Flor de las Antillas DeSocio

After My Father Cigars introduced the Flor de las Antillas in four regular production sizes in 2012, there was a flurry of special release sizes over the next couple of years.

One of those releases was the DeSocio made for Alliance Cigars, released towards the end of 2013. Here’s what I originally had to say about it in September 2013:

The Flor de las Antillas line hasn’t been one that I’ve smoked a lot of, not because it isn’t a good cigar, but it just isn’t a cigar that catches my interest and holds it. The DeSocio isn’t much different from the rest brand. It has an enjoyable profile, though the flavors wax and wane multiple times throughout the cigar and doesn’t necessarily develop much. As I said however, the flavors that the DeSocio does produce are quite enjoyable and the construction of the cigar is as high a quality as we’ve come to expect from My Father Cigars. While it might not be a legendary cigar in my book, it’s definitely a cigar worth putting on your radar to try out for yourself.

After resting in my humidor for almost a year and a half, I thought it was a good time to revisit the DeSocio and see how it had developed.

• Cigar Reviewed: Flor de las Antillas DeSocio
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $8.60 (Box of 20, $172)
• Date Released: July 12, 2013
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Redux: 1

The DeSocio looks much as I remember it, with a medium brown marbled wrapper that is elegantly applied and adorned with the standard and pleasant looking Flor de Las Antillas band. The aroma off the wrapper has only changed slightly, with the barnyard note still out front, though this time it seems much more rich and heavy on the fresh cut hay. On the other hand the cold draw has mellowed out significantly, with hardly any pepper, only the faintest touch of cocoa and lots of heavy cinnamon and leather.

The first third starts off with the pepper and spices completely gone and just a touch of the cinnamon, leather and cedar left. It seems to have lost a lot of flavor over time as opposed to getting more delicate and nuanced. Surprisingly after a half an inch the profile seemingly explodes with depth. Cinnamon, leather and cedar lead, but not far behind is a creamy sweetness alongside some chocolate and nutmeg. As I move into the second third the profile is struggling a bit as the burn is definitely affecting it, mainly with a somewhat bitter note appearing. It isn’t strong, and the flavorful profile from before is still pushing through, but it’s definitely brought the cigar down a notch. Unfortunately, the final third continues to devolve slightly, with the profile losing much of it’s depth and returning to a more simple profile of cinnamon and leather. The bitterness has also returned somewhat, putting a damper on the remaining notes.

The draw isn’t as loose as I remember, placing it more comfortably in the ideal range. Thought the burn line starts off even, it quickly gets ragged enough that I need to touch it up. The ash still holds on to around an inch, at which point I opt to roll it off in my ashtray instead of having it fall in my lap. Not even a half inch later I’m already doing another touch up, so the burn line is less than ideal. The second third is plagued with more touch ups, seemingly unable to stay burning evenly at all, which is a far cry from what it originally was. The final third doesn’t see much change, needing more touch ups and having an overall difficult time burning correctly or even at all.

Brian Burt

I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.