Fonseca Belicosos

MY FATHER CIGARS, INC.

• Country of Origin: NIcaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S..A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Shade Grown Corojo 99 Rosado)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Belicoso
• MSRP: $10.60 (Box of 20, $212)
• Release Date: August 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Original Score: 91

Going into 2020, one of the things I was excited to see was what My Father would do with the refresh of the Fonseca brand. The García family had acquired the brandfrom Quesada at the end of 2019, meaning that it would be in new hands after 45 years with its previous owner and would be getting an updated look, an updated blend—essentially a completely new chapter in its story.

While the Fonseca brand hasn’t been one to dominate retail humidors, the Dominican-made version had its fans, as does the Cuban-made version, which created a pair of benchmarks that My Father would have to navigate and in theory answer to when it came time to release its version of Fonseca. Not to mention creating a blend that seems at home under the My Father banner. To say that they did a remarkable job with the entire process would be a huge understatement, as they didn’t create a cigar that was like either of those two previous incarnations, but rather its own distinct blend that sought to evoke the character of the Fonseca brand yet still showed the influence of My Father.

To do this, the company crafted a Nicaraguan puro with a corojo 99 rosado wrapper, and it was a blend that offers impressive character, complexity, balance and flavor. The company managed to create a blend that was not only engaging from start to finish, but seemed to stand out as truly distinct from the myriad of cigars on the market, yet without completely abandoning its roots or the hand of its blender. The entire line has proven to be very flavorful and enjoyable, but if you have yet to try the My Father-made Fonseca, the Belicosos is as good a place as any to start. — Patrick Lagreid.