Don Pepín García is a brand of handmade premium
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
owned by El Rey de los Habanos, Inc.
History
The Don Pepin Garcia brand was created by
José "Pepín" García and is manufactured at the
El Rey de los Habanos factory in the
Little Havana
Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...
section of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and at the factory in
Estelí
Estelí (), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the 3rd largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its municipality, at 83%, with an urban population of ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
Tabacalera Cubana.
Description
The Don Pepin Garcia brand currently consists of three labels of different strengths and flavors. All use
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
n tobaccos in varying combinations. All boxes are stamped with a date code.
Don Pepin Garcia (Blue Label)
This was the first of the three ranges (the second was the Series JJ) to be produced, and consists of six vitolas and one limited release (the Lancero) produced for Puff 'N' Stuff Cigars Decatur, Ga. These are full-bodied cigars and are not recommended for a beginning smoker. The wrapper is an oily Nicaraguan
Corojo
Corojo is a type of tobacco, primarily used in the making of wrappers for cigars. The variety was originally grown in the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba but is today grown exclusively in the Jamastran valley of Honduras and in the United States in ...
Oscuro leaf, described as cinnamon in color. The cigars come packed 25 to a cedar box, uncelloed (as of recently, Summer of '07 celloed). The band is blue with gold lettering. The center has "Don Pepin Garcia" in gold on a blue field inside a round red and gold border, with Don Pepín's signature (reduced) below the name. Each wing has the U. S. and Cuban flags within roundels, overlapping.
Ratings, honors and awards
*The Invictos was given a rating of 88 in the August, 2006, issue o
''Cigar Aficionado''magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
.
*The Magnate received a rating of 89 in the February, 2007, issue of ''Cigar Aficionado'' magazine.
Don Pepín García Black Edition (Cuban Classic/Black Label)
This was introduced to national distribution in the U.S. in late 2006. It is manufactured at
Tabacalera Cubana in
Estelí
Estelí (), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the 3rd largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its municipality, at 83%, with an urban population of ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
. The cigars are surrounded by a colored ribbon with a label attached which reads ''Don Pepín García'' and bears a facsimile of his signature. The wrapper is Habano Rosado and the binder and filler is Nicaraguan. The cigar is described as medium- to full-bodied.
The sides of the box are stamped with "20 / Don Pepín (in script) / ♦ BLACK EDITION ♦ / ''frontmark''". As always, the month and year of manufacture are stamped on the bottom of the box.
Ratings, honors and awards
* The entire range was given a vertical tasting report in the 22 May 2007 (p. 2) of ''Cigar Insider''. The 1979 was given the highest rating at 92. The lowest rating of 85 went to the 1973. The 1952 was given a rating of 88, and the 1950, 1970 and 1977 each received an 89.
Don Pepín García Series JJ (White Label)
The range was developed by Don Pepín and his son Jaime García. Medium- to full-bodied, the wrapper is a Nicaraguan Corojo oscuro, and the binder/filler is Nicaraguan. Packed in plain boxes of 24 except for the Salomon, which comes in boxes of five. The band is similar to the "Blue Label", but is white with a red border. There is also a second, straight band, white, with "Serie JJ" printed on it.
The Salomons are rolled exclusively by Don Pepín himself.
Series JJ Maduro
A more rare variation of the Series JJ was the Series JJ Maduro. It was also the only Maduro cigar made by Pepin Garcia. It was discontinued in 2011.
More Cigars by Jose "Don" Pepin Garcia
Jose "Don" Pepin Garcia, along with his son, Jaime Garcia, has created other labels after the huge success of the Don Pepin Garcia lines, from both their Estelí, Nicaragua (
Tabacalera Cubana) and Miami, Florida, USA (
El Rey de los Habanos) factories under the My Father Cigars company.
= Other My Father Cigars labels include
=
* Vegas Cubanas (recently available again)
* El Centurion
* Legado de Pepin
* La Duena
* La Reloba Habano
* My Father
* My Father Connecticut
* My Father Le Bijou 1922
* Flor de Las Antillas
* La Antiguedad
* Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial
* Siboney Reserve
See also
*
Pepin Garcia
Don José "Pepin" Garcia is the CEO of El Rey de los Habanos, Inc, a cigar company in Miami, also known as My Father Cigars. He is a noted cigar maker living in Miami, Florida. Born in Cuba, he is a master cigar roller and blender, and the creator ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Who is don Pepin?
Cigar brands