November 6th, 2011 – Woodway, WA
In attendance were Fernand, Joe, John L., Patrick (in AZ), Mark, John H., and Chris. As usual, we gathered to enjoy a recently recommended cigar and give our opinion on it by holding a 'group-tasting' following dinner.
It’s always a treat to sit down to an expertly-cooked meal prepared by club co-founder John. This knock-out meal was no exception. John attends to every detail with care and precision along the way. He served up sirloin tip roast with both blue cheese and horse radish sauces, joined by a wonderful rice dish and his wife’s favorite salad.
Our selection for this herf was the My Father Cedros Deluxe Cervantes. This beautiful Lonsdale is the creation of Jaime Garcia, son of the great Don Pepin Garcia. As the name suggests, the effective difference here from the regular My Father line, is the cedar sheath around the hybrid Ecuadorian Habano Rosado/Criollo wrapper. The current Cigar Aficionado rating for it is 91 (Apr, 2011).
Following CA's 4-part rating system (Appearance & Construction, Flavor, Smoking Characteristics, and Overall Impression) our six tasters gathered out in John’s garage for the business part of this herf; along with @PHXCigarGuy doing his part in AZ.
What a good looking presentation this is; from the attractive My Father band, to the cedar shroud, to the expertly-applied triple cap. Removal of the cedar wrapping revealed a beautiful wrapper leaf. Two of our seven samples had some pretty large veins showing on the wrappers, but as club member Chris stated, "Great construction! Perfect in every way." The cold draw was free enough and some of us got a bit of spice from it prior to lighting, while others did not.
Before we get to flavor, it’s worth noting that these were some of the best burning cigars that we’d seen in some time, despite a couple of them needing relights. No one complained about the draw either. This is a clear statement to us about the quality of manufacturing at the My Father tabacalera in Estelí. Some of the sticks displayed some pretty long ashes too.
This cigar’s flavor started out with the expected amount of pepper before moving on to wood. It was smooth through the middle portion before ramping up to a stronger ending. There didn’t seem to be significant flavor variations for us, but consistent is not always bad if it’s good flavors your talking about.
After throwing out the highest and lowest scores (Mark’s 84 and John’s 94) then averaging the remaining results, The Cohiba Club's official rating for the My Father Cedros Deluxe Cervantes is 89. An excellent cigar.
Here's the points breakdown:
I. Appearance & Construction: 14 pts (93% of the points possible)
II. Flavor: 22pts (88% of the points possible)
III. Smoking Characteristics: 21 pts (84% of the points possible)
IV. Overall Impression: 32 pts (91% of the points possible)
This was a very well-like cigar by our group. It garnered much praise during the course of the evening. There may have been a couple hiccups along the way, but nothing that should deter you from trying this fine cigar if you haven’t already.
We’ll see you at the next herf, December 6th. It will be our 50th! We’re really looking forward to this very special celebration.
© 2011 The Cohiba Club – All rights reserved
