In honor of Father’s Day, Cigars International commissioned the García family to create a special version of its flagship My Father blend, a My Father Corona. After a bit of anticipation, the cigars finally made it through the shipping department at CI and have been on sale for a bit over a week. For those unfamiliar with the My Father blend, here’s how I described it when reviewing the Lancero last year:

It’s been told like this: Jaime (García) was working on a cigar by himself, his dad found out, Pepín tried a few, liked them, Jaime decided to name the cigar “My Father” and they were released. There are now seven My Father vitolas: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, Cedros Cervantes and Cedros Eminentes. Three other releases (My Father 1922 Le Bijou, My Father Limited Edition 2010My Father Limited Edition 2011) carry the same band, yet they are all different blends. There’s also the Baseball Bats and Cuban Pipes, but I’m unsure as to what blend they are based on.

The Corona is the eighth My Father blend, and the only one of the My Father proper that is limited. We broke the details back in April.

My Father Corona Box 1

My Father Corona Box 2

My Father Corona Box 3

My Father Corona 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: My Father Corona
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 42
  • Vitola: Corona
  • MSRP: $7.00 (Boxes of 10, $59.95)
  • Date Released: June 9, 2012
  • Number of Cigars Released: 2,000 Boxes of 12 Cigars (24,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I’ve been around this block a few times before, the Ecuadorian wrapper has the great darker hue — a great solid chocolate. Veins are mild, roll is consistent and the triple caps are obviously present. Aroma off the My Father Corona is aged leather, a bit sour, but right around the medium-full range. From the foot, it’s the sweet cocoa and cedar-infused pepper mixture that is a signature. It has the sweet brownie cocoa I often find in a lot of Raíces Cubanas-produced cigars, but the My Father line has a much different pepper. Cold draw is similar, a bit more cocoa, a bit sweeter, some fruits and wine and very smooth at the medium-full to full range.

The first third begins with a great bouquet of aromas, including some great herbal notes, not really something I remember about most the My Fathers I’ve had. Flavor-wise, it begins with toastiness, cedar and pepper with the cedar lengthening itself out before a fruity note comes in at the finish. It’s medium-full and fairly complex. Smoke production increases as the first third progresses, which is good, because the My Father Corona starts on the light end. Like-wise, the flavor increases eventually settling with cedar, nuts, earthiness and black pepper. Notably absent: cocoa. My Father Corona 2 Into the second third and I’m beginning to wish the cigar would cool down just a tad. It’s only warm, but it seems there’s nothing I can do to get it to cool down. The cocoa returns to the My Father Corona along with added herbs, both of which join the first third flavors. Smoke production is now something to admire, while the draw remains right in the dead-center category. Ash continues to hold for about an inch, I can’t seem to make it last any longer, but it’s straight as can be. My Father Corona 3 The final third presents a flavor profile that is continuing to develop; there’s a noticeable shift with the fruitiness adding itself and the toastiness increases, while a slight change to the cedar and cocoa both take place. Strength, which started in the medium-plus range is now at the top of the medium-full range, perhaps a bit artificially inflated by the extremely full-bodied nature, but the My Father Corona has a noticeable edge to it. Due to the temperature of the smoke, anything below an inch is probably not worth it, you can read below why I had to stop early on this particular example. My Father Corona 4Final Notes

  • The boxes of the My Father Corona don’t have a box date, which is somewhat disappointing given My Father is known for being one of the better companies when it comes to box dating.
  • I’ve removed bands off four of these (I smoked three, tested an additional one) — the glue was flowing a bit liberally. On the one I used to photograph, sliding the band off absolutely destroyed the cigar and opened up the cigar to the point where it was barely smokeable. Only once was I able to remove the band without zero damage, on the other two that I just tore off the band, as opposed to sliding, a bit of the wrapper came off. Here’s what happened when I tried sliding the band off: My Father Corona Wrapper Split
  • The temperature of the cigar was warm, but before anyone starts the lecturing about small RGs, the My Father No.4 doesn’t get hot, and that’s a 38.
  • I’m not sure this will be a cigar that will make you want to try the rest of the My Father line, it probably will make you just want to buy another box of the Coronas.
  • As is mentioned above, the My Father Corona is available through Meier and Dutch, meaning you might see these in your local shop if they carry a lot of the products that CI/Cigar.com tend to have exclusively. However, asking your My Father rep is probably going to be a futile task.
  • The My Father Corona is full-bodied, full-flavored and medium-plus to medium-full in flavor. It’s a heavy and well-developed rendition of the blend.
  • As is often the case, the cigars come in cellophane, which was removed for photographic purposes.
  • These were sent to halfwheel by Cigar.com.
  • I’m noted for being a slow smoker, getting this beyond 45 minutes is going to be a real struggle for 99% of the population. Final smoking time for me was 40 minutes.
  • As is mentioned above, your local retailer might get them, but as of now, the only retailer I know that has them is CI and Cigar.com.
91 Overall Score

The My Father line is not known to be a monster seller. It's gotten the ratings, the blend is solid, the salesforce is good, but the price seems too high for most consumers. Smoke people might scoff at the idea of a six dollar Corona, that is also a half inch shorter than the traditional name suggests, but the Robusto starts at around $10.00 and is only a tad bit longer and a 52 as opposed to a 42. The reality is I don't think most consumers would have any trouble paying $60 a box for these, even if they are only going to last around 40 minutes. Why? Because not only is the price point a lot easier, but because the Corona is probably the best representation of the blend. For me, I still prefer the No.4, it's a benchmark Lancero for me, however, the cigar isn't really a true representation of the My Father blend, as it really is quite different from the No. 1, 2, 3 and 5. The Corona? It's like its older and larger siblings, just a bit fuller and a lot cheaper.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.