Not the "My Father Blue 2.0"

Cigar Reviewed: My Father La Lealtad

This cigar took its time revealing itself. The initial impression was light wood, which gradually shifted toward paper and fine dust. As it warmed, I began picking up a waxy, oily aroma reminiscent of hard, unscented candle wax being warmed, with hints of the heated wick or wicker beneath it.

The palate was particularly distinctive, developing a pronounced dry, papery/cardboard sensation toward the back of the palate. I also picked up a fleeting raisin-box note on the retrohale, although it disappeared almost immediately.

The cigar was difficult to categorize, but eventually I connected all of those elements—paper, cardboard, dust, wood, wax, and adhesive—to the experience of opening an old photo album. Not the smell of the album itself, but that brief moment when you crack open the spine and the materials that have been closed together for years suddenly release their aroma. Normally that moment lasts only a second or two; this cigar seemed to put it on pause.

I've heard this cigar referred to as a "My Father Blue 2.0" or even the "Red." I understand the comparison because both occupy some of the same paper/book-adjacent territory, but I don't think this cigar is simply a second version of the Blue. The Blue took me to an old book; La Lealtad took me to the moment of opening an old photo album. Same general neighborhood, completely different personality.

Smoke time: A little over 1 hour.