A Little Impatience: My Father La Lealtad

I first smoked the My Father La Lealtad a couple of months ago during a visit to John B. Hayes Tobacconist in Winchester, VA. The smoke was a little rushed due to time constraints, so I didn’t get to really dive into the cigar. It’s only been a week since I acquired a few La Lealtad for my humidor, but I lit one up recently, giving in to a little impatience.

The La Lealtad debuted in late April 2026 and is the second My Father cigar produced at the company’s Honduran factory, following the My Father Blue release in 2025. The wrapper is a shiny Ecuadorian Habano Rosado Oscuro leaf, while the double binder combines Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The filler also uses a mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Interestingly, this is the first My Father blend to combine Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco in both the binder and filler.

My cigars are the 6 1/8 x 52, box-pressed and sharply pointed Torpedo vitola. The rose-shaded wrapper enhances the presentation of the classic My Father bands.

A couple of cuts from the pointed cap gave me a nice draw with just the right amount of resistance. The smoking experience begins with a hefty dose of earth and cedar. As the cigar progresses, black coffee and espresso emerge, joined by cocoa and baking spice. As the smoke continues, the chocolate and coffee combination develops some leather along with an underlying sweetness that helps balance the darker flavors.

I paired the La Lealtad with a Rye Old Fashioned. In addition to J.H. Bards Rye, I used Blackstrap Old Fashioned Syrup from the Blacksburg distillery. A few dashes of Angostura bitters, a Luxardo cherry, and an orange peel completed the drink. It was a refreshing cocktail that paired nicely with the La Lealtad.

The 90-proof rye has enough proof and character to stand up to the La Lealtad without overwhelming the cigar’s flavor nuances. The rye cocktail brought oak and vanilla that complemented the coffee and cocoa notes from the cigar, while the sweetness from the blackstrap syrup helped round out the darker flavors. The combination worked particularly well as the cigar developed.

The cigar’s quality and construction also proved well-suited to a long smoke-and-drink pairing. The short rest time in the humidor did not appear to be a detriment. At one point, I was able to step inside and mix a second drink before returning to the cigar without needing to relight it or make any burn corrections. That’s an important quality when enjoying a cigar alongside a drink that you don’t want to rush.

Cheers!