Popular Post JohnS Posted January 25 Popular Post Posted January 25 An article from Cigar Aficionado showing how the Cigar of the Year, My Father The Judge Grand Robusto is made... Journey Of The Judge A visit to My Father Cigars in Nicaragua to show you how the Cigar of the Year is made Jan 24, 2025 - By Gregory Mottola A little more than one month ago, Cigar Aficionado named My Father The Judge Grand Robusto the Cigar of the Year, with a score of 98 points. Just this week, during the Puro Sabor Cigar Festival in Nicaragua, we visited the factory in Estelí, Nicaragua where these award-winning cigars are rolled: My Father Cigars. The Judge’s blend consists of a Sumatra-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, but every other component in the blend comes from Nicaragua, all of it grown by the Garcia family, owners and producers of the brand. Most of the Nicaraguan leaf comes from Estelí, but there’s some tobacco from Jalapa and Condega as well. It’s a thick, box-pressed smoke, rolled and pressed at a chunky 5 inches by 60 ring gauge. Company patriarch José “Pepín” Garcia, joined by his son, Jaime, and grandson Jandy, walked us through the process, going everywhere from the dimly-lit fermentation rooms to the bright lights of the packaging department. It was a fascinating journey. It all starts with tobacco. Jandy Garcia inspects some of The Judge’s Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper leaf while it undergoes fermentation. This pilón has been fermenting for a year, and still needs more time. One bunches, one wraps. Rollers work in pairs at My Father Cigars and this particular team is one of the few dedicated to making The Judge Grand Robusto. Together they are expected to produce 450 Judges by the end of the day. “Pepín” Garcia takes special interest in the buncher and his technique. Judges without their robes. These cigar bunches have yet to receive their wrappers. That won’t happen until tomorrow after they’ve sat in the cigar mold overnight and taken an even, round shape. Pretty, but not pressed. After spending the night in a cigar mold, these Grand Robustos have their wrappers, but they’re only semi-finished. Now, the cigars need to be box-pressed. Judge and jury. Pepín inspects the work of his rollers carefully, while puffing a cigar. Any flaws and he’ll notice. His wife, Maria, (at far right) and one of the floor managers look on. Prepped for pressing. Twenty Grand Robustos are lined up and in position to be box-pressed. Another board full of cigars will be placed on top of this one, and another one after that. Then, they go under the crank for 24 hours. Judges in Jandy’s hands. Now that this block of cigars has gone from round to rectangular, they’re wrapped in newspaper and heading to the aging room where they will sit in chilly conditions for a minimum of 60 days. This will help to ensure that the all the tobacco components reach the same humidity for optimal combustion. Browning the boxes. Paint oozes down the spray stations like melted chocolate as these raw Grand Robusto boxes get their fresh coat. The final touches. This box of My Father The Judge Grand Robustos is ready for its decorative label, the last step before it’s shrink-wrapped and sent to the market. Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/journey-of-the-judge 8 1
David8406 Posted January 25 Posted January 25 I was looking at the Grand Robusto at my local B&M the other day. I’m sorry but that thing is huge! I ended up grabbing a corona gorda instead. Nice looking cigar. Feels and looks well constructed. Just need some warmer weather. 2
Ford2112 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 5 hours ago, mikejh said: How many hours does a roller do on a shift? It takes them an hour to roll these donkey dong smokes so they are on a double shift. 1 1
HenryMartin Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Crazy size.. 98 points? Too hard to imagine. The top 25 attracts scrutiny, perhaps intentionally so. 2
Popular Post LizardGizmo Posted January 26 Popular Post Posted January 26 Easily one of the worst cigars I’ve ever smoked - a brutal 90 minutes. 5 2
ha_banos Posted January 26 Posted January 26 2 hours ago, LizardGizmo said: Easily one of the worst cigars I’ve ever smoked - a brutal 90 minutes. This is what I expect to be honest. I'm guessing strong earthy Nicaraguan powerhouse. Not had a chance to listen yet! 1
JohnS Posted January 26 Author Posted January 26 3 hours ago, LizardGizmo said: Easily one of the worst cigars I’ve ever smoked - a brutal 90 minutes. I'm guessing strong earthy Nicaraguan powerhouse too. Appreciate the feedback.
