The My Father name carries real weight. Pepin García and his son Jaime have built one of the most respected operations in premium cigars — Flor de las Antillas won Cigar of the Year in 2012, and The Judge is the kind of full-body experience that recalibrates your expectations for what a Nicaraguan cigar can do. So when a free El Centurión Corona came bundled with a recent purchase, it went into the rotation as a fair experiment: what does the smallest-format, promotional end of a top-tier brand actually give you?
Short answer: an 82. Solid. Honest. Not what this brand looks like at its best.
The Specs
The El Centurión has been regular production from My Father Cigars since 2013. The Corona — 5.5 inches at a 44 ring gauge — is the smallest vitola in the lineup. The blend is all Nicaraguan: a Sun Grown Criollo ’98 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a filler of Criollo, Corojo Habano, and Sancti Spíritus leaf. Full-size El Centurión vitolas are typically rated medium-to-full. The Corona tells a slightly different story.
First Third
Good construction. The wrapper has a light rustic tooth, well-pressed, no soft spots. The cold draw is tight — notable at 44 ring gauge and a variable that doesn’t resolve after the light. Narrower format, less air moving through a bigger blend, and you feel it the whole session.
The opening is oak and spice — dry cedar with pepper underneath. The burn line is even and the ash holds tighter than you’d expect at this size. But the complexity that defines My Father’s top shelf isn’t here. It’s one note. Body registers mild-to-medium, which is a long way from what the brand’s full-size sticks typically deliver.
Second Third
The profile doesn’t evolve. At 44 ring gauge, you’re getting a narrowed cross-section of the blend, and what comes through is the loudest element — the oak — without the supporting notes that make a bigger stick interesting. If you’re a full-body smoker, this will read as flat. That’s partly palette; a preference for heavy, complex profiles will make a mild-medium oaky smoke feel thin even when it’s technically doing its job.
Final Third
A slight uptick in warmth and pepper as it shortens. The draw doesn’t improve. Finishes clean — no harshness, which is a real credit to the blend — but nothing to say on the way out.
The Verdict
82 out of 100. The El Centurión Corona burns clean, holds its construction, and delivers consistent flavor — there’s just not much flavor to hold. Heavy oaky spice from open to finish, mild-to-medium body, and a draw that makes you work a little harder than it should for what you get.
The Flor de las Antillas, at a comparable price point, is a more engaging smoke with more going on. The Judge is in another category. The El Centurión Corona is a promotional format and presents as one — it’s a decent appetizer before the actual menu, not the main course.
If it comes in a bundle, smoke it. It’s not a bad cigar. But it’s not a decision I’d make twice at $8. I didn’t pay for this one, and I wouldn’t.
Received complimentary as a gift-with-purchase. Rating reflects firsthand experience.
- Solid construction throughout
- Clean, even burn — no touch-ups needed
- Honest entry point into the El Centurión line
- Flat, one-dimensional flavor profile
- Firm draw throughout — small ring gauge factor
- Underperforms vs. full-size My Father offerings