My Father Fonseca MX Staff Review
I’m smoking the new Fonseca MX from My Father Cigars in a 6.25-by-52 Cedros today. This dark and oily smoke is the second Fonseca cigar blended and produced by father-and-son cigarmakers Pepin and Jaime Garcia since they acquired the brand a few years ago. Originally, Fonseca was a Cuban brand, but a Dominican-made version was distributed in the U.S. by cigarmaker Manolo Quesada before the Garcias purchased it from him. They wanted to introduce stronger and more complex Fonseca cigars in honor of the brand’s Cuban heritage, and I’m psyched to smoke their latest work.
The first My Father Fonseca cigar was blended with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper and earned a 93-point rating and a ‘Top 25’ ranking in 2020 from the critics in Cigar Aficionado. Fonseca MX is noticeably darker with its San Andrés wrapper. Underneath, a robust recipe of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers, grown by the Garcias, completes the blend. MX is a reference to Mexico, where the cigar’s wrapper is grown in the San Andrés Valley in the state of Veracruz. These typically heartier wrappers impart a lot of rich flavors ranging from earthy and sweet to spicy and intense.
The Cedros size is technically a Toro, but, as the name indicates, the cigars are wrapped in individual cedar sleeves, which makes them look even more impressive with their red and green cigar bands and a green ribbon on their feet. Cedar sleeves influence the taste of the cigars as they age by enclosing their natural oils and aromas under a thin wooden layer that reacts well with moisture. After slipping the cedar off, the cigar’s rustic wrapper gives off intense aromas of wood, pepper, dark chocolate, and espresso.
The cold draw is very earthy with hints of crushed red pepper and a faint sweetness that comes through after I clip the cap and take a few puffs before lighting up. Following a slow and thorough toasting of the cigar’s foot, My Father Fonseca MX brews up a bold profile of fresh black coffee, charred cedar, and oak while bracing spices follow an intense aroma through my nasal cavity as the tobaccos come to life. Hints of salt bring a touch of bitterness to the back end of each draw in the first third.
The middle of Fonseca MX offers steady tasting notes of toasted nuts and charred wood while the retrohale remains quite peppery with an underlying bouquet of dark-roast coffee bean. Fonseca MX is another great cigar to enjoy while you’re barbecuing because its charry taste offers ideal flavor to follow a satisfying meal of grilled meat. I’ve only tapped the ash off a few times as the Cedros is a meticulously crafted smoke from head to foot, and the draw couldn’t be better balanced.
After stripping the bands off and zeroing in on the nub, a smoky surge of campfire wood and fresh tobacco engulfs my palate with the same supporting spices the cigar began with. The finish is long and savory and worthy of 91 points in my book. The Fonseca cigars made by My Father in Estelí, Nicaragua, provide little resemblance to their Dominican predecessors. There are dozens of other creamy, mild cigars to consider if you’re fond of the old Fonseca profile.
Fonseca MX from My Father, on the other hand, shows off a beefy, Cubanesque profile that layers the taste buds with loads of flavor while dense but smooth aroma accompanies the finish. Add this phenomenal Nicaraguan premium to your rotation sooner than later and see how it stacks up against other great San Andrés cigars.
