It’s that time again: time to raise a toast with Punch to the demise of weary old 2007, dozing like that gent with the stogie, and usher in a new year.
It was a good year for cigars. In fact, we found ourselves a bit stymied by our good fortune as we tried to winnow down our lists to the top ten of the year. A lot of really good smokes did not make the cut, either because we were blessed by a bounty of brilliant cigars or because we simply didn’t smoke them this year. Last year’s winner, the Padron Anniversary Imperial, didn’t even make a showing this year because… well… we were too busy smoking up every cigar from Jose “Don Pepin” Garcia we could lay our hands on. No time (or budget, really) for Padron Annis in 2007 — an error I for one will surely try to remedy in 2008.
A word about our selections: Lucky7’s taste tends toward the full-bodied end of the spectrum, while mine inclines toward the medium side. We both appreciate fine cigars of all persuasions, but like anyone we gravitate toward our particular preferences.
I suppose I’ve done enough yammering for one year, so onward and forward:
Despite all the buzz (literally and figuratively) generated this year by El Rey de Los Habanos and Tabacalera Cubana, Arturo Fuente has shown up Don Pepin in the last leg of the race with a couple of special limited edition cigars. It is with some hesitancy that we narrow down our picks to ten from a field of dozens of great smokes, but it’s no accident that Fuente has taken the grand prize this year. These are truly some of the best cigars made anywhere.
Have a safe New Year’s Eve, and a Great 2008, everyone!
Of all the new cigars I’ve tried this year (new to me, that is) I think the 601 Connecticut Black Label is the most interesting. The juxtaposition of a creamy Connecticut seed wrapper with a spicy Pepin core blend is truly an epicurean experience. And even if it isn’t my favorite blend from the hands of Don Pepin, it demonstrates the manifold nature of his skill. Just when you’re ready to settle in for another welcome, but familiar smoking experience, he pulls out the rug and presents a new blend with its own distinguished and delicious qualities.
With years of experience as one of Cuba’s premier blenders and rollers, it should be no surprise that his talents are diverse. In some ways it seems more of a surprise that he has been able to both keep up with the demand, and at the same time create even more new blends with tobacco that is almost always from the same region. While other cigar makers feel it necessary to advertise their “six-country” blend, Pepin Garcia is happy with just…Nicaragua. And so far, so are we!
Corojo wrappers have been, and probably always will be, a mainstay for the primary Pepin blends, but this year he has been going to the maduro well with a little more frequency. The Series JJ Maduro, the 601 Maduro, and now the 601 Habano Oscuro. (Is it a mere coincidence that Habanos S.A. is now releasing maduros as well? Probably.)
The folks at United Tobacco Inc have gone to the dark side twice now with their EO 601 series — first with the 601 Maduro (Blue Label) and once again with the 601 Habano Oscuro (Green Label). The Greens were just introduced this year at the RTDA, and so far they have elicited nothing but praise from lovers of full bodied and rich tasting cigars.
The 601 Green is a Nicaraguan puro — filler, binder and wrapper all from farms in Nicaragua. Coming from Tabacalera Cubana this is a familiar formula, but the curve is in the wrapper: a deeply fermented Habano. Both Lucky7 and I were really impressed with the appearance of this toothy leaf: rich, oily, and shall we say, redolent of the pasture. Nice and smelly, the result of a thorough fermentation.
Five sizes of this blend have been released:
Trabuco (a whopping grand corona at 6 1/8 x 58)
La Fuerza (5 1/2 x 54 robusto)
La Punta ( 5 1/2 x 52 perfecto)
Tronco (5 x 52 robusto)
Corona (5 x 42)
Construction
Construction qualities are good to very good; both of us noticed that the draw was very firm. Otherwise, this stick burns slowly with a good volume of cool smoke. The ash is light to medium gray with some black striations. I thought the ash was a bit crumbly, but I have to admit that I approached this cigar with caution and smoked it very slowly which may have had an effect on the burn in general. I found a mostly even burn, while Lucky7 had to apply the torch a few times to keep his ash in line.
Flavor
I found the Habano Oscuro to be a full bodied ride from the first puff. The introductory Pepin pepper is present in the first half inch, but it’s not overwhelming; just a nice wake-up call. Both of us noted coffee and anise as core flavors in the first third; Lucky found some wood in the mix as well.
Into the second third I got lots of chocolate and a bouquet of licorice liqueur — smooth, pronounced, but not aggressive. (Did I mention that I take this cigar slooooowly?) Lucky found toasted nuts and cherry, a “creamy sweet” aroma, and a medium-length dark chocolate finish.
