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| My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 – Connecticut Ecuador |
The My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador Cigar is one of two cigars being offered as a retail exclusive for Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, Illinois. This marks the second year that the Garcia family has teamed up with Casa de Montecristo for a commemorative cigar dedicated to the fallen heroes of the 9/11 tragedy. Over the past year, the Garcia family have really been doing a lot of great work around Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper cigars. The My Father Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador Cigar is not only a very good cigar in my book, but it is one of those cigars that I would categorize as a true game-changer in the cigar industry.
When we first previewed the The My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012, we talked about the general concept around this series:
The project was a joint effort between My
Father Cigars and Casa de Montecristo in Chicago. The idea was
suggested by Jeffrey Holst, a firefighter Battalion Chief out of
Lombard, Illinois. Hoist contacted Casa de Montecristo in Countryside,
Illinois who then teamed up with My Father Cigars and the project was in
motion. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the family members
of the fallen firefighters through a charitable foundation.
In 2011, the first My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition Cigars were released. 343 boxes of this series were produced for Casa de Montecristo. Each box consisted of two special blends – 9 rosado wrapper cigars and 11 oscuro wrapper cigars. For 2012, two new blends were introduced. Once again 343 boxes were produced for Casa de Montecristo – this time 9 Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper cigars and 11 Habano Maduro wrapper cigars.
Over the past year, we’ve seen several new releases from the Garcias with the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. This includes: the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2012 (first released as the Jaime Garcia Limited Edition 2011 Connecticut Shade and our #17 Cigar of 2011); the My Father Le Bijou 1922 Ecuadorian Connecticut series for Federal Cigars; and the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial New England Edition. All of these releases pushed the boundaries of the traditional mild to medium strength, mild to medium-bodied Connecticut Shade cigars. With the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador we see a true game-changer – a cigar that delivers some of the deepest bodied flavors I have sampled with a cigar of this wrapper.
Let’s break down the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador and see what this cigar brings to the table.
Blend Profile
As mentioned above there are two blends in each box of cigars. We will focus on the Connecticut Ecuador blend, but include both blends for completeness:
The “9” cigars (My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
Binder: Corojo and “Secret”
Filler: “Secret” Fillers (2 leaves)
The “11” cigars ( My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Habano Maduro):
Wrapper: Habano Maduro
Binder: Corojo and “Secret”
Filler: “Secret” Fillers (2 leaves)
Vitolas Available
For the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 series, a single size of each of the two blends is being produced – a 5 1/2 x 54 Toro.
Appearance
The My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador has a classic light colored Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. The wrapper itself has a nice silky look as well a bit of oil on it. There are some visible veins, but the wrapper seams are actually well hidden.
For the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 series, one change from the 2011 series is that the cigars now have bands. There are actually two bands. The first band has a white, brown, and silver color scheme. It features a brown and silver fire department shield on the front on a white background. In the middle of the shield it says “911” in the center. Starting clockwise at the top around the shield it has the following (all in white on brown): the text “FIRE FIGHTER”, a fire department ladder, the text “343”, and a fire hydrant. Above the shield it says “WE WILL NEVER FORGET” with brown font – arranged in a curved fashion. The remainder of the band has silver font.
There is a secondary band directly below the first band. It has a thick brown stripe and a silver stripe across both the top and bottom. On that brown stripe it has the text “Limited Edition” in a white cursive font.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
As I normally do with just about every cigar I assess, I opted to go with a straight cut into the cap. I then followed this up with a pre-light draw. Overall, the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador provided a very nice dry draw consisting of notes of cream, wood, and a touch of cedar spice. There also was an sweetness that I could not draw an analogy to. As the pre-light draw progressed, the spice did kick up a notch. With a solid pre-light draw experience, I was ready to toast the foot and see what the remainder of the cigar experience would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The start to the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador started out with some nice complexity right out of the gate. I detected some initial notes of berry, cream, and an exotic pepper spice. The exotic pepper spice started a trademark Garcia pepper blast at the beginning. The pepper spice soon dialed back, but remained a primary note. The berry notes also remained primary and the cream component moved to the background.
As the cigar moved into the latter part of the first third, the exotic pepper and berry notes still remained primary. The cream notes would be joined by some toast notes in the background. By the midway point, the berry flavors dialed back and joined the toast and cream in he background – creating an interesting fusion.
In the early part of the second half, the exotic pepper spice eased up, but it would pick up again as the cigar moved into the last third. The spice would be the story as the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador progressed through the final third. The end of the cigar was a little rough while the resulting nub was soft to the touch and lukewarm in temperature.
Burn and Draw
The 2011 My Father Commemorative 911 series kept true to the Garcia family’s commitment to top quality construction on a cigar. On those cigars it was reflected with an excellent burn and excellent draw. With the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador, these attributes score equally well. The burn line remained relatively straight from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups with my butane lighter. The resulting ash on the cigar was tight with a salt and pepper color. The burn rate was ideal and while the nub was lukewarm, the burn temperature also remained ideal throughout the smoking experience.
The draw to the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador was outstanding. No maintenance was required to enjoy each puff of this cigar.
Strength and Body
At the start of this assessment, I mentioned this cigar was a game-changer due to the depth of the flavors. As many cigar companies have caught Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper fever, they have tried to move beyond mild/mild to medium strength/bodied cigars. Without a doubt, the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador has taken this to another level. This is a full-bodied Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper smoke. As for the strength, this still will not be a nicotine bomb, but it still will deliver a nice dose. I assessed this to be a medium strength smoke. Given the deep flavors of this smoke, I gave an edge to body over strength with this cigar.
Final Thoughts
If you have read my assessments on this web-site, you know I consider the San Lotano Connecticut to be a revolutionary cigar when it comes to breaking the mold of an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper smoke. Without a doubt, the My Father Commemorative 911 Limited Edition 2012 Connecticut Ecuador takes it to the next level and qualifies as a game-changer because of its full-bodied flavors. Does this make it a #1 Cigar of the Year? No, but this cigar holds its own and is a fine addition to the this limited edition series. This is probably a Connecticut Shade wrapper cigar I would think twice before putting in front of a novice cigar enthusiast as it does have some kick. At the same time, I would not hesitate to recommend this to an experienced cigar smoker – even someone who smokes powerful cigars. As for myself, this most certainly is a cigar I would reach for and smoke again.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Full
Finish: Fair
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 91
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, Illinois.
