The Don Pepin Garcia – Cuban Classic is the creation of Jose “Don Pepin” Garcia, a master cigar roller who spent most of his life in Cuba overseeing the production of great Cuban classic cigars. He left Cuba in 2001 for Nicaragua and eventually made his way to Miami, Florida where he established his corporate headquarters, the El Rey de los Habanos, Inc. The ‘Cuban Classic’ cigars are from his ‘Black Edition’ of blends. The size of the cigar I reviewed was the Robusto, having a 50 ring gauge and measuring 5" in length.
Flavor and Aroma
This is a very smooth smoking cigar. I would say that it is mild to medium would best describe this and it is also a good choice for beginner smokers. The taste and aroma are a wonderful mixture of earthiness, wood, peppery spices, and perhaps evens roasted nuts. I smoked these cigars with a cup of hot apple cider, which very well complimented the smoke. All of the flavors and aromas stayed consistent throughout the entire smoking experience.Draw and Construction
This is not a particularly firm cigar. It cut nicely with a wedge cutter and lit very easily after toasting the foot. The draw on this cigar is very light and offers no resistance at all. The ash held for 1 ½” falling into the ashtray after 35 minutes. The cigar burned perfectly even and lasted for 1 hour and 50 minutes. This is a uniquely constructed cigar using Cuban seed tobacco grown in Nicaragua. The wrapper is a ‘Habano Rosado’ and used to construct a triple cap. ‘Rosado’ is Spanish and translates as ‘pink’ tobacco. The binder and filler are also Cuban seed Nicaraguan tobacco. The cigar smoked easily all the way down below the 1” mark.Value
This is a nice premium cigar and a good value considering that it will smoke for close to two hours. The deals I found online for the Robusto was a box of 20 for $107 ($5.35/stick) and in packs of 5 for $28 ($5.60/stick). My local shop sold them for $6.00 a piece. I definitely recommend this cigar to any type of smoker. Visit the Don Pepin Garcia website at elreydeloshabanos.com to find out more about the company.