In the last third Lucky7 noted a little burnt cocoa and “a noticeable pickup in strength; not harsh, just strong with a little bitterness.” And as I lay reeling on the floor I found that I had to concur with his final comment: “big nicotine buzz.” No kidding. Tronco means trunk (or log) in Spanish, but it also has a colloquial meaning with a pejorative connotation — something like dolt, or dimwit. Kind of like the way I felt when I finished this cigar. But in a good way, of course.
Conclusion
The 601 Habano Oscuro Tronco is a big-boned cigar with lots of flavor and a surprisingly friendly disposition. It is indeed quite powerful, but take a little time with it and it won’t leave you legless. A full stomach and a little courage are all that’s required for middle-weights like myself. And for lovers of full-bodied cigars, it’s pretty much mandatory. Just smoke it.
Box prices are around 150 USD, about $8-$10 retail. This seems about standard rate for Pepin blends these days. A bit steep, but worth it, as usual.
Long ago and far away, in a distant decade called the Eighties, there was an upstart cigar brand called Ashton. Robert Levin, who had been running Holt’s Cigar Company, decided to get into the cigar manufacturing business and borrowed the Ashton name from the respected line of English pipes. The very first Ashtons were produced in the Dominican Republic by Henke Kelner of Davidoff fame, but within a few years Levin began to work with his old friends the Fuentes.
Levin and Carlos Fuente Jr. began developing the Ashton Cabinet blend in the late eighties. The story goes that Levin asked the Fuentes if they could make a Hemingway cigar with a Connecticut Shade wrapper. Carlito Fuente said they could, and after working the blend for a couple years the final result was the Ashton Cabinet cigar. The original release comprised three shaped sizes; today there are ten, including four perfectos.
Levin remarked in an interview for Cigar Aficionado that at the time of release, the Ashton Cabinet was the highest priced cigar on the market. He doesn’t say what that price was, but the original Ashton Churchill at the time sold for $2.50. My, how times have changed.
The Ashton Cabinet was developed right around the time that Tabacalera A. Fuente took over Ashton production from Tabadom. The blend includes “no less than six different tobaccos” and features a golden Connecticut Shade wrapper. The binder and filler are Dominican, and the belicoso in the line is a short torpedo at 5 1/4 inches long by a 52 ring gauge.
This little belicoso is a handsome cigar — with its finely formed head and firm roll it balances nicely in the hand. The wrapper is a smooth colorado claro typical of quality shade leaf, but I noticed in one sample that the color varied within the leaf. The section toward the foot was a slightly tawnier shade than the upper half. A little distracting, but not a serious defect.
This cigar starts up with a dry flavor that some have described as bitter, but I wouldn’t go that far. This astringency dissipates after half an inch or so, within a few pulls at most, and is replaced by a mild nutty flavor. The smoke becomes increasingly creamy, and then the distinguishing element of the Ashton Cabinet comes to light: a deliciously sweet aroma that in a strange way reminds me of bubblegum. Not as cloying as a big wad of Bazooka, but to me there is something very confectionary about it.
Into the second half the flavor gets nuttier and the creamy texture of the smoke approaches a medium body. At times a dash of pepper touches the palate and throat, but the overall impresson is smooth and sweet with some light kitchen spice.
The burn tends to be a bit erratic but is mostly self-correcting, and the draw is just about perfect. Aside from the wavery burn this stick earns good marks for appearance and construction.
The Ashton Cabinet Beli is a tad pricey at around 8 USD, and I can think of cigars that are comparable in quality that are more affordable (La Tradition Cubana comes to mind) but this is indeed a high quality premium cigar. If price isn’t a determining factor, this is certainly a cigar to try if you’re after a light to medium bodied cigar with that creamy spice one often finds with Connecticut Shade.
Just a quick reminder to cigar reviewers everywhere: Cigar Inspector is holding a cigar review contest. The prize is an ST Dupont X-Tend lighter, which must be a fine piece of equipment because the retail price is astronomical. Cigar Jack, myself, and of course the Inspector himself will be judging submissions to bestow the laurels, and the lighter, upon the most excellent scribe of the smoke.
So far there are only a few reviews in the bag, and the level of competition has been a bit sleepy, so sharpen your pencil or fire up your laptop or wipe down your slate and get smoking. Give it up for the Inspector and walk away with a lighter worth more than my car. Well, almost.
So the question is, of course, who is TED? This is a mystery the makers of Ted’s Made by Hand choose to leave unsolved. For the moment Ted appears to be a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a bunch of advertising rhetoric, but hey, ya gotta sell cigars somehow. I’ll say this much for Ted’s right off the bat: the distributor was kind enough to offer up a hundred sticks to Club Stogie members to try for free, and that’s about as classy as it gets.
