The 'Pepin' Garcia & Friends Cigar Review Odyssey

[Mr. Ed]

So I've hit a bit of a dry spell lately in my cigar smoking experiences and I've decided to tackle a fun, new, and exciting adventure.

I have enjoyed the cigars blended and rolled by Don Pepin, Jose Garcia, or DPG for three years now. We all know he makes myriad brands and we love him (or hate him) for it.

I will endeavor to review as many of his marcas and the vitolas contained within to the best of my ability. I will try to update once a week (maybe more maybe less depending on time and other conflicts).

I decided to start off fresh and smoke a cigar that I have never tried before:

El Triunfador No. 4

Initial Impressions: This was a svelte robusto with a beautiful dark natural wrapper that was very smooth, no bumps. The cigar was made with a triple cap. This cigar had a very pungent pre-light aroma that was very savory. This cigar was firm to the touch, no soft spots.

Smoking:This cigar had an excellent draw with a good volume of smoke. The wrapper did not crack or unravel from start to finish. The ash was firm and a marbled gray color. which stayed on for nearly half the smoke! The only issue that I encountered was that the cigar smoked a little hot at first, so I had to smoke it more slowly. Otherwise, this was a fine smoking experience.

Taste:I would describe this as a medium bodied cigar. The taste was smooth from start to finish, no trace of harshness or unpleasant flavors for the entire smoke. While smoking I got a very nice quality tobacco flavor that had some woodiness to it. There was a very pleasant mild spiciness to the flavor as well (unlike some of the other Pepin spice bombs). The finish throughout most of the smoke was mild and spicy, it only became fuller in the last third of the smoke. I could also get some hints of sweetness, but this woody-tobacco flavor predominated along with a mild and spicy undertone. The cigar gave off a very pleasant aroma while smoking.

Conclusion: A perfectly constructed cigar, as are almost all Tatuajes, which never seem to have any issues. The flavor was very pleasant, but straightforward. Not necessarily a bad thing, but at this price point I would expect some more complexity. While the taste may not have been complex, I found it enjoyable. Overall, a very good smoking experience!

Pictures: (They're Thumbnails)

[Mr. Ed]

Well, I decided to light another new Pepin creation, the My Father La Bijou 1922 Petite Robusto. I've had the original My Father cigars, blended by Pepin's son Jaime Garcia, and really enjoyed the whole range, particularly the lancero. I haven't tried the La Bijou series yet, mostly because I thought it was just another silly line extension, but I decided to try one out.

My Father La Bijou 1922 Petite Robusto

Pictures:











Initial Impressions:This was a rather meaty rothschild/petite robusto reminiscent of some of the sizes made by General as well as the HdM Petite Robusto (a tasty little smoke). I believe this was the first rothschild made by DPG for any of his lines or his client lines. The wrapper was a dark natural color and very smooth, no bumps or prominent veins, and the cigar had a nicely done triple cap on top. The cigar was also firm to the touch, no soft spots. The cigar itself felt a little hefty, it seemed to be packed with tobacco. A pleasant and mild aroma came off of this cigar before lighting.

Smoking:The construction on this cigar was flawless. The draw was superb with a more than adequate amount of smoke with each puff. The wrapper stayed on well and did not crack or unravel. The cigar burned very cool and slowly as I puffed rather slowly again. The burn was excellent. The ash was firm and a beige-ish gray color, staying for half the smoke before I ashed it myself. Excellent construction.

Taste:This smoke can be best characterized as being medium -full bodied, closer to the full side. The flavor was pleasant and smooth the whole way through, no trace of harshness whatsoever. The cigar began with a blast of pepper and spice (and everything nice), but that immediately died down to a very subtle spice undertone. The dominant flavors for about the first half of the smoke were cedar and some leather. The taste of the tobacco was exceptional. The finish was very full bodied with a tasty sweetness and earthiness and stayed on the palate for a long time. As I smoked the cigar developed a very sweet coffee-like taste and some more complexity that I really cannot adequately describe. The finish continued to be very deep and pleasant. A pleasant aroma came off of this cigar while smoking.

