Flor de las Antillas DeSocio

In 2012 My Father Cigars launched a new line to much fanfare called Flor de las Antillas. Over the years there have been numerous line extensions, store exclusives and in 2016, a regular production maduro blend was released as well. One of those early exclusives was made for Alliance Cigar, the Flor de las Antillas DeSocio. Alliance president Tom Sullivan chose the name as it was his maternal grandfather’s last name.

Here’s what I had to say in the original review from 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.

In early 2015 I decided to revisit the DeSocio, and it seemed that it was going through either a sick period or I got a bad sample. Here’s what I said about the first redux:

Not being overly impressed with the profile the first time, I had hopes that the first third was a story of things to come and that the cigar had aged and developed into something great. Unfortunately, between burn issues and the profile losing much of its enjoyability by the halfway mark, it seems that the cigar is still just okay in my opinion. As I previously stated, it’s not a bad cigar and worth checking out yourself, but it isn’t something that I’ll be going out of my way to buy more of.

Since I still had one sample left and it’s been almost three years since my last redux of it, I thought this was as good a time as any to see how it had changed.

• 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
• Length: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $8.60 (Box of 20, $172)
• Release Date: July 12, 2013
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Taking the DeSocio out of a darkened and browned cellophane, I was still greeted with a pleasant feeling, smooth and oily wrapper. When squeezed it was firm, but it still had a touch of give to it. While the aroma coming from the wrapper was light before, it’s now significantly diminished, with only the slightest hints of barnyard notes still there. The cold draw is much the same, with only a little milk chocolate, light cinnamon and hints of leather.

It begins with a mild, but specific profile consisting of a prominent leather note up front, along with some old wood, hints of pepper and a fairly mellow spice. While it’s nothing like a vintage cigar from decades ago, there are still hints of what I would describe as a generic old tobacco note. Moving into the second third the profile stays much the same, with leather and aged wood taking the lead, while hints of pepper, spice and tobacco round out the background. Thankfully the DeSocio is missing the bitter harshness that appeared in this section during the last redux, but unfortunately so are many of the specific notes that gave the profile depth. The final third surprises me with some cinnamon joining the pepper, spice and old tobacco in the background. Leather and old wood still lead the mild profile, however, and while it’s not a complex flavor bomb, it’s a nice mellow profile that persists to the end.

The burn line is almost perfect in the first third, with only a slight bit of a wave to it as I settle into a slow rhythm. Ash is dense and holds well to the inch mark, though it does easily come off when I roll it off in the ashtray. Though the draw is a bit toward the open end of things, it’s still within acceptable limits and produces plenty of smoke with each draw. The second third does see the burn line get a little off, but nothing that even requires a touch-up. Moving into the final third a slight touch-up is needed for one section that lagged behind, but other than that it stayed even to the end.

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.