My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018

The year 2018 saw many brands and industry personalities commemorate anniversaries and milestones. This resulted in the release of many special cigars to mark the occasion. In the case of My Father Cigars, the celebration was a little more unique as the company celebrated two milestones. First, it’s the 15th anniversary of company patriarch Don Pepin Garcia setting up shop at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Little Havana as well as the 15th anniversary of the Don Pepin Garcia brand. A few years later, Pepin’s son Jaime Garcia went to Nicaragua and started work on a blend unbeknownst to his father. Eventually, he would give the cigars to his father, who would fall in love with them. Jaime named that cigar “My Father,” which would not only develop into a brand name, but became the company name of the Garcia family. 2018 marked the 10th anniversary of that “My Father” cigar. To commemorate these milestones, My Father Cigars has created two cigars: the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 and the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018. Today we take a closer look at the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018.

With the exception of 2014, each year My Father Cigars has released at least one limited edition cigar. These cigars have varied across the brands. There have been two common denominators: 1) The blend incorporates Nicaraguan-grown Pelo de Oro tobacco 2) Each of these cigars has had a single 6 1/.x 52 Toro release (The Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary also had a Robusto size released).

A complete listing of the My Father limited edition offerings is below:

* Denotes coffin release.

There may be a little confusion between the My Father Limited Edition 2015 5th Anniversary and this year’s My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018. One reason for this confusion is that the 5th Anniversary and 10th Anniversary releases were released three years apart. This is because the 5th Anniversary cigar commemorated five years of the My Father Limited Edition Series while the 10th Anniversary commemorated ten years of My Father Cigars.

As for the names, the 2015 release has “5th Anniversary” at the end of the name while the 2018 release has “10th Anniversary” after the “My Father Name”. See the writing on the boxes below.

Photo Credit: My Father Cigars (Cropped Image of My Father Limited Edition 2015 5th Anniversary box)

Photo Credit: My Father Cigars (Cropped Image of My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018)

Without further ado, let’s break down the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend for the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 features an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos grown on the Garcia family farms. As mentioned, there is a component of Pelo de Oro used in the blend.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars SA

Coffin packaging of the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018

Vitolas Offered

The My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 comes in one size – a 6 1/2 x 52 Toro. Each cigar is packaged in an individual coffin. The coffins are presented in 14-count boxes.

Photo Credit: John McTavish and Developing Palates (IPCPR 2018)

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper to the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 was as aesthetically pleasing a wrapper as I have seen. It had a rich caramel color to it with a light coating of oil. The wrapper seams were all hidden. There were some thin visible veins and the wrapper had a slight bumpiness to it.

There are two bands on the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018. The primary band is the classic peach/pink, green, gold, and white My Father Cigars band found across the line.

The secondary band sits below the main band. At the center of the band, on a gold background is the text “Limited Edition” in red cursive font. Below that text is “10th Anniversary” in black and red cursive font (and an embellished “A” on Anniversary”). There are three gold ribbon designs toward the bottom of that band. The center ribbon is slightly below the other two. On each ribbon (from left to right) is the text “HAND”, “MMXVIII”, and “MADE” respectively – all in black font. To the left and right side of the secondary band is an orange background. The left side contains a black “MF” insignia stamp while the right side contains the signatures of Pepin and Jaime Garcia in gold font along with the text “MY FATHER CIGARS” in black font. On the lower left and right side of the band is the text “20” and “18” respectively in black font on a peach background.

The footer contains an orange ribbon around it with the “MF” (My Father) initials insignia and the text “2018” in gold font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The pre-light draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco and earth. There was a mix of bitter and sweet components to the natural tobacco. It wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw, but it still was one that was satisfying. At this point, it was time to pull off the footer ribbon, light up the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 and see what the smoking experience would bring to the table.

Tasting Notes

The My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 started out with a mix of earth, natural tobacco, exotic pepper spices, and cedar. It didn’t take long for the natural tobacco notes to move into the forefront. These notes demonstrated a mix of sweet and bitter qualities that varied in intensity. Meanwhile, earth, exotic spice, and cedar settled in the background. There was also an additional layer of white pepper on the retro-hale.

During the second third, the earth notes moved into the forefront and displaced the natural tobacco as the primary notes. The natural tobacco settled into the background, joining the pepper and cedar. During this phase, the natural tobacco continued to exhibit both sweetness and bitterness. There also was a gradual increase in the pepper during this phase.

The last third of the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 saw the pepper move into the forefront with the earth. The natural tobacco helped round out the profile by still exhibiting sweetness and bitterness. In addition, there still were touches of cedar in the background. This is the way the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 has some excellent construction and this was reflected in the scores of the burn and draw. The My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 maintained a straight burn path and straight burn line from start to finish. The resulting ash was light gray and skewed on the firm side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018

Draw

In terms of the draw, the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 had a touch of resistance to it – which is something I like. At the same time this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

In terms of both strength and body, I found the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 to be one of the more dialed back cigars with the My Father name on it. This is a cigar that started mild to medium in both strength and body. Both the strength and body gradually increased in a linear fashion from start to finish. By the second half, both attributes were in medium territory. The strength and body of the My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018 balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Over the years, I have enjoyed and looked forward to the limited editions coming out of My Father Cigars. Some I have enjoyed better than others. This one falls into the latter category. To me, something was just missing from this cigar – call it the secret sauce if you may. It didn’t have the robustness and complexity that I have come to expect from a My Father Limited Edition release. The flavors weren’t bad, but they weren’t very interesting and midway through this cigar I was quite bored with it. Since this is not an inexpensive investment, my advice is to try one first and see what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors Natural Tobacco, Earth, Exotic Pepper, Cedar
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Low to Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good