Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2022

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, My Father Cigars showed off the Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2022, which—as the name indicates—was created to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Flor de las Antillas line that debuted in 2012. The newest addition to the line is a 6 1 /2 x 52 Nicaraguan puro that is sold in boxes of 12, with each cigar packaged in its own individual coffins within the boxes.

 

According to the company, the limited edition cigar incorporates a modified blend—albeit using the same seed varietals—of the regular production Flor de las Antillas line and is rolled exclusively with tobaccos grown by the Garcia family. This includes the wrapper, which is a higher priming than what is used in the blend of the original line, meaning it is darker and should be stronger than the regular production version.

The MSRP is set at $40 per cigar and $480 for a box of 12 cigars. Production is limited to 5,000 individually numbered boxes of 12 cigars—for a total of 60,000 cigars—which were rolled at My Father Cigars’ factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Although the company had hoped to have the cigars on store shelves in November 2022, the release was pushed back to January of this year due to packaging delays.

• Cigar Reviewed: Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2022
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars, S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $40 (Box of 12, $480)
• Release Date: January 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 12 Cigars (60,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

A dark chocolate brown wrapper covers all three Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary cigars, and while there is very little oil noticeable, the wrappers are relatively smooth to the touch. There are also numerous protruding veins running up and down the lengths of the cigars, and each cigar is very firm when squeezed. Aromas from the wrapper include not only a very strong combination of barnyard and hay but also some creamy nuttiness, cedar, vanilla beans and sweet earth. The nuttiness is more distinct when I smell the feet—the note instantly reminds me of cashews—and it is followed by leather tack, roasted coffee beans, dry straw, earth and a slight maple sweetness. Finally, after a v-cut, the cold draw brings flavors of more cashews, white pepper, dry hay, toasted bread, nutmeg, earth and vanilla bean sweetness.

Freshly brewed coffee and earth start the Flor de las Antillas off, along with some light spice on my tongue. A herbal flavor combines with some aromatic cedar and the pair quickly takes over the top spots in the profile, followed by bitter espresso beans, cocoa nibs, nutmeg, leather and generic citrus peel. There is also some mineral saltiness on my lips—which seems to be getting stronger as the first third burns down—while the retrohale features both light black pepper and a distinct blackberry sweetness. Flavor finishes the first third firmly at medium plus while both the body and strength lag behind a bit at a point just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, there are no issues at all in any of the three aspects, as the burn lines, draws and smoke production all proceed in harmony.

Strong flavors of creamy cashews and roasted espresso beans become the main flavors during the second third, easily outpacing secondary notes that include cinnamon, dark chocolate, cedar, lemongrass, saltine crackers and hay. In addition, the combination of black pepper and blackberry sweetness continues to dominate the retrohale while the mineral saltiness that I noticed in the first third has become a bit more prevalent on my lips. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, the body is at a solid medium and the strength jumps to a point just over the medium mark. Construction continues to be virtually trouble-free other than one cigar that needs a minor burn correction around the halfway point.

Rich roasted espresso beans and creamy cashews continue to top the profile of the Flor de las Antillas during the final third, but the mineral saltiness on my lips from the first two-thirds has continued to recede noticeably. Secondary flavors of hay, gritty earth, sourdough bread, lemongrass, cedar and cinnamon flit in and out at various points, and although blackberry sweetness and black pepper remain noticeable on the retrohale, there is now more of the former than the latter. Flaver increases to full, body hits medium-full and the strength ends the cigar just under full. Finally, each aspect of the construction is again working in harmony, with all three cigars exhibiting excellent draws, razor-sharp burn lines and copious amounts of smoke emanating from their feet.

Final Notes

• The fact that each box of Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary contains 12 cigars is a nod to 2012, the year the cigar debuted.
• When viewing the art that is being used for the branding of this release—which is a similar but modified version of the art that is used on the regular release version—it is clear that My Father knows a few things about branding and packaging. The art is quite complex visually, the color scheme is extremely attractive and the combination of a lacquer box and individual coffins for the cigars inside makes it clear it is a high-end product.
• Having said the above, a band similar to what is used on the actual cigars is wrapped around each coffin, meaning that you have to cut both sides of it in order to get the lid off the coffin. Doing it once was not that big of a deal, but doing it four times became annoying very quickly.
• Every aspect of construction was phenomenal for each of the three cigars I smoked for this review. The burn line was virtually razor sharp from beginning to end—one cigar needed a correction in the final third to keep on track, but it was minor—there was plenty of thick, gray smoke and the draws featured just the right amount of resistance after shallow v-cuts. In addition, the ash was almost perfectly formed when each section fell off.

• The box we purchased was numbered 4091/5000.
• Final smoking time averaged two hours and 11 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop all have them for sale on their respective websites.