Here's a case of potential confusion. Above is the new La Antiguedad from My Father Cigars. Below is La Flor de Las Antillas, which is also from My Father, also box pressed, also sports an ornate and similarly colored band, and looks almost identical from a few feet away—right down to the red band adorning the foot. No wonder I passed La Antiguedad by multiple times before my tobacconist pointed it out to me as being new.
It's frustrating to see such a lack of thought, especially since we see so many good cigars die by the wayside due to inept branding, poor marketing, and/or a lack of differentiation. In fact, according to their website, this seems to be a line extension of sorts:
La Antiguedad (The Antiquity) is the Garcia's second project to be developed after the mega success of Flor de las Antillas, in which they will once again embrace the authenticity and historic value of the original Cuban art.
Which makes us wonder why they didn't just call it the La Flor de las Antillas La Antiguedad. Add a second band to accommodate the La Antiguedad name, make the box distinctive, and sell them side by side. We're not trying to be crotchety here. We just like to see good cigars succeed, and this one seems destined to get lost in the shuffle. Okay, enough of that, on to the cigar...
It's from My Father, so you know it's going to be, at a bare minimum, good. The wrapper is rich and chocolatey-looking. Thanks to the box press, it's also smooth to the touch and virtually veinless. According to My Father Cigars:
The filler tobacco for La Antiguedad is cultivated entirely in Nicaragua on the farms of San Rafael, Las Quebradas, and San Jose, all privately owned and operated properties of My Father Cigars. These tobaccos undergo a very strict and rigorous curing process of no less than three and a half years to guarantee exceptional quality. The Garcia family classifies the exquisite blend found in La Antiguedad as medium to full in strength, which offers complex yet balanced flavors. Finished with a Habano Ecuador rosado oscuro wrapper, La Antiguedad will be released in boxes of 20, in 5 different box pressed sizes. Robusto - 5 1/4 X 52, Toro - 5 5/8 X 55, Corona Grande - 6 3/8 X 47, Super Toro - 7 X 56 and Toro Gordo - 6 X 60.
We interpret that to mean this is supposed to be a richer, fuller-bodied smoke than Flor de las Antillas. Certainly the available sizes are chunkier, going all the way up to our least favorite ring gauge, 6x60. Yet the box press means the cigars look and feel smaller than they would in the round, and they are also more manageable to handle. Even though My Father has been kind enough to remember those of us with normal size oral cavities by including a 52-ring robusto and a 47-ring corona grande, we chose to review the Super Toro instead. Mainly because right now it's summertime, and the only thing better than a quick smoke in the great outdoors is a long one. Warm weather season is veeerrry short in the northeast U.S.
Despite the Super Toro's girth, it's light in the hand. As anticipated, it had an airy draw—and that means be careful not to smoke this too hard and fast, or it will heat up on you and ruin the flavor. Lighting it with a torch (which we generally don't recommend, but remember, we were smoking outside in a breeze) tended to char the cigar and make it tough to keep lit. Relighting it the same way only made things worse. Our best results came from dry boxing the cigar a few hours prior to smoking it and lighting it gently indoors with a soft flame before venturing outside.
As expected, this is a slightly bolder cigar than La Flor de las Antillas. Rather than being smooth and creamy, this is the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. Not too long ago, a cigar like this would have been a once-a-year indulgence to be savored after a rare and very hearty meal. The tobaccos taste well-aged and married. Yes, it's heavy on Nicaraguan leaf so there's an initial blast of pepper and earth and spice upon lighting, but it quickly settles down.
La Antiguedad (The Antiquity) is the Garcia's second project to be developed after the mega success of Flor de las Antillas, in which they will once again embrace the authenticity and historic value of the original Cuban art.
Which makes us wonder why they didn't just call it the La Flor de las Antillas La Antiguedad. Add a second band to accommodate the La Antiguedad name, make the box distinctive, and sell them side by side. We're not trying to be crotchety here. We just like to see good cigars succeed, and this one seems destined to get lost in the shuffle. Okay, enough of that, on to the cigar...
It's from My Father, so you know it's going to be, at a bare minimum, good. The wrapper is rich and chocolatey-looking. Thanks to the box press, it's also smooth to the touch and virtually veinless. According to My Father Cigars:
The filler tobacco for La Antiguedad is cultivated entirely in Nicaragua on the farms of San Rafael, Las Quebradas, and San Jose, all privately owned and operated properties of My Father Cigars. These tobaccos undergo a very strict and rigorous curing process of no less than three and a half years to guarantee exceptional quality. The Garcia family classifies the exquisite blend found in La Antiguedad as medium to full in strength, which offers complex yet balanced flavors. Finished with a Habano Ecuador rosado oscuro wrapper, La Antiguedad will be released in boxes of 20, in 5 different box pressed sizes. Robusto - 5 1/4 X 52, Toro - 5 5/8 X 55, Corona Grande - 6 3/8 X 47, Super Toro - 7 X 56 and Toro Gordo - 6 X 60.
We interpret that to mean this is supposed to be a richer, fuller-bodied smoke than Flor de las Antillas. Certainly the available sizes are chunkier, going all the way up to our least favorite ring gauge, 6x60. Yet the box press means the cigars look and feel smaller than they would in the round, and they are also more manageable to handle. Even though My Father has been kind enough to remember those of us with normal size oral cavities by including a 52-ring robusto and a 47-ring corona grande, we chose to review the Super Toro instead. Mainly because right now it's summertime, and the only thing better than a quick smoke in the great outdoors is a long one. Warm weather season is veeerrry short in the northeast U.S.
Despite the Super Toro's girth, it's light in the hand. As anticipated, it had an airy draw—and that means be careful not to smoke this too hard and fast, or it will heat up on you and ruin the flavor. Lighting it with a torch (which we generally don't recommend, but remember, we were smoking outside in a breeze) tended to char the cigar and make it tough to keep lit. Relighting it the same way only made things worse. Our best results came from dry boxing the cigar a few hours prior to smoking it and lighting it gently indoors with a soft flame before venturing outside.
As expected, this is a slightly bolder cigar than La Flor de las Antillas. Rather than being smooth and creamy, this is the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. Not too long ago, a cigar like this would have been a once-a-year indulgence to be savored after a rare and very hearty meal. The tobaccos taste well-aged and married. Yes, it's heavy on Nicaraguan leaf so there's an initial blast of pepper and earth and spice upon lighting, but it quickly settles down.
As the cigar got going, there was a grainy initial sweetness, like cotton candy, and a nut brownie-like character which finished more as a milky, cinnamony hot cocoa. There's also some pepperiness that sticks around and mingles with baking spices. This is a delicious cigar that cries out for a bracing counterpoint. Smoking it with a coffee or cola would be redundant. Perhaps something rich yet sour, like certain dark beers, might work on the lighter end of the spectrum, while on the heavier side we think a bright and/or woody scotch whisky might do the trick.
La Antiguedad is another really nice smoke from the good folks at My Father Cigars. We hope tobacconists will take the time to point it out to customers, because it doesn't distinguish itself based on appearance alone. Certainly it will be easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys La Flor de las Antillas, but wants something with a bit more oomph. It also fits nicely between their fullest-bodied offerings, like My Father Le Bijou 1922, and comparably priced but less subtle cigars like the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial.
La Antiguedad is another really nice smoke from the good folks at My Father Cigars. We hope tobacconists will take the time to point it out to customers, because it doesn't distinguish itself based on appearance alone. Certainly it will be easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys La Flor de las Antillas, but wants something with a bit more oomph. It also fits nicely between their fullest-bodied offerings, like My Father Le Bijou 1922, and comparably priced but less subtle cigars like the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial.
THE DETAILS7x56 Nicaragua W: Ecuador B: Nicaragua (x2) F: Nicaragua $8.95 | THE HIGHLIGHTSBig and rich, this lovely looking cigar is loaded with a hearty, spicy richness. Another fine example of the excellent cigars coming from the folks at My Father. | THE VERDICTCLASSIC EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD ---------------------- SMOKE/HOLD |
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