Conclusion:Well...I'll just say it. This was one of the best cigar smoking experiences I have had in a while. A super tasty smoke with superb construction quality. This hit everything on my good smoke 'check-list'. This was one of those cigars I would recommend if someone asked me to name a good cigar. Compared to the El Triunfador from the previous review, this cigar knocked it out of the water. This cigar had amazing flavor in spades. Highly recommended, and I will definitely sample more of these.

[darkleeroy]

Wow, Ed, my experiences with the Le Bijou Petite Robusto were almost exactly the same as yours. Nice reviews.

[Mr. Ed]

Originally Posted by darkleeroy

Wow, Ed, my experiences with the Le Bijou Petite Robusto were almost exactly the same as yours. Nice reviews.

Thanks. The Bijou was one of the best DPG smokes I've had to date. It ranks right up there with a Cabaiguan Robustos Extra I had two years ago, which was amazing.

[tenbaseg]

Great reviews. The Bijou is a really great smoke. I got a 10pk at a great price and left half of them to try after some down time. Only time will tell...

[STEVE S]

Great review, The Bijou is one of my favorite cigars. I have smoked all three sizes and the toro is my favorite one.

[longknocker]

Thanks For The Great Reviews, Ed!

[OHRD]

Originally Posted by tenbaseg

Great reviews. The Bijou is a really great smoke. I got a 10pk at a great price and left half of them to try after some down time. Only time will tell...

Garrett - bro, your avatar makes me crack up every time I see it, my co-workers want to know what's up w/ me!

[Mr. Ed]

This time I decided to try the La Aroma de Cuba Robusto, what's known as the new blend(the Pepin one). I've actually enjoyed the smaller sizes from the original blend, particularly the interlude and petite corona. I didn't care much for the big rang gauges, however. I've tried the edicion especial (EE) LAdC, but never tried these, so I decided to give them a shot.

Pictures:








Initial Impressions:This was a rather meaty robusto 5X(52?). I really don't like smokes above 50 RG sometimes, they're a little too big IMO. This cigar had a dark natural wrapper that was a little mottled and bumpy, not completely smooth. The cigar was firm to the touch; there were no soft spots. The cigar had a very faint aroma prior to lighting.

Smoking:This was a perfectly constructed cigar. The draw was good with a plentiful amount of smoke each and every puff. The cigar burned evenly and burned slow and cool, no overheating. The wrapper behaved well and did not crack or unravel. The ash was firm and white, staying on for over an inch before I ashed myself.

Taste:This was a medium bodied cigar, on the lighter side of medium. Absolutely smooth, no harshness whatsoever. This cigar started out with a lot of spice! And I mean...a lot of SPICE!. I could get a very spicy coffee-like taste for most of the smoke, with some hints of leather and a good bit of cocoa, but the spice was overpowering for a little while. Surprisingly the finish was very mild and stayed on the palate for only s short time. Smoking through the nose, the spice was excessive, but I could still get hints of cocoa and chocolate. About half way through the cigar, the spice died down significantly, but this was coupled with a somewhat bland flavor. For the rest of the smoke the taste was pretty boring.

Conclusion:This started out as a typical 'Pepin' product(at least what most people seem to label as typical) with plenty of spice that was really upfront. The spice, however, may have been a little too much. While the first half of the cigar was...interesting/eventful(?) the 2nd half of the smoke was somewhat disappointing. The construction was spot on.

[Ferrari5180]

Nice reviews. I enjoyed reading every single one of them to the last bit. Might have to get myself a 5er of the 1922 DPG Bijou to give them a try.

[Mr. Ed]

I realize I haven't done much with this. Oh well, looks like it's time to get back to work. Expect reviews to start back up shortly.

[Big Maduro]

Thank you. The first two are cigars I've been wanting to try. The Aroma de Cuba I have had,was a great cigar.