Buy The Flor de las Antillas at Famous Smoke Shop
- Size: 6.0″ x 52 (Toro)
- MSRP: $138.00 for a box of 20; $6.90 for a single
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Wrapper: Sun Grown
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Body: Medium to Medium Mild
- Strength: Medium
- Humidor Time Prior to Review: 11 months
- Cigars smoked prior to review: 3
- Date Smoked: October 20, 2018
On the docket today is the My Father Flor De Las Antillas in Toro. I reviewed the Maduro version of this stick a few months ago, and wasn’t a huge fan. I found it to be a little too subtle for my underdeveloped palate. But it was August in Florida, and I was hot as hell. So who knows what happened.
But this review isn’t about the Maduro version. This is about the original Flor De Las Antillas. When My Father introduced this cigar in 2012, it was received with high acclaim. In fact, this very toro size was named “Cigar of the Year” by Cigar Aficionado in 2012. Retailing for under $7.00 a stick, this has the potential to be a great regular rotation cigar. Lets see what the blend is all about.
Appearance and Pre-Light Aromas
The Flor de las Antillas features a smooth nut brown sun grown wrapper. It appears to be a sun grown Habano, but what do I know. My cigar looks to be nicely constructed. There are few large veins in the wrapper. Seams are tight. There is a quadruple cap, but it’s a little sloppy on this cigar. Holding the cigar in my hand it feels a little light for its size. It is a big cigar, with a light oval box press.
Smelling the wrapper yields light hay, cedar, barn yard, and fennel aromas. Same from the foot. The smells are lightly musty and signal aged tobacco. On that note, these cigars have been resting for just under a year now. I smoked a couple, but it has been a while. I’ll be going into this review mostly cold.
I clip the cap and take a test draw. It’s a good open draw. I get notes of cedar and light fruit on the cold draw. I gently pull away the fabric foot band. It comes off easily. Time to start toasting and light ‘er up.
Start time is 10 A.M. on the nose.
First Third
The initial flavors are on the lighter side. There is a light nuttiness, a little cream, some fruit, toast, and a bit of fruit and pepper through the nose. The finish is long and peppery with some wood notes. The aroma is sweet and nutty with a little tangy bbq sauce element. A very distinct aroma. I’d say starting out the body is on the low end of medium.
We are getting into the “final third” of October, and I’m doing this review on a Saturday morning, so I was hoping for a little cool weather. Instead it’s sticky outside. Temperature isn’t bad at 81, but it feels warmer. Probably because there is no breeze. The air is still and it’s almost dead silent in my back yard.
At the 7 minute mark I’m beginning to distinguish some of the flavors. There is a nice cashew note here, and a good amount of citrus. Not bad.
On the construction side, the cigar is producing plenty of smoke, and the burn line is pretty good. A little wavy but not too bad. Hopefully it auto corrects. At 10 minutes a flakey gray ash is forming.
I’ve been working every Sunday for the past few weeks, and I’m looking forward to taking a full weekend off. I have a trial the first week of November, so I’ll be back in the salt mines next weekend. For now I can enjoy myself more or less guilt free.
We are 15 minutes in and our Flor de las Antillas is proving to be a demure smoke. Light flavors. Light nuttiness, light cream, light citrus, and some soft floral elements. This is advertised as a subtle cigar, and so far that is holding true. We have smoked off about an inch, depending on what side of the stick you are looking at, so it’s chugging along. Quietly.
A light breeze barely stirs the air. A leaf falls to the ground in a clatter. You could hear a pin drop out here.
Our cigar appears to be doing something. A transition. The toasty elements are picking up ever so slightly. A little earthiness creeps into the background. The resting cigar smoulders gently in the ash tray.
Gravity is taking a toll on the ash. It’s bent like a fishing rod. It’s distracting, so I nudge it into the ash tray. The good news is that the burn line has evened out. It’s almost dead nuts even now.
The flavors continue to change ever so slightly. Now a little weak coffee creeps in. A few minutes later the fruit evolves from a citrus to something else. There is cedar present, but another almost honeyed sweetness. Like a sweet Earl Grey tea.
Second Third
Smoke time is 30 minutes.
Our Flor de las Antillas continues to simmer along. Stuff is happening, but it’s subtle. As if my tongue is wrapped in gauze. There is some complexity here, but again, it’s quiet and nuanced. You definitely want this to be your first cigar of the day. If it’s your second or third I don’t know how you will be able to taste anything.