Popular Post LizardGizmo Posted January 26 Popular Post Posted January 26 I'm guessing strong earthy Nicaraguan powerhouse too. Appreciate the feedback.It was just a poorly blended and constructed cigar. Lacked flavor completely. No positive flavor notes to even mention. Smoke output was that of an over-filled Cuban corona gorda that won’t draw. Bad bad bad. I gave it a 3 on the podcast - one of my personal lowest ever. 4 2
ha_banos Posted January 26 Posted January 26 On 1/27/2025 at 8:21 AM, LizardGizmo said: It was just a poorly blended and constructed cigar. Lacked flavor completely. No positive flavor notes to even mention. Smoke output was that of an over-filled Cuban corona gorda that won’t draw. Bad bad bad. I gave it a 3 on the podcast - one of my personal lowest ever. Sounds like you got to try the average rule! Got to try 2 more. Lord knows how inconsistent CC can be! 1 1
SCgarman Posted January 26 Posted January 26 10 hours ago, JohnS said: I'm guessing strong earthy Nicaraguan powerhouse too. Appreciate the feedback. Not my experience at all. I smoked two "The Judge" Robustos (5x60) and about three "The Judge" Toros (6x56) and they are smooth, refined like a Padron 26/64 but have their own unique flavor(s). I find them complex, and aside from the larger ring gauge enjoyable. Tons of chewy (viscous) thick smoke output also. I will definitely be buying more of these, as in a box purchase. I prefer the Toro over the Robusto. The 56 ring is no different than the Padron 1926 #9, which was Cigar of the Year a few years back. BTW, draw, construction and burn were spot on. Wish I could say that about all my Cubans, but unfortunately not. Call me crazy, but this is a very good NC cigar. BTW, at $275usd/box that is a "reasonable" price in this day and age. $275 won't buy you much of anything in the Habanos catalogue save for the low grade tobacco dog turds. No thanks life is too short for bad cigars. 2 2
ha_banos Posted January 26 Posted January 26 9 hours ago, SCgarman said: Not my experience at all. I smoked two "The Judge" Robustos (5x60) and about three "The Judge" Toros (6x56) and they are smooth, refined like a Padron 26/64 but have their own unique flavor(s). I find them complex, and aside from the larger ring gauge enjoyable. Tons of chewy (viscous) thick smoke output also. I will definitely be buying more of these, as in a box purchase. I prefer the Toro over the Robusto. The 56 ring is no different than the Padron 1926 #9, which was Cigar of the Year a few years back. BTW, draw, construction and burn were spot on. Wish I could say that about all my Cubans, but unfortunately not. Call me crazy, but this is a very good NC cigar. BTW, at $275usd/box that is a "reasonable" price in this day and age. $275 won't buy you much of anything in the Habanos catalogue save for the low grade tobacco dog turds. No thanks life is too short for bad cigars. You see @LizardGizmo what a difference in expression! I look forward to hearing about no.2 😜 2
Popular Post LizardGizmo Posted January 26 Popular Post Posted January 26 8 hours ago, ha_banos said: You see @LizardGizmo what a difference in expression! I look forward to hearing about no.2 😜 We had 7 guys in the room really hoping for a great night. We all had the exact same experience. We don’t light a cigar hoping to hate it - in fact the opposite - it sucks the energy out of the room. I would’ve loved to give it a 9 or 10!! 7
ha_banos Posted January 27 Posted January 27 On 1/27/2025 at 10:11 AM, LizardGizmo said: We had 7 guys in the room really hoping for a great night. We all had the exact same experience. We don’t light a cigar hoping to hate it - in fact the opposite - it sucks the energy out of the room. I would’ve loved to give it a 9 or 10!! Bad batch/box is what I'm thinking. Of course I'm expecting the consistency to be there across the production runs. But who knows. When I get into town I'll pick one up and see what all the kerfuffle is. Watch this space. 30£ a stick over here to boot! 2
SCgarman Posted January 27 Posted January 27 5 hours ago, ha_banos said: Bad batch/box is what I'm thinking. Of course I'm expecting the consistency to be there across the production runs. But who knows. When I get into town I'll pick one up and see what all the kerfuffle is. Watch this space. 30£ a stick over here to boot! $13usd per cigar here in the USA. I don't think I could afford to buy cigars if I moved to the UK. They sure like their taxes eh?!😁 1 1 1
YoPapa Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Love seeing the process. Not a fan of the thick size, but it's a tasty smoke. Those guys are serious about fermentation and know how to work the tobacco. 1
Popular Post Cigar Surgeon Posted January 27 Popular Post Posted January 27 On 1/26/2025 at 10:18 AM, LizardGizmo said: Easily one of the worst cigars I’ve ever smoked - a brutal 90 minutes. You need to smoke more bad cigars 🤣 1 4
SCgarman Posted January 27 Posted January 27 1 hour ago, YoPapa said: Love seeing the process. Not a fan of the thick size, but it's a tasty smoke. Those guys are serious about fermentation and know how to work the tobacco. They are definitely serious about all aspects of cigar making. That factory is first class all the way right down to the tile floors. Pepin was considered the top roller/master blender when he lived in Cuba. As with all the best in the business, they all eventually leave the failed communist nation and set up their own companies in greener pastures, in this case Nicaragua. This family is on par with Padron, Fuente and all the best of the best. 3
BrightonCorgi Posted January 27 Posted January 27 On 1/26/2025 at 3:12 AM, HenryMartin said: Crazy size.. 98 points? Too hard to imagine. The top 25 attracts scrutiny, perhaps intentionally so. The must advertise a lot on said publication 😉 1
teamrandr Posted January 27 Posted January 27 I love My Father cigars and this is probably my least favorite. 1
SCgarman Posted January 28 Posted January 28 21 minutes ago, teamrandr said: I love My Father cigars and this is probably my least favorite. Which do you like best? 1
Cigar Surgeon Posted January 28 Posted January 28 3 hours ago, SCgarman said: Which do you like best? The MF Le Bijou 100 Anos is out of this world IMO. 1
riderpride Posted January 28 Posted January 28 33 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said: The MF Le Bijou 100 Anos is out of this world IMO. Corona Especial? 2
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