Don Pepin Garcia (cigar brand)
Encyclopedia
Don Pepín García is a brand of hand-made premium cigar
owned by El Rey de los Habanos, Inc.
and is manufactured at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in the Little Havana
section of Miami
, Florida
, and at the factory in Estelí
, Nicaragua
, Tabacalera Cubana.
n tobaccos in varying combinations. All boxes are stamped with a date code.
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.
, Nicaragua
, and comes uncelloed and packed in cedar cabinets of 20. 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 band is similar to that found on the Don Pepín Blue Label, but the background is black. There is a second band as well. This is a straight band with gold borders on a black background with the words Cuban Classic in gold.
The sides of the box are stamped with "20 / Don Pepín (in script) / ♦ BLACK EDITION ♦ / frontmark". As always, the month and year of manufacture is stamped on the bottom of the box.
The Salomons are rolled exclusively by Don Pepín himself.
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
owned by El Rey de los Habanos, Inc.
History
The brand was created by José "Pepín" GarcíaPepin Garcia
Don José "Pepin" Garcia is currently the CEO of El Rey de los Habanos, Inc, a cigar company in Miami, also known as Don Pepín Cigars. He is a noted cigar maker living in Miami, Florida...
and is manufactured at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in the Little Havana
Little Havana
Little Havana is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The approximate boundaries are the Miami River , SW 16th Street , SR 9/West 27th Avenue and I-95...
section of Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and at the factory in Estelí
Estelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Tabacalera Cubana.
Description
The brand currently consists of three ranges of different strengths. All use NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
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 Serie 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 CorojoCorojo
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 Western Kentucky....
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.
| Frontmark | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusivo | "A" | 9.25 | 48 |
| Magnate | double corona | 7.625 | 49 |
| Delicias | Churchill | 7 | 50 |
| Lancero | long panatela | 7 | 42 |
| Imperiales | torpedo | 6.125 | 52 |
| Generoso | toro | 6 | 50 |
| Invictos | robusto | 5 | 50 |
Ratings/Honors/Awards
- The Invictos was given a rating of 88 in the August, 2006, issue of Cigar Aficionado magazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. - 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 is the newest range of the brand and was introduced to national distribution in the U. S. in late 2006. It is manufactured at Tabacalera Cubana in EstelíEstelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and comes uncelloed and packed in cedar cabinets of 20. 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 band is similar to that found on the Don Pepín Blue Label, but the background is black. There is a second band as well. This is a straight band with gold borders on a black background with the words Cuban Classic in gold.
The sides of the box are stamped with "20 / Don Pepín (in script) / ♦ BLACK EDITION ♦ / frontmark". As always, the month and year of manufacture is stamped on the bottom of the box.
| Frontmark | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | toro | 6 | 52 |
| 1973 | figurado | 6 | 60/48 |
| 1977 | petit lancero | 5.5 | 38 |
| 1970 | belicoso | 5 | 54 |
| 1979 | Robusto | 5 | 50 |
| 1952 | perla | 4.25 | 40 |
Ratings/Honors/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 Serie 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.
| Frontmark | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salomon | perfecto | 7.25 | 57 |
| Sublime | toro | 6 | 54 |
| Belicoso | torpedo | 5.75 | 52 |
| Selecto | robusto | 5 | 50 |