Cigar Review: La Antiguedad Robusto

In many ways, Don Pepín García’s latest cigar reflects the inverse of many of the trends driving today’s smokes: no hipster lingo or ironic twist to the name, no urban graphics for the band, a box that’s just, well, a box.

The artwork is Old World. Even the cigar’s name—Spanish for antiquity or old age—harkens to another era.

But La Antiguedad doesn’t dwell totally in the past. This lightly box-pressed new line from My Father Cigars includes a trendy 60-ring gauge Toro Gordo among its five vitolas. And the Robustos smoked for this review—5.25 inches long with a 52 ring gauge—are larger than the more common robusto dimensions.

The Ecuadorian Habano Rosado Oscuro wrapper is lovely, an oily rich brown leaf over a double binder of Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo leaves. The filler is from the García’s Nicaraguan farms in different regions of the country. According to the My Father Cigars website, the filler tobacco undergoes “a very strict and rigorous curing process of no less than three and a half years,” and it shows in the smooth, balanced blend.

What you’ll experience with the first puff should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Don Pepín’s creations: a blast of pepper. But there’s a darker, richer undertone that stands out as the pepper quickly backs off. The overall strength moves down a notch or two through the first half as well.

A full tobacco sweetness, along with dark fruit and cocoa, braid through the cigar almost from the start, changing depth along the way.

Construction is what you’d expect from My Father Cigars: first-rate. Draw, burn, and smoke production were excellent in each of the examples I tried. The single stick price is a little under $8 and they’re 20 to a box.

This is a fine cigar, one that an experienced smoker is likely to appreciate and enjoy. I rate it four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Corona Cigar