On March 16, 2012, My Father showed off their newest creation, Flor de las Antillas, for the first time at Federal Cigar’s 91st anniversary party. Not much was known about the release at that time, but more details have emerged since then.

We now know that the Flor de las Antillas is a Nicaraguan puro line with a name honoring Cuba, which is sometimes known as the flower of the Antilles, thus Flor de las Antillas. The name refers to the Antilles Islands, which are part of the West Indies located in the Caribbean Sea, and also include Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

José Ortega of My Father told London Cigar Aficionados:

It is a new line in full production. The cigar is fantastic. Nice and smooth. Has a rich cocoa flavor. 3/4 strength. Beautiful white ash with a great finish.

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Here is the artwork being used for the My Father Flor de las Antillas line:

(Artwork via London Cigar Aficionados)

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The My Father Flor de las Antillas is expected to debut in four vitolas, each being sold in boxes of 20 and priced between $6.60 and $8.70 for each cigar. They are:

• Belicoso — (5 1/2 x 52)
• Robusto — (5 x 50)
• Toro — (6 x 52)
• Toro Gordo — (6 1/2 x 56)

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But enough about that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: n/a
• Release Date: March 16, 2012
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

The My Father Flor de las Antillas is a nice looking stick with a rounded box-press, along with a cinnamon brown wrapper that is rough and dry to the touch. In fact, the wrapper feels almost parchment like and smells strongly of barnyard, coca, espresso and leather. It is slightly spongy when squeezed, but well within normal limits. Of note, the cap looks pretty hastily applied.

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The first third of the My Father Flor de las Antillas starts off with a fairly significant amount of leather, espresso and generic wood. There is a small amount of black pepper and spice in the first few puffs, but they quickly recede to a distant background note. The draw is a bit loose at first, but begins to tighten up nicely by the end of the third. The burn is a bit wavy, but nothing horrible. Strength ends the first third at a very mild medium and does not seem to be getting much stronger.

While the main flavors of wood and leather remain the same in the second third, the profile adds a bit of general sweetness that is nice to taste. Unfortunately, it is just not a strong enough note to really impact the overall flavor. The draw is tightens up as predicted, the burn is fine and the strength is a steady medium and I doubt it will go much higher. On the retrohale, the pepper is barely noticeable. As for the finish, it’s nice and smooth.

The final third of the Flor de las Antillas just does not change at all: the same main flavors, the same general sweetness, the same construction and the same strength. It is essentially a carbon copy of the second third and there is really not much more to say about it.

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Final Notes:

• As mentioned above, two of the four vitolas the Flor de las Antillas were first sold in unbanded bundles at an event held at one of our sponsors, Federal Cigar last month. In fact, they still have some of the prerelease Toro Gordos (6 1/2 x 56) in stock but are sold out of the Toro (6 x 52).
• Cuba is the largest of the Antilles islands. Interestingly, according to Wikipedia: Geographically, the Antilles are generally considered part of North America or Central America. Culturally speaking, the Antillean countries of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico are included in Latin America.
• The artwork for this My Father release has been updated from a version used in the early 20th century.
• As mentioned above, all four of the vitolas will be box pressed, the first full line from My Father to be fully box-pressed. Last year, My Father released their first box-pressed My Father at IPCPR 2011 in the form of the My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo.
• I was honestly surprised at just how much this does not taste like your standard My Father blend. In a blind tasting, I guarantee 99% of people would never guess who made this cigar. Some people are going to love this fact, and some people are going to hate it.
• While the Flor de las Antillas was supposed to ship sometime in early April, rumors are that delays with production of the bands, which are likely to be quite intricate, have caused the release to be pushed back to sometime in May.
• It is worth mentioning that the signature black pepper and spice notes that were present in the first few puffs of the cigar were nowhere near the amount that is in most of the My Father blends.
• Construction on both samples was fine, and although the draw on both samples started off a bit loose, they tightened up by the middle of the smoke. The burn had a tendency to waver, but was good overall.
• There is quite a bit of smoke production in the two samples I smoked, more than I was expecting for sure.
• The final smoking time for both sticks was right around one hour and 25 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the My Father Flor de las Antillas, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar and Casa de Montecristo, Federal Cigar, Tobacco Grove and Tobacco Locker are all My Father retailers and will presumably have them in stock as soon as they are available. As of now, the only place to purchase the My Father Flor de las Antillas is Federal Cigar (877.424.4270), who only has Toro Gordos available. Don’t forget to tell them halfwheel sent you.

The Bottom Line: The Flor de las Antillas reveals in exactly what it is: a simple, no frills option, both in terms of price and profile. It is good, smooth profile, but far from great. While I was not overly impressed with this cigar, I do think that it fills a niche that My Father has in its lineup: an easy to smoke, medium-bodied, cheaper cigar that does not have the typical My Father pepper throughout the smoke. The main problem remains, even at that price point ($6.60-$8.70), there are many other cigars that offer more in terms of complexity, flavors and construction.

Final Score: 82