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.
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