A little research shows that Emprise Cigars, the distributor of Ted’s, is also the outfit behind Maker’s Mark and Courvoisier flavored cigars. Following the thread, it turns out that behind Emprise is English Emprise, a company that specializes in building brands and “riding the coattails of brand loyalty.” Among other licensees in the Emprise stable are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee. (And if you didn’t think the leader of the free world could be a brand, check out the George W. Bush store. The Spalding Group is another Emprise company.) And who is the man behind English Emprise, the Spalding Group, and Emprise Cigars? An entrepreneur named Ted Jackson. Gotcha, Ted.
Ted’s website is sharp, if a bit flashy, and offers up this information about the blend: a Connecticut Shade wrapper, a Dominican binder, and filler from Brazil, Nicaragua and a little more DR. (What Ted’s website does not say, but Cigar Insider does, is that Ted’s cigars are made by Victor Sinclair.) They are rolled in the DR, after which they are packed in “seamless, foil debossed wood boxes.” I’m no design expert, but it looks like Ted has the packaging down pat.
But wait… there’s more! The test package that arrived in my mail box was a marketing marvel: a thin cardboard sleeve holding a box that opens like a book. On the verso a nice photo of some good old boys in a corn field having a laugh and smoking Ted’s handmade cigars. The picture spills over onto the recto side where recessed in the page is another cardboard box containing one of Ted’s finest 6 x 50 Connecticut Shade toros. Snazzy!
On to the cigar, with a caveat: my impressions are based on sampling one cigar only. Bearing that in mind…
Ted’s toro comes equipped with a standard ring in the usual place, plus a large paper sleeve of questionable value that is difficult to remove without damaging the wrapper leaf. The wrapper itself appears smooth and dry with moderate veining but is slightly marred by a pea-sized greenish discoloration near the band.
The prelight scent is grassy. I used a straight cut and took a prelight pull: easy, a little too easy maybe. The prelight flavor is typical light tobacco with a little alfalfa.
It lights without much effort and maintains an even burn for the next hour, leaving a light gray to white ash that flakes a bit and crumbles in the ashtray. As a personal preference I like a tighter draw, but the cigar never burns hot or suffers from burn problems, so the loose draw can’t really be called a construction defect.
Ted’s Made By Hand is a mild cigar with a pleasant floral aroma. The base flavor is nutty with a light woody element that gets increasingly vegetal as the smoke progresses. There isn’t a whole lot of complexity here and the only transition I noticed was at the band, where the flavor starts to muddy and gradually bitters out. The highlight of this cigar is the aroma — a really nice, lightly spiced floral scent. Despite the discoloration, this turns out to be a sweet wrapper.
About the worst I can say about Ted’s is that it’s a little on the boring side. It needs a companion like the Sunday morning paper or some other light diversion. For me it’s more of an accent smoke than a centerpiece. It just didn’t hold my attention all that well.
Fans of lighter bodied cigars in Connecticut Shade will probably dig Ted’s Made By Hand. Otherwise I think they would probably make good breakfast smokes. Retail prices are a little steep, but it looks like discounts can be found, knocking the box price down to around 90 USD for a box of 20. A reasonable price for an aromatic morning cigar.
Cigar Stats Brand Owner:Peter Hassell Johnson – West Hollywood, CA Factory: Tabacalera Cubana, S. A. (TACUBA) – Esteli, Nicaragua Factory: Quality Control – El Rey de los Habanos – Miami, FL Model/Vitola: Cabaiguan Guapo – Limited Edition Size: 5.625 x 54 (robusto grande) Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut – Sun Grown Filler & Binder: Nicaragua
Original Cabaiguan vitola sizes available:
Petite Cabaiguan 4.5 x 32 (small panatela)
Robustos Extra 5.25 x 50 (robusto)
Belicosos Finos 5.5 x 52 (torpedo)
Coronas Extra 5.625 x 46 (grand corona)
Imperiales 7.0 x 47 (churchill)
The Guapo is the only “Sun Grown” size offered. It comes in cedar boxes of 20 without cellophane sleeves in a bunch surrounded by a grey satin ribbon and then wrapped in wax paper. The original Cabaiguans are packaged 24 to a box except the Petite which comes in boxes of 50.
