Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic

Cigar Name: Don Pepin Garcia, Cuban Classic (aka Black).
Cigar Size: 1952 (perla), 4.2"x40
Wrapper Type: Natural.

Hot as heck out, 96* in the shade. But I want to make the most of the day since I had already taking an Ativan for my anxiety. So, I guess I might as well spark up a nice stogie.

I'm a pretty big Pepin fan. I've always seen these Cuban Classics, some times call black, and have wanted to try one for a long time. I was lucky enough to scoop up 12 of these off a fellow BOTL on this site (thanks again tebone673!). I've heard great things about these, so I look forward to this smoke.

Construction: 5/10

Right off the bat, some issues. Wrapper had a little bit of cracking, was very dry. Not sure what was wrong with this one, the others aren't like this. Also when I removed the ban it cracked the wrapper in another place.

Flavor: 15/25

The flavor was great, but it was so damn hard to draw it was hard to get sufficient flavor...

Draw: 2/10

Pretty much close to plugged... Takes sooo much effort to draw and almost no smoke is making it through...

HOLD IT HOLD IT.

Is this a Don Pepin Garcia cigar? What the hell is the matter with this thing... Between the construction and draw issues I cannot proceed...

Hold on brb...

Okay got another, lets give this another try...

TAKE 2

Construction: 8/10

Okay much better. Wrapper is much softer, no visible cracks. Only issue is a major hard spot in the middle of the cigar. It didn't effect the draw or flavor at all.

Flavor: 22/25

As before the flavor is great. The flavor is medium-full but its rather mellow flavors, which doesn't mean it isn't flavorful it just means the flavors aren't as in your face aggressive and strong. Its creamy, toasty with a little bit of nuttiness to it. It was very flavorful and enjoyable.

Draw: 7/10

Draw is much better on this, almost flawless. The deduction comes due to some difficulties getting the smoke to come through. I'm not sure if it was having troubles burning, but it would take 2-3 draws to get the smoke to work its way through the cigar. A bit odd...

Burn: 8/10

Burned crooked from time to time, almost throughout the cigar. Never required touch ups or anything.

Ash: 5/5

No problems here. Medium-light gray ash that holds well.

Smoke: 5/5

Nice thick white clouds of mellowly aromatic smoke.

Impression: 27/35

I really enjoyed the cigar, the second one that is. The first one wasn't smokable, which is why I had to lower my impression on the cigar. There certainly are some issues with consistency and quality. If it wasn't for the noticeable inconsistencies it would have rated much higher. I would say around an 89.

They are great looking cigars and they seems to be built well (if you don't get a dud). They do smell great and feel great as well. The price point on these aren't to bad either. I really enjoyed the size as well.

Overall Rating: 82

They are a good cigar when it comes to flavor. But with noticeable construction issues and consistency issues, you may risk getting a plugged cigar.

I'll give these another try in a month or so and give another review. But as for now, I'm impressed by flavor, not impressed by quality.