Vitola: Toro Fino- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $11.70
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
At IPCPR in 2016, My Father Cigars introduced a new line called simply “The Judge.” They originally released it in two large formats, 5” x 60 and 6” x 56, to go along with the theme that the cigar should be “imposing” in size. Not being a fan of larger ring gauge cigars, I decided to pass…and the shop I work at did as well, so I never actually saw one “in the wild” until we did finally order the new blend…in a new and somewhat reasonable vitola: Toro Fino.
This new size started shipping just barely before we ordered it and brings what really is a standard size Toro to the party, though in a box-pressed format. It is made in My Father’s Nicaraguan factory using Nicaragua fillers from three farms the Garcia family owns (La Bonita Two, El Pedrero and San Rafael), Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo binders, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf.
As noted before I haven’t had either of the two earlier released vitolas; this is my first time with this blend whatsoever. I purchased the cigar at Burns Tobacconist, where I work full-time.
Prelight
What is typical of My Father branded cigars is that they are all very handsome in appearance. The box for The Judge is ornate and original in the line-up, featuring an old-style Victorian-era judge smoking a cigar. The cigar itself uses the regular My Father primary band, along with a secondary band that identifies the blend more readily. It’s all finished off with a pale gold ribbon on the foot.
The wrapper of the cigar was a milk chocolate brown coloration with a bit of darker mottling. At first I wanted to say it was pretty dark for a Sumatra leaf, but then I remembered the La Flor Dominican Ligero Cabinet series which tends to be even darker. Suffice to say, it is a dark Sumatra leaf, but there are darker ones out there. It had a smooth, semi-oily feel to it and an aroma that really was nothing but well-aged tobacco. The foot of the cigar had a richer earthiness to the nose, along with a bit of something sweet in the mix.
The cold draw was very easy and featured a mix of sweet, natural tobacco, cocoa powder, and earth notes, with just a touch of cedar.
Flavor
Lighting up was easy, even with a single-flame torch. Immediate notes I got were cedar, strong earth, espresso bean, and red pepper. Behind that I got a faint mineral note that I find fairly frequently in Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf. Here the blend covered most of it and allowed it to be just an accenting note, which was just fine with me. The cigar started out fairly full-bodied, which is in keeping with the theme the company wanted, so I didn’t object. After a few minutes, I started to get some citrusy snap in the profile, as well.
During the second third, I noted that the flavor profile had gotten a little less complex, leaving a straight-up semi-sweet chocolate up front, with plenty of red pepper and mineral notes backing it up.
The last third was characterized more by earthy notes with a strong espresso bean backup. There was some unsweetened cocoa in the mix, too, and the pepper spice was ever-present, even if it had faded a touch.
Construction
The build quality was as good as you would expect from My Father: great draw, very even burn line and solid ash up to almost an inch.
Value
The My Father-branded cigars always tend to be a little higher priced, but they also bump up the richness of the overall experience. That’s definitely the case here and it’s a price worth paying.
Conclusions
Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this Judge is definitely a good one. The cigar delivered a consistent full body with tons of great flavors, balanced just right to avoid any mineral overload from the Sumatra wrapper, but also to not stay in any one place flavor-wise so long as to be boring. Great stick and well worth the price.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
