Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary Staff Review
I’m smoking an all-new and very rare limited-edition Nicaraguan cigar, Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary. Spoiler alert: order one before you’re done reading today’s review. Only 5,000 total boxes of 12 cigars were produced, and they won’t last long. Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary is available in a single size, a round 6.5-by-52 Toro.
Those familiar with the original Flor de las Antillas line know the critics in Cigar Aficionado ranked it as their ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ when it debuted back in 2012. The cigar, blended from a Sun Grown Nicaraguan wrapper and a well-aged interior of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers, remains a major milestone in the award-winning My Father portfolio. Its versatile taste, consistency, and affordable price made it an immediate bestseller. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of this iconic Nicaraguan handmade, renowned father-and-son cigar-makers Pepin and Jaime Garcia have blended a small-batch masterpiece from similar, but stronger and rarer, tobaccos.
Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary is a high-end edition. A stunning cranberry-and-cream-colored box conceals 12 gorgeous cigars laid in individual cedar coffins. Each coffin is sealed with a sticker identical to the band on the cigar, and when you slice through it and slide the lid open, ornate details distinguish the Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary from the original. An enhanced Flor de las Antillas cigar band reads “10th Anniversary” across the bottom, while a shiny garnet ribbon covers the foot with “10th 2022” in gold type.
In addition to the cigar’s elaborate presentation, the Nicaraguan wrapper is noticeably darker and oilier than the original, and this Toro is round as opposed to the box-pressed shape of the classic blend. All the tobaccos in the blend are grown on the Garcia family’s Nicaraguan estates. When I slide the 10th Anniversary from its cellophane, the cigar gleams with distinction. Its shimmering reddish-brown wrapper meticulously cradles the interior tobaccos, while cold aromas of leather and fresh tobacco permeate the nose.
If I had to choose a single descriptor for Flor de las Antillas, it would be “refined.” Every detail from its density and its weight to the intricate initial taste it imparts is deliberate. Pepin left no stone unturned in curating the tobaccos for the 10th Anniversary. And the construction is impeccable from the first draw. An epicurean profile of saddle leather and spice blesses the palate subtly but with a good amount of backbone as I finish igniting the foot with my soft-flame lighter.
Flor de las Antillas 10th Annviersary is full of nuances you only taste in tobaccos that have gone through a long fermentation – a hallmark of the Garcias’ cigar-making process. They readily emphasize the importance of aging their tobaccos to achieve the perfect ratio of flavor and strength. Hints of cinnamon mingle with a luscious foundation of black pepper, coffee bean, and cedar throughout the first half. The 10th Anniversary is bold but in no way abrasive.
A pristine white ash envelops at the foot and tapping if off is a choice more than a necessity due to the cigar’s exceptional structure. Notes of leather, nougat, and spice enliven the taste buds with deep and creamy texture. Traces of sweetened black tea and cayenne pepper surface before a long and slow crescendo veils the palate. By the time the band is off and I’m relishing the nub, big, silky aromas hang in the room, seducing me to make the cigar last as long as possible before it completely expires.
Flor de las Antillas translates to “flower of the Antilles,” a reference to Cuba, the Garcias’ native country, and it seems fitting they’ve achieved so much recognition with this cigar. Family patriarch Pepin Garcia was born into tobacco in Cuba, spending decades there becoming one of the island’s great cigar-makers before starting over in the States and eventually reimaging himself and his cigars in Nicaragua with much success. Savor a Flor de las Antillas 10th Anniversary without hesitation and taste the passion and pride the Garcias’ have placed in one of their finest cigars to date.