The Guapo Experiment
I believe all Pepin fans are quite amazed at the number of cigars he is involved with either directly, as the brand owner himself or for other brand owners. Especially since he has only been at it for about 5 years after leaving Cuba. Pepin’s initial operation established in Miami has been quickly outgrown (discussed in the Serie JJ review) and as Pepin’s business partner and tobacco supplier, Eduardo Fernandez, hails from Nicaragua, it was only natural to set up the next facility there.The success of Tatuaje and Cabaiguan had a major impact on the decision to branch out. Consistency and quality are paramount to any real cigar success and I’m sure Pete Johnson, owner of those brands, enjoyed the control a small operation affords. But then there is the continuing need to create new and exciting products. To facilitate expansion, Pete and Don Pepin decided some production must move to Tabacalera Cubana, S.A. (TACUBA) but it would be necessary to test quality and consistency. Thus the Cabaiguan Guapo experiment was initiated. A limited-edition run of 50,000 cigars “totalamente hecho en TACUBA” and with quality control conducted at El Rey de los Habanos (ERDLH) in Miami. The Cabaiguan Guapo was the chosen guinea pig.
Cabaiguan Guapo (kah-bei-gWAHN goo-ah-poe)
The Cabaiguan brand is named after the purported Cuban home town of Maestro Tobaquero Don “Pepin” Garcia. Cabaiguan is the capital city in the municipality, of the same name, within the province of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. The Guapo — Spanish for “handsome” — is a regular Cabaiguan on the inside with an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper on the outside. Larger in ring gauge (54) than the others yielding some blending room. Unlike the original, it was rolled with a pigtail cap. It was pre-released to the market in September just before RTDA 2007.
Both Cigarfan and Lucky7 have sampled the Cabaiguan Guapo and the following review represents a combination of our observations.
Bottom line up front ….. The Guapo is definitely a little stronger than the original Cabaiguan but not by much. Probably a little strong for a breakfast cigar but certainly good any other time of day. Medium body with interesting flavor development through the first half and great aroma. Good construction yielding a beauty to look at as well as good draw and burn. Just a little pricey at $11 but a very good smoke.
Pre-light This cigar is quite the looker. It sports a smooth milk chocolate brown wrapper with a few veins and an abbreviated pigtail triple-cap just begging to be clipped. Construction is solid with no soft spots and it feels very nice in the hand. Aroma from the wrap is almost non-existent and the foot a grassy tobacco. Pre-light draw was fantastic with just the slightest resistance and a sweet tobacco taste. The aroma from the toasting foot really gets the juices flowing. Lucky7 tried both straight cut with a Xikar and a punch. The punch seemed to limit the ensuing heat towards the nub a little better.
The Smoking Experience Starts with a little bite then smoothes out quickly to a creamy base of toasty wood and bread with some spice and pepper on the nose. The wrapper imparts more spice than the regular Cabaiguan. Some notes of caramel and vanilla are evident in the first half. Second third ushers in a slight coffee flavor and the peppery edge on the nose subsides. Flavors leveled off at the halfway mark to a creamy sweet tobacco and remained that way to the nub without much additional development. Still a very pleasant smoke.The draw remained fantastic throughout. Burn line was a little bumpy at times but didn’t require the torch. Moderate volumes of smoke remain cool until the last third where it begins to heat up a bit. The ash is a medium gray and holds very well but flakes a bit. Initial ash nearly made the halfway mark and the rest made the nub. As an experiment Lucky7 tried ashing a Guapo every inch or so which seemed to improve flavor development.
Finish is medium in length with a light grassy aftertaste and it gets a little more toasty in the last third. Not much of a nicotine kick evident in this stick. Very easy going. Smoking time ran about an hour 15 minutes.
Our take ….. Lucky7: A very nice easy going smoke. It made for a successful experiment IMO. Quality and consistency were very good. Think it is probably a little too expensive at $11. Pepin makes some $6-$7 medium-bodied sticks that I would select over this one.
Cigarfan: The Tatuaje family resemblance is clearly evident in this Cabaiguan, but it’s also very distinct from its cousins. Not as powerful, but still very distinguished. To start with, it’s a beautifully constructed stick: solid with a velvety texture, though the wrapper looks light for a sungrown leaf. The burn throughout was good; overall this cigar exhibits very good construction. The flavors and aroma are everything we expect from Pepin and Tatuaje: lots of complexity, starting with his signature spicy opening. Later on we are treated to some interesting citrus flavors (which I always read about but rarely experience in a cigar) and varying shades of cocoa. I found a nice sweet maltiness in the last third. The underlying flavor is a mild woodiness that keeps an even steady beat without ever taking over, preferring to let the accents play the tune. Blending a mildish Ecuador Connecticut Shade with a toned-down version of the Tatuaje blend is an intriguing experiment. My suggestion is for everyone to sign up for guinea pig status. ASAP.
