My Father Cigars has announced some early details of their 10th anniversary celebration this year, as the El Centurion marca is slated to return to store shelves in 2013.

Janny Garcia and Jose Ortega of My Father Cigars announced the return of El Centurion on the January 5th, 2013 episode of Kiss My Ash Radio. The new was followed up with a post on Cigar-Coop.com and a tweet from Jeremy Soares, the NE Area Sales Manager for My Father Cigars that proclaimed:

During the interview, Ortega said that the cigar would move from a limited release to regular production, though specifics on release date and price were not mentioned.

The return of El Centurion is the second piece of news that My Father Cigars has announced for 2013, with news of the DPG-Limited Edition coming out in December via Cigar AficionadoSlated for release in May 2013, the cigar will use a 2009 Ecuadorian wrapper grown from Habano seeds on top of Nicaraguan tobacco from 2007 and 2008. Production will be limited to 2,000 14-count boxes, for a total run of 28,000 sticks. It will be available in only a 6 1/2 x 52 Toro vitola.

El Centurion was originally released in 2007 at the RTDA convention and trade show in three sizes with a production of 850 20-count boxes of each size, a quantity that was sold out before noon on the first day of the show. Those three sizes were:

  • Guerreros – 5 x 50
  • Gladiadores – 6 1/2 x 52
  • Emperadores – 5 1/2 x 52

El Centurion later returned in a sampler called the Lanceros Collection by Don Pepín Garcia, which was released in December of 2007. Each sampler contained two El Centurion Lanceros, a 6 7/8 x 42 vitola which have been reviewed on halfwheel here and reduxed here. Production on the sampler was said to be at 2,000 boxes, meaning 4,000 El Centurion Lanceros were produced.

The El Centurion blend is comprised of a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler comprised of Nicaraguan Corojo 99 & Nicaraguan Criollo 98.

The history of El Centurion goes back to Pepín’s early days in the United States and El Rey de los Habanos. The cigar was created by Pepín for himself, with a comparison to the aromatics of old Cuban Cohibas. Production was handled at Tabacalera Cubanas S.A. in Nicaragua, where Garcia’s early cigars were produced and which was recently announced as the factory handling production for some of L’Atelier Imports’ cigars. The brand’s name was owned by Eduardo Fernandez of AGANORSA, Tabacalera Tropical and Casa Fernandez, who entered into a legal dispute with Garcia in August of 2010 over El Rey de los Habanos, Tabacalera Cubana and several other ownership issues. That issue was resolved in September 2011, and as part of the settlement, the company, the factory and the El Centurion brand were all fully acquired by Garcia.

In early 2011, during the period between filing and settlement, word of new event cigars that bore a striking resemblance to El Centurion were beginning to circulate at My Father Cigars events. That new cigar was the My Father S Special, which was reviewed on halfwheel here and reduxed here. The blend was different and there were differences in the flavors of the two, but the physical resemblance was certain, including sharing a 5 x 50 vitola.

Garcia and Pete Johnson of Tatuaje announced in October that they will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of El Rey de los Habanos and Tatuaje in Miami on May 4th.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.