Archive for the ‘my’ Category

Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial

Monday, September 27th, 2010

The cigar I am reviewing today was blended by Jaime Garcia, the son of Don Pepin Garcia. Jaime blended the My Father cigar in tribute to Don. I really enjoy that cigar, so when I ran across this one, I had to pick up a few sticks to review. I am an admitted Pepin whore, so with a glass of water I reviewed the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial.

 

Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf

Binder:Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: Toro 6 x 54

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-smoke & Construction:

The wrapper had minimal flaws, and the medium to large veins gave it a rugged look. It had a light earthy, hayish odor, while the foot had a mild sweet natural tobacco smell. There were a few soft and hard spots when squeezing the cigar, but nothing of concern. The pre-light draw was free, and had an earthy and woody taste.

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The burn required a few minor corrections, and the ash held firm for an inch. At about the half way point, the cigar swelled, causing the wrapper to separate at the seam. I burned though it without issue.

 

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Flavor:

The first third began with a smooth earthy flavor. When passing smoke through the nose, there was that familiar blast of pepper. Although strong, it wasn’t over the top. Up next was black coffee and a dark sweetness. The smoke volume was thick yet crisp. As this third came to an end, I started to pick up slight woody notes.

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The second third: Way in the background I could detect slight fruity notes. Like before, the coffee was present and had that common coffee bitterness (not the bad kind). The spicy pepper smoothed out a bit, but kept it’s bite. The sweetness became similar to chocolate. Notes of earth would come and go. Some draws had it, some didn’t. Like the first third, there was a woody aftertaste. The smoke feel was still crisp but somehow took on a slight creamy feel at the same time. When taking a draw, billows of cloudy smoke filled the room.

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The last third: There wasn’t any major change. The pepper did not go anywhere, but it did smooth out and become a little more tame. Other then that, there was coffee, earthy notes, chocolaty notes, woody aftertaste. It was all there and blended nicely.

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Conclusion:

This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. It wasn’t a wow cigar, but delivered a relaxing smoking experience. The flavor profile was complex enough to keep things interesting. Taking the price into consideration, I think it is easily worth it. I’d smoke more of these, but I won’t go out of my way to fine them. I say give the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial a try.

Don Pepin Garcia My Father Le Bijou 1922

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I didn’t have a lot of info on this cigar, until my pal Barry wrote about it. Le Bijou is French for “The jewel” and 1922 refers to the year Jose “Don Pepin Garcia’s” father was born. The original My Father cigar was a tribute to Don Pepin Garcia from his son Jaime. The Le Bijou is Don Pepin’s own tribute to his father. When Pepin comes out with a cigar, I tend to keep it on my radar. I generally like his blends. I paired with a glass of water, and sat down to review this Pepin creation.

 

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro

Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Churchill 7 x 50

Price: Around $11.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

Giving the cigar a once over, it looked great. The dark wrapper had minimal veins or defects. I found the cigar to be evenly packed with tobacco, and ever so slightly spongy when squeezed. The wrapper had a sweet earthy odor. The foot had the same smell with the addition of slight spice. The pre-light draw was good, and had a sweet, simple earthy taste.

1MyFatherLaBijou

Flavor:

The first third had a nice intro of pepper and spice with a tinge of sweetness. Very slight earthy notes lingered behind the full flavored spices. The sweetness developed into a nice mocha flavor. The aftertaste left a slight bitterness on the lips. It was a sweet bitterness, not a bad thing.

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The pepper mellowed out a little in the second third. It took on a smooth feel and became sweeter. The mocha turned up a notch or two in strength, and became a little dry. The bitterness went away and was replaced with a slight tingle on the lips.

3MyFatherLaBijou

The last third took a turn for the mellow side, while keeping your attention with a nice punch. The pepper, while keeping it’s bite, became very smooth and even more sweet. Speaking of sweet, mocha was the main flavor. With that, the aftertaste had a slight tinge of cinnamon that tingled on the lips. The smoke became thick and coated the inside of the mouth.

4MyFatherLaBijou

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed this full bodied cigar. Don, if your reading this, you’ve done it again. The flavor profile was refined and very enjoyable. If I were to complain, it would be the $11.00 price tag. At the end of the day, I think you get your monies worth though. Thumbs up.

Don Pepin Garcia – My Father

Friday, January 1st, 2010

I’ve been wanting to try this cigar for awhile. If you don’t already know… I consider myself a big fan of most Pepin blends. When I ran across the My Father line at The Tampa Humidor, I had to grab some for review. The quick story is Jose “Don Pepin” Garcia and his son Jaime created this blend. This father/son duo are machines, pumping out many blends like the Cuban Classic, Series JJ, and many more. As always, I paired this cigar with water and jotted down my thoughts…

 

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder & Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 5.2 X 52

Price: Around $10.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper looked great, with virtually no flaws whatsoever. Sniffing the wrapper and foot reminded my of an earthy, slightly spicy odor. The pre-light draw was good, and had a sweet earthy taste. The cigar was evenly packed with tobacco, not too soft or too hard. To sum it up, this smoke looked great.

The burn required no corrections, and the ash held firm for about an inch.

1MyFather 

Flavor:

The first few puffs were what I’ve come to expect from a Pepin cigar. Pepper. Good, smooth, has a bite kind of pepper. It didn’t take long for this cigar to hit it’s stride. Although the spicy pepper didn’t go away, it did mellow out and allow other flavors to come though. For instance… At times a nice chocolate/mocha would shine though. At other times a crisp toasty type of nuttiness would appear. There were woody undertones at times too.

2MyFather 

The second third kept that nice smooth peppery spice. Sweet mocha notes stood in the forefront of the flavor profile. Like the first third, the smoke was crisp with nuttiness and an addition of occasional coffee. A lot of draws had strong woody flavors, and others did not. Towards the end of the second third,  the different flavors took turns at dominating the flavor profile.

3MyFather 

The pepper really mellowed out in the last third. It was just smooth and sweeter, with a familiar zing you often get from Nicaraguan tobacco. Woody flavors often took the lead. At other times, nutty coffee-ish notes dominated. A slight sweet tingle was felt on the tongue and lips.

4MyFather 

Conclusion:

This was a damn good full bodied cigar. I liked the way the flavor profile quickly built up to a complex, full bodied experience. My only complaint is the price of $10.00 for a Robusto size. Price aside, I have to say WOW what a great cigar.

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