MSRP is $11 per stick. Best online price at the moment is Smoke Inn at $179.95/20 or $9 per stick. At Jack Schwartz Importers you can also buy singles for $10.25. This is a limited edition cigar so if you want to try one and can find them. Now’s the time.
Like it … Yes Buy it again …Probably not Recommend it …At least for a try
What others are saying about the Cabaiguan Guapo …..
Gustav Bock is best known as the first cigar maker to put bands on his Havanas, starting sometime around 1854. At that time most cigars were sold from large bags of loose sticks and couldn’t be identified once separated from the mothership. One story says that Bock invented the cigar band to keep inferior cigars from being sold as his own. Another, more unlikely, tale is that they were designed to prevent staining the fingers of high society ladies (or gents given to the practice of wearing white gloves.)
But Herr Bock was a master businessman who had a gift for marketing. When he found that he could not break into the American market without brand recognition, even when he was offering his cigars nearly at cost, he developed an ingenious plan. Legend has it that he shipped small lots of cigars to “various undiscoverable places” in the U.S. addressed to George Washington. The undervalued parcels never reached their fictitious destinations and were picked up by customs agents, sold at auction, and thereby entered the American market. The cigars were recognized for their quality, identified by their bands, and eventually gained a loyal following.
Today we have these bits of cigar lore by which to remember Gustav Bock, but during his lifetime he became a recognized captain of industry. In the latter part of his career, around the turn of the century, Bock’s holdings were consolidated to form Henry Clay, Bock and Co, and later he gained control of the Havana Commercial Company as well. At that time he controlled almost all of the cigar production in Cuba. Later on this company would be acquired by the American Tobacco Company, and eventually all these dealings would end up at the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court as an antitrust issue. Bock was more about big business than cigar bands, but today that is what remains. That, and a brand name.
One of Bock’s better known brands was called “Aguila de Oro” or Golden Eagle, and while the Bock brand name has passed through many hands in the past century, the eagle remains. There appears to be a Dominican made version of this cigar currently available in Europe. Altadis may be marketing one version to the U.S. and a different one to the EU, as it appears to be doing with the VegaFina brand as well.
In any case, the blend on the shelves here in the U.S. is of Nicaraguan origin, with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and Nicaraguan Habano binder and filler. The line was created (or re-introduced) by Altadis “to compliment our lines of inexpensive premium brands like Gispert and Vega Fina.”
The general appearance of the Bock robusto does nothing to betray the marketing of this cigar as an “inexpensive” brand. It’s rough and the cap is cut unevenly. It looks like it was thrown together in a rush. The prelight wrapper scent is of fresh hay and a prelight pull tastes bright and grassy. The draw is firm but serviceable.
But this cigar shouldn’t be judged by prelight appearances alone; it performs a whole lot better than it looks. It starts up with a pleasant toasty sweet tobacco flavor. Nothing unusual, just straight up smooth and creamy smoke. It’s mild to medium in body with a nice texture and very little bite. It sets up a solid white ash that compares favorably with any premium Nicaraguan cigar I’ve smoked in the past year.
This robusto builds in flavor toward the mid-point, getting a little woodier and by the last third brings a moderate dose of spice and most surprisingly, cocoa. I can’t think of another cigar in this price range that shows up with cocoa in any amount… but this one has it, at least in the mid to final stages. It’s not as thoroughgoing as the premium Pepin blends, but for a fraction of the price I have to say I’m impressed.
And the price is low. Seriously low. A box of Bock y Ca robustos runs around 30 USD. And yes, it’s a box, not a bundle. At this price you can hardly go wrong, unless you’re expecting a full bodied superpremium, which it isn’t. It’s a quality blue-collar medium bodied smoke, for a solid blue collar price. Try a couple. Your wallet will thank you and your palate won’t complain.
For other reviews of good cheap smokes, check out Walt’s Bargain Cigar Breakdown at the Stogie Review.
Pelo de Oro Habano from Felipe Gregorio gets its name from the strain of tobacco used for its wrapper. Pelo de Oro — Spanish for “golden hair” — is grown in the highlands of Costa Rica by John Vogel’s Tabacos de la Cordillera, a plantation that specializes in the cultivation of tobacco from “ancestral” Cuban seeds. Over the past twenty years Vogel has accumulated a bank of pre-embargo Cuban seeds obtained from sources in the industry and his colleagues in the field of tobacco genetics.
Whether this tobacco is really comparable