Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 7 x 50 Churchill
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $60.00
My cigars have exactly one month of naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
Courtesy of Cigar Aficionado:
“For La Union, four blends were created, two by each cigarmaker. Each is available in only one vitola, which the cigarmakers call Prominente Especial. It measures 7 1/4 inches long by 50 ring gauge and is topped with a 109-style belicoso head.
“La Union is split in two different box sets that are distinguished by their red or black exteriors. Inside each box is one blend by Johnson and one by Garcia, and each blend has its own distinctive wrapper. The La Union Prominente Especial Black box contains a Johnson-blended cigar clad in a shade-grown Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 cover leaf and a Garcia-blended cigar covered in Ecuador Habano. For the La Union Prominente Especial Red box, Johnson uses Ecuador Sumatra and Garcia uses Connecticut broadleaf.
“The inside of each cigar is made with all-Nicaraguan binder and fillers, leaves that were all grown by the Garcias, including some Pelo d’Oro leaf.
“The cigars blended by Johnson will have a closed foot, whereas Garcia’s will have a traditional, open foot.
“These special cigars are considerably expensive: each has a suggested retail price of $60. They are produced at the My Father Cigars S.A factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
“Production is limited to 1,500 boxes each of the red and black boxes, with 1,200 allocated for the U.S. market and 300 for international markets. Each individually-numbered box includes a Xikar cutter.”
Photos courtesy of Small Batch Cigar:
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I could only afford the 2-cigar sampler that SBC is selling. You get one blend each from the Black offering. I smoked the Tatuaje blend and was wowed. This lured me to venture into squishy ground that is generally foreign to me…reviewing a cigar way too early.
$2400 for 40 cigars with a fancy shmancy humidor is sexy bait for those that never look at the price. For you and me, it is an insane purchase.
I went into smoking the $60 Tatuaje Black thinking this is a slick land grab for your wallet and all its contents. I began the adventure betting this is a great $17 stick…especially since this appears to only be your garden variety blend using Nicaraguan Corojo over Nic guts. Sure, the cigar is special and belies its everyday leaf stats. I will begrudgingly admit this was an excellent $25 cigar blend. The extra $35 remaining in the price tag pays for the humidor/cigar box and crazy good profits for the cigar bosses.
Cigars, like this one, are now fully surpassing the cost of illegal Cubans brought in by undocumented aliens pleading to phone home.
OK…papa don’t preach is over. On with the shoe.
The PT 109 cap is removed easily but breaths are prevented. My PerfecDraw has left a note and a doppelganger to alert me that it is currently in Maldives. That damn thing is no longer getting $5 above minimum wage. Elitist tool. Something that Charlotte has never said about me.
And then I’m slammed with good intentions. A bounty of richness captures my attention along with flavors of cinnamon graham cracker, red pepper, black pepper, slight creaminess, Nilla Wafers, potato chips, dry rice, and dark chocolate…well, that fills my dance card.
Strength is an immediate medium but feels like its trigger finger is itchy.
We reviewers love to be dogmatic about the condition of the cigar’s construction. I hate to admit this but the way we take care of our cigars has a significant impact. The State of the Humidor dictates the politics of conditioning. My cigar keeps going out. Is it the fault of the rollers? I doubt it. I smoked the Tat version yesterday and had no burn or staying lit issues. I’m guessing the same rollers were used…so the position and location of my cigar in the humidor, and the amount of humidification, holds sway. We can’t forget that this isn’t a road flare, it’s a bunch of leaves.
Jesus, this is going to be a 5000-word manifesto.
Yeah, it’s early but I’m beginning to process that the Tat version with the Nic Corojo wrapper was better.
My thoughts are that the boys should have ventured into more diverse blending choices. Dominican leaves are finding a resurgence in high end choices. The addition of the elusive Peruvian leaves lends a very complex touch. Nicaraguan blends are impetuous with little control or dominion over refinements. The My Father version is very much like everything that Pepin Garcia and AJ Fernandez blend at the high end of the spectrum.
The bullshit Joe Camel approach is all smoke and mirrors. The humidor-in-a-box is glossy and shiny. The cigar adornments are cool. Worthy for excellent $25 sticks. Asking $60 is an insult. A fucking insult. Are you going to smoke these cigars at your private club or dockside of your 42’ yacht with Chloe and Bitsy at your side?
OK. A year from now the cigars may prove me wrong. I found no information that these cigars received any extensive aging. Manufacturers always flaunt this to assure you that you’re getting your money’s worth, as they should. Hence, this seems a hurried bunch of leaves produced to cash in on the current ridiculous state of affairs in which the American public is buying the fatuous propaganda that it is inflation causing insane pricing on everything. Or even worse is that corporations would love you to believe that it is labor costs causing the giant uptick. Yeah, it’s your fault that everything is so expensive. The fucking arrogance. Meanwhile, company executives are getting unprecedented salaries and bonuses. And no, I’m not a communist.
The Tat version was better.
The My Father edition should get a pass.
Buy the Tat.
A year from now, your fancy 40 count humidor will be taking up precious storage space in the garage.
This review cost me $120.
You can purchase these cigars from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’).
MY FATHER BLACK RATING: 93
TATUAJE BLACK RATING: 95
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
