Initial Thoughts
Some of you may notice the name El Centurion as a previously released cigar from the My Father Cigar clan. They originally released this back in 2007. It was a limited release smoke that only came out in 2,550 boxes. So not too many cigars were released back then. However, this cigar has a new blend, and new look to go along with it. It’s being released as part of a 10 year anniversary to celebrate Jose “Pepin” Garcia. Other than that, there’s not much that I know about this stick. I didn’t get to experience it the first time around back in 2007, but apparently everyone that did is really excited that it’s back. So let’s hop to it and see what all the excitement is about.
Looks
The first thing I notice about this El Centurion is the band. It’s big, bold, and reddish-orange. It has a giant C in the middle like it’s being labeled the captain of the team. El Capitan might have been a good name for this cigar as well, or maybe not, what do I know. There are quite a few colors going on in the band. Lots of gold trimming and swirls. The center is focused with a nice orange-red gradient behind that C. Above that you see the entire name ‘El Centurion’. On the tabs of the band you different gold medallions that are too small to determine what they actually are, and on one side the name My Father Cigars is printed. It’s a beautiful band, but it’s a little large, but hey it made me pick it up and buy it didn’t it?
The wrapper on this cigar is absolutely beautiful! It has a ton of tooth on it and it almost has a nice velvety feel to it. Which makes it easy to hold. It’s a robusto (5″x50) so it’s not a huge size, which I’m thankful for. The wrapper is a nice dark brown, just a few shades away from being a maduro. There are a couple of long veins that run the course of the wrapper, so we’ll see if those cause any burn issues along the way.
Function
The triple cap on the head of this El Centurion is very noticeable. There are three very distinct lines around the cap that swirl up towards the final cap placement. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a cap with such defined lines before. I performed the pinch test up and down the barrel and there was plenty of bounce back which I was excited about. I love when a cigar has a nice amount of sponginess to it because I know it is probably packed perfectly and I shouldn’t have any draw issues. I’ve typically found that I have draw issues when the cigar is packed so tight that you can barely pinch it. Now that’s not always the case, but for me it’s more often than not.
I went ahead and cut off that beautiful triple cap on the head because I wanted to test the dry draw. I took a few puffs to see how easily the air was flowing through the barrel. It was flowing too well because all of a sudden a gust of air hit the back of my throat and made me start coughing. I wasn’t exactly ready for it and it took me by surprise. Just as I suspected this cigar had a great draw, maybe a little too great, but hey I’ll take that over a stiff draw any day of the week! Let’s light it up and get to smoking this thing!
Smoking
Now that all the pre-game festivities are over it’s time to dive into the real meat of this cigar. I jumped right in and began toasting the foot of the cigar. I got it nice and black before I put it to my mouth to begin puffing on it. Needless to say, this cigar took off quickly. With the easy draw I was able to pull the flame right in without any issues and we were off to the races.
This El Centurion just came out of the gate ready to burn. The burn line was perfectly straight all the way around forming a nice little lip curl at the end and leaving behind it a beautiful ash. The longest I was able to hold the ash was a little over an inch. I began knocking the ash more often because got mad because there was too many dropped ashes on the front porch and she had to sweep them all off. Yeah, that’s my bad, so I made sure they all made it into my actual ash tray this time.
The first third smoked perfectly, great draw, tons of smoke production and the burn was incredible. My favorite part is looking at all the tooth left behind on the ash though. There’s something really intriguing about that to me. I love that the ash held together so well. It never wavered it was standing very stoic on the end. Never flaring or flaking it held on tight until I gently tapped it into the tray. I couldn’t be more pleased with how this cigar smoked.
The second and final thirds were exactly the same. It smoked how a cigar should smoke, to where you don’t even have to pay attention to it because it’s burning perfectly. You can sit and enjoy the cigar without having to struggle to enjoy it. Now that we know it smoked great, let’s talk about some flavors!
Flavor
Being that this El Centurion is a Nicaraguan puro, and it’s made by the Garcia family. I have a feeling before I even light it that there is going to be some spice. So I’m prepping myself for that. I began nosing the foot and instantly I picked up on some spice, some form of pepper because I began sneezing. I was thinking to myself what a beautiful… wait, sorry got carried away there. I was thinking to myself this thing is going to be full of spice if I’m already sneezing. After I pulled it back together I was able to pick up hints of earth and cocoa on the wrapper. There is a nice sweet tobacco hint lingering around as well.
The first third of the cigar was very interesting, the tooth on the wrapper acted like a textured grip that kept the cigar in my mouth. It was very interesting and hard to describe, but the bumps were very pleasurable and gave it a texture that you don’t often experience with a cigar. Most of the flavor I picked up during the initial third was spice. There was a good dose of it on the retrohale. I was able to follow that with some hints of roasted nuts.
On my way through the second third, this El Centurion began picking up steam. The spice began to grow in intensity and it was followed by a nice meaty / savory note. There were hints of wood and earth as well to round it all out. The final third brought more of the same, with some lowered intensity it began to slowly fade out. Never becoming a full bodied cigar this hung right around the medium-full range. I had a feeling there would be a lot of spice and I was correct. I was enjoying it, after I got over the initial blast. I was a little let down in the overall complexity of this cigar. I feel like it was quite straight forward and didn’t offer a lot in terms of depth of flavors. There were incredible flavors, just not as many of them as I would have suspected.
Would I Buy It Again?
Without a doubt. Especially at this price point, it’s one of the cheaper My Father Cigars.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Potentially, you might get overwhelmed and burn out your senses with all this spice, but it could be an everyday smoke.
Would I Buy a Box?
It’s a possibility, great price point, great smoke, definitely box worthy.
Conclusion
Overall I was very impressed by the El Centurion. It was a great smoke, flawless construction and great flavors. I knew it was going to have a nice dose of pepper before I even smoked it, and guess what, it did. I would smoke this over and over especially at that price point. Even though I do love some of their other lines I think this might be my new go to from the Garcia family.
