According to a press release, “To commemorate the 20th anniversary of their working relationship, both My Father Cigars and Tatuaje have created a limited-edition project named La Union. “La Union” (The Union), a trademark owned by My Father Cigars, consists of two different exquisitely crafted boxes, one in black and the other in red. The logo for “La Union” features an artistic rendering of Pete shaking Jaime’s hand with Pepin blessing the union which represents the bond and commitment to family and hard work that the Garcias and Pete have had since the first cigar was rolled in 2003. Each limited-edition box will come with forty cigars, twenty of the cigars are blended by My Father for Tatuaje, the other twenty cigars are blended by Tatuaje for My Father. All cigars were blended and produced at My Father Cigar S.A in Esteli, Nicaragua.”
We managed to pick up La Union for My Father at our local cigar shop, Twins Smoke Shop in New Hampshire at their Londonderry location where the black box is featured front and center in their humidor. The 40 cigars sit in two sections of 20. Twenty are blended by Pete Johnson for My Father and twenty are blended by the Garcia family for Tatuaje Cigars.
Cigar Review: La Union for Tatuaje (Black Box)
Size: 7.25 x 50 (Churchill)
Wrappers: Ecuador Habano
Binders: Nicaragua
Fillers: Nicaragua (including Pelo de Oro)
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Release Date: February 2024
Box Count: 40 Cigars
The Cigar: The primary band of La Union features the My Father logo on top and the Pete Johnson logo on the bottom with La Union in the middle. It features gold accents with pink giving way to white, giving way to black. A secondary band denotes para My Father which identifies this cigar was blended by Pete Johnson for My Father. The cigar features a 109 style cap which is slightly tapered and closed foot. There is a pink foot band which features a handshake and the words La Union. On the side of the band there is reference of 5-20-2003 which is the date El Rey de los Habanos was established which was the precursor for My Father. A secondary date denotes 10-22-2003 which is the first invoice from El Rey de los Habanos to Tatuaje.
The Taste: The cold draw serves up a tough draw due to the closed foot which is to be expected. There are notes of earth and a subtle cocoa and while both are minimal at best, the aroma from the wrapper and the foot are very similar to the cold draw.
Thankfully once we light the cigar the draw opens up. Like many My Father cigars this one starts with an abundance of pepper that is intensified on the olfactory senses. A few puffs in the pepper pulls back to reveal notes of cashews, earth and a touch tangerines. The cigar reminds me of the early days of My Father before they were known to the masses. The retrohale has a bit of creaminess on the backend while the frontend is loaded with pepper.
The second third of this slow smoking La Union serves up notes of nutmeg, cream, cedar and vanilla. While the first third reminded me of the early days of Don Pepin Garcia this third definitely has the Pete Johnson blending nuances that makes the cigar more reminiscent of Tatuaje. There is a subtle pepper but at the halfway point a touch of cocoa begins to develop alongside the nutmeg component that is reminiscent of the Tatuaje Red. The retrohale has notes of butter and toasted almonds with a bit of black pepper on the finish that makes me my eyes water.
The final third of La Union is incredibly smooth with notes of cedar, nutmeg, cedar and a slight hint of vanilla. The retrohale serves up a lot of pepper with a subtle creaminess. As we enter the final inch the cigar develops a bunch of leather while it remains balanced with an enjoyable profile and finish.
Conclusion: I’ll be the first person to admit I am a slow smoker. The cigar I smoked for this review lasted me just shy of 3 hours with ZERO relights. The 3 hours definite made the $60 easier to swallow. It’s a wonderfully smooth cigar that has me torn. While I enjoyed the La Union para My Father there were times that the cigar came off more like an $8 cigars versus the ultra-premium price tag. I guess that has to play into our score and for those keeping score at home we deducted an arbitrary three points. If you feel it shouldn’t play into our score feel free to add them back.
Score: 89
Price: $60.00 (Before any local or state taxes)
