According to the La Union 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 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: Nicaragua Corojo 99
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 for Tatuaje which identifies this cigar was blended by the Garcias for Tatuaje The cigar features a 109 style cap which is slightly tapered and an open 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 the first invoice from El Rey de los Habanos to Tatuaje.
The Taste: The cold draw serves notes of mocha, earth and nutmeg .There is also a subtle brown sugar that intensifies as I write this. The aroma from the foot is musty with notes of freshly baked bread. Once the cigar is toasted and lit it starts off with notes of cedar and more baked bread.
I always found Tatuaje cigars to be less pepper aggressive at the start versus My Father and it feels like the Garcia’s took that in mind with this cigar which has less pepper than the one Pete blended for My Father. There are notes of brown sugar, cocoa and an intensifying cedar component. As the first third comes to a close feels like a next level Seleccion de Cazador (brown label).
In the second third notes of milk chocolate begin to emerge with cedar being the dominant flavor profile. At the halfway point some caramel sweetness begins to develop. It’s also this point that the Pelo de Oro tobacco is really noticeable. It causes my mouth to become watering as the citric nature creates a lemon drop sourness that I absolutely love. It creates an incredible contrast to the sweetness that is also prevalent. The retrohale is incredibly woodsy with some subtle white pepper notes.
The final third sees notes of licorice and espresso develop while the finish is heavy on cedar. The resting aroma on the cigar has a nice amount of sweetness and spice which matches the finish of this outstanding cigar. The pepper notes ramp up on the retrohale but don’t become overpowering. Despite coming in at 7.25″ I wish there was more left!
Conclusion: If this was a competition there is a clear cut winner here. The one the Garcia’s made for Tatuaje is the obvious choice, but I don’t think they looked it as competition. These cigars were done for love and admiration of each other so the real winner is the consumer. The para Tatuaje blend is exceptionally blended and it allows the Pelo do Oro to shine better. If these were available on their own as a box I would buy them without batting an eyelash. This is truly a memorable cigar with the only knock being it smoked a lot faster than the one made by Pete for My Father.
Score: 94
Price: $60.00