The cedar and citrus have continued to build. It is ticking up ever so slightly. Especially on the retrohale. Those are the biggest flavors. A warm neutral tobacco flavor is in the background. There is a light spice on the retrohale as well. A tiny amount of pepper spice on the finish.
The burn has been great. Knock on wood, but I haven’t so much as needed to touch the cigar up yet.
In the first third the citrus was more of an orange flavor. It has gone from orange, to bergamot, now to a light grapefruit. Not sour, but lacking that sugary sweetness of an orange. Zesty is how I would describe the citrus element. Generic wood, cedar, a faint nuttiness, and toast back it.
I feel like I don’t have a whole lot to say about the cigar. The silence is deafening.
Lets talk about the ash. It’s light gray, slightly flaky, and is clinging on for dear life.
This hasn’t been a strong cigar so far, but the nicotine is slowly building. I feel good. The chair I’m in isn’t super comfortable, and when I get up to snap a photo I get a mild head rush, but this isn’t what I would refer to as a strong cigar.
A delicate perfumy note has returned to the cigar. That’s about the only flavor update I have.
Our ash is getting the whole Leaning Tower of Piza thing again. As I reach to the ash tray the ash falls off, glancing off my knee. It least it didn’t land in my lap.
Final Third
Smoke time is just short of an hour. We are on pace to finish this one in an hour and a half.
Here are the flavors: generic tobacco, wood, light cedar, light citrus, and floral notes. Through the nose I’m getting a little apricot and flowers. A teeny tiny portion of black pepper appears towards the back of the palate on the finish. There is hardly any pepper through the nose. The aroma is mild. Slightly sweet and slightly musty.
We are getting close to the band. The band is probably my favorite part of the cigar. Not a good thing, but in defense of the band it’s a beautiful work of art. Thick embossed paper, with a muted color palate. Gently chased in rose gold. It shares the subtly of the blend, but is a little more elegant. Kudos to the artist that designed it.
The band is beginning to darken so I pull it free. It comes off without a hitch, revealing a 2.5″ expanse of smooth brown tobacco.
Finally, a new flavor appears on the horizon. A light leather. Oily and rich. A beautiful and entirely welcome addition to this cigar. It jockies politely with the citrus. Warm toast and a gentle graham cracker sweetness follows.
I see some funky shit happening beneath the wrapper. Some mild tunneling. It may be because I set the cigar down for a minute to get some more water. I offer the cigar a small tune up because the smoke output is waning. That seems to perk it back up.
As I continue to burn this down towards the nub some musty flavors are forming, complimenting the leather. The aroma is very floral now.
At the 2″ mark the smoke is growing warm. I’m mostly getting tobacco and toast. Strong leather on the retrohale. I think I have experienced the best this cigar has had to offer me.
At an hour and 35 minutes a little under 2 inches remains. The flavors are similar to the last update. You can easily smoke this for another 15 minutes or so, but I’m good. Time to end the review.
My Father Flor De Las Antillas – Final Thoughts
But I found it a little boring. I may very well lack the sophistication to truly appreciate it. It’s a subtle cigar. Some people translate that into “elegance” but I’m not really getting that. To me it’s a little light in the loafers.
Body never got above medium, and the strength was about medium as well.
I will say that it smoked great. With almost a year of rest I had little in the way of burn issues. I have smoked a couple of these before and they all had good burn qualities. Plenty of smoke and an easy draw. I recall those other cigars were also light on flavor, which is why it has taken me almost a year to review this blend. I was hoping the extra rest would bring out something special but it didn’t happen. In order to give this cigar high marks it needs to smoke well and have good memorable flavors. I didn’t get a ton of flavor from it, but the leather towards the end was nice.
Due to the muted flavors I don’t see myself buying this cigar again. But it may be a good choice for newer smokers wanting a milder cigar, or seasoned veterans with a fully developed palate that can divine the tea leaves and tease apart the delicate flavors. I find myself in the middle. In an awkward no man’s land. I was left behind and wanting more.
Final Score: 2.5/5 or a “0” on my 0-2 scale. (Personally, I wouldn’t buy it again, but it wasn’t a horrible cigar and a lot of people seem to enjoy it.)
Final Smoke Time: 1 hour 35 Minutes
I recommend purchasing the My Father Flor De Las Antillas at Famous Smoke Shop. Please consider that purchasing things through any of the links on this website, including Amazon.com, helps support the website and keeps it going. Any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
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