2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List): #18: Fonseca by My Father Robusto

“My Father Cigars did a fantastic job with the Fonseca brand…it’s nuanced and balanced with flavors that are going to keep you interested from start to finish”

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Robusto: 5 1/4 x 52
Price: $9.50

Sponsor: No
Samples Provided for Initial Review: No
Review: Fonseca by My Father Robusto (1/28/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022)

Coming in at #18 is Fonseca by My Father Cigars Robusto. At the end of 2019, one of the more surprising stories that hit the news was the acquisition of the Fonseca brand by My Father Cigars from the Quesada family. The Fonseca brand was established in Cuba by Don Francisco Fonseca in 1892. The Dominican version of the Fonseca brand has been made by the Quesada family since 1974. While under the Quesada stewardship, the brand maintained an important part of the Quesada portfolio. In 2020, the Garcia family would release its own interpretation of the Fonseca Brand with the Fonseca by My Father – which would become a regular production offering in the My Father portfolio.

The Fonseca by My Father is produced at the My Father Cigars factory located in Estelí, Nicaragua. The blend features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by the Garcia family. The blend is highlighted by a shade-grown Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper. The Robusto size measures 5 1/4 x 52.

The Fonseca by My Father Cigars delivered a mix of natural tobacco, earth, hay, pepper, and baker’s spice. This cigar was medium for both strength and body. It’s a cigar that I found a little less aggressive than many My Father offerings and a little more aggressive than most of the Quesada-made Fonseca offerings.

For My Father Cigars, this marks the sixth year it has landed a cigar on the Cigar Coop Countdown. If you are keeping score at home, Nicaragua has now landed nine of the 13 cigars unveiled thus far on the 2022 Countdown. It’s also the 12th different company and 11th different factory to land on this year’s countdown.