My Father No. 2 Belicoso Review

The No. 2 Belicoso is the figurado of My Father's original flagship - a 5.5 by 54 belicoso with a tapered head, the same 2008 blend as the No. 1 but funneled through a point. Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper, Nicaraguan guts, the family pigtail cap sitting atop the taper. The wrapper is oily and rosado-dark, the box-pressed-into-a-point shape substantial in hand. My cold draw pulled cocoa and a sharp peppery cedar. This is the flagship focused - the belicoso head concentrating the smoke onto the palate.

It opens full and pointed - the tapered head funnels the smoke, so the black pepper and cocoa-cedar core hit concentrated and precise from the first puff. The belicoso shape does what a parejo can't: it focuses the flagship spice onto the front of the palate. The Habano Rosado sweetness sits underneath. The pigtail clipped clean, the draw tunable off the taper, burn straight. Where the No. 1 spreads the blend evenly, the No. 2 sharpens it. A commanding, focused start.

The middle is concentrated flagship depth. The pepper settles into a cocoa-leather core, cedar threads through, rosado sweetness rounds it - but the belicoso head keeps it all focused and slightly more intense than the straight-sided No. 1. It's full and rich, the taper letting you tune the draw tighter or looser with your cut. My ash held a tight column, burn immaculate. This is the flagship blend with a figurado's precision, the same character delivered with more concentration.

The final third deepens cocoa, pepper, cedar and leather over roughly seventy minutes, full-bodied and focused to the nub. My verdict: the No. 2 Belicoso is the flagship My Father funneled through a tapered head - the same blend, sharpened and concentrated. Honest notes: it's genuinely full and peppery, and the belicoso rewards a clean, careful cut; a ragged one tightens the draw or splits the taper. But for the flagship character with a figurado's focus, it's a superb size.