest hint of roasted coffee.  The pre-light draw didn’t offer anything that differed from the scent.  The Flor De Las Antilles had a perfectly applied triple cap, a trademark of My Father Cigars.

Burn:  (1.6 )  The Flor De Las Antilles started off with a bit of an uneven burn at the light but soon self corrected.  within the first inch I had a split in the wrapper but I was able to smoke right through it with no effect.  At times the burn would return to being uneven with a bit of channeling, but each time that occurred the cigar did self correct. About 1/3 of the way though I noticed two stems sticking out from the head of the cigar and I removed them with no impact to the draw or flavor.  The ash was predominately white with a few dark lines though it.  The ash held well, for the most part and came loose easily at the one inch mark.  Draw was perfect.

Flavor:  (2.4)  The Flor De Las Antilles started off with just a small amount of that trademark Pepin spice, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, like the spice typically found in the rest of the My Father line up.  The spice was a mild black pepper on a mostly woodsy core. through the first third the pepper weakened and Flor De Las Antilles was a smooth, slightly creamy smoke.  About an inch in a got a sweet slightly tangy note, fortunately the sweet tobacco note reappeared through the smoke, unfortunately the tanginess of it did not.

Heading into the second third the pepper has pretty much faded out and the Flor De Las Antilles is mostly a creamy woodsy smoke with an ever so slight note of roasted coffee that makes an occasional appearance in the flavor profile.  The coffee note is interesting because it’s different than the richer espresso note that is sometimes found in premium cigars.  The coffee note is more mild and nuanced, and unfortunately not very frequent.

Smoking into the final third not much has changed.  The creaminess gets a little thicker and at times reminds me of warm bread.  The coffee note did not reemerge.  The smoke was pleasant and smooth, but not rich in notes to the palette or through the retro hale.

Overall: (2.4)  When I heard that My Father was coming out with a milder blend I was intrigued, it was certainly something missing from their portfolio.  The Flor De Las Antilles is a very different cigar than what My Father is known for.  The body on the Flor De Las Antilles is on the gentler side of medium.  The smoke is rich and creamy, unfortunately it lacked any real defining flavors that would make for a noteworthy experience.

I enjoyed the milder experience, and would certainly consider the Flor De Las Antilles again as an afternoon smoke when I wanted to keep my palette fresh for another cigar later in the day.  This is a great cigar for the smoker who smokes mild cigars and wants to venture into something a little bit fuller, and I would recommend it to both the mild smoker or the less frequent smoker, but as a smoker who prefers a fuller, more complex flavor profile the smooth creaminess of the Flor De Las Antilles was not enough to “wow” me.

Total:  8.3

@WillyStyl