Initial Thoughts
I’m always excited to learn about new cigars that are coming into the market. This My Father Connecticut was introduced back in the summer at the IPCPR show. I haven’t seen it on shelves for a long time, but when I walked into my local store, Stogies, the manager Patrick said I had to try it. So of course I’m going to oblige him and pick it up.
This cigar is supposedly a continuation of the My Father and the Le Bijou line, just with a Connecticut wrapper. This particular cigar has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaragua Habano-Criollo filler, and Nicaraguan Corojo 99 binder. The My Father Connecticut is being released in 4 sizes: a 5 ¼ x 52 robusto, 6 ½ x 54 toro, 6 x 60 toro gordo and 6 x 48 Corona Gorda, with price points between $7.00-$10.00. This cigar was also timed closely to the release of the La Antiquedad which we’ll be reviewing very soon. Both were announced at the IPCPR show, but they started hitting retailers at similar times, at least around Nashville. That’s enough about this cigar it’s time to jump in and see how it actually smoked!
Looks
For this review I smoked the robusto vitola of this My Father Connecticut and it looked excellent. It has a silk/ribbon footer band similar to the Tennessee Waltz, but this band is black unlike the orange on the TW. It makes sense because both of these cigar come from the same factory. In fact My Father has made a lot of use out of these footer ribbon bands. The Flor de Las Antillas has a maroon band as well. So it’s somewhat of a calling card I suppose.
The wrapper is most definitely a Connecticut, you can tell by how thin it looks. The sheen is also noticeable. I’m always a bit leery when it comes to CT wrappers. I’m afraid if I touch them too rough they’ll fall apart on me. I was extra careful with this cigar when in transport. So we’re all good!
The band on this cigar is interesting though. It’s similar to the Le Bijou and the original My Father band, but they’ve added a nice contrasting element by using a 2nd band below to the main one. It’s fairly bold with a copper sheen as the backdrop and a bold CT right in the middle. That has led to some calling it the My Father CT, but I prefer it’s whole name My Father Connecticut.
Function
Rolling the cigar up and down my fingers I couldn’t find any soft spots in the barrel. Again though I’m a little leery of the wrapper. I looked at the foot and it appeared to be a bit smushed. Almost appearing as a box press even though I know it’s not. I’m not sure if this happened at the B&M, in transport or if my other cigars laid on it too long. Not exactly sure, but it is a bit concerning. I’m hoping it smokes fine still.
I made quick work of the cap with my Xikar Xi cutter, man I love that thing it’s the perfect cut for all my cigars personally. Unless it’s a big ring gauge I love this cutter. The pre light draw on this My Father Connecticut is perfect. Lots of air coming through the barrel and giving me a glimpse as to what’s in store for the next hour and a half. I have to say, I’m pretty pumped for it. I put my torch to the foot and off we go. One thing that I’ve noticed about Connecticut wrappers is that they always take to the flame very well. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re so thin, but they seem to have great combustibility and don’t take as much fire to get them going. Anyone else come across this?
Smoking
This My Father Connecticut was smoking perfectly so far. I made it through the first third so fast I forgot to even take a picture. Then when I was trying to snap one real quick the ash fell off between my leg and my cushy La-Z-Boy. So I’m going to guess and say it was around 1″ in length. Not a technical measurement, but we’ll call it good.
The rest of the time the cigar continued to burn very well and held a decent ash. It never grew incredibly long, but it was average length holding around 1/2 – 3/4″. The ash was a bit flaky. I was a bit surprised, but it didn’t seem to affect the smoke at all so I’m fine with it. Now let’s get into the flavor, after all, that’s what we all care about right!
Flavor
Being a Connecticut wrapper I was curious what this would bring. During the pre light I got a big dose of grassy notes and a hint of sweetness on the foot. It felt light and airy, very thin in terms of aromas. It reminds me of a nice light airy Scotch. In fact I’d love to pair this with a Laphroaig and see how they compliment each other.
The first third of this My Father Connecticut brought out a nice bit of grass and hay, it had an underlying mocha spice to it which was interesting. I actually had a spicy mocha latte in Austin one time and it was interesting to drink and when I picked up that flavor in this cigar it instantly made me think of that coffee that I had. Very interesting combination to say the least.
The second third started to develop a bit more spice and brought more of this nutmeg note to it. It was very unique. Not overpowering though, it was nice and well balanced. A bit of spice, and light grass gave it a good dimension.
The final third stayed right in that same vein. Got the grassy note from the wrapper and a bit of that spice and mocha from the Nicaraguan tobacco used in the filler.
This My Father Connecticut never built up to more than a medium bodied smoke. The intensity didn’t build that high either. I’d give it a 3 out of 5 in intensity. Pretty tasty overall though.
Would I Buy It Again?
Easily.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Probably not, although I wouldn’t mind.
Would I Buy a Box?
Definitely.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed this My Father Connecticut. It gave something unique to a Connecticut wrapper. I haven’t picked up on those flavors before from a CT wrapper and I feel like it brought something new to the table. So I was thoroughly impressed by what it had to offer. I would easily smoke this again and again. If you see them on the shelf do yourself a favor and pick one. I think it’s a great smoke from a legendary cigar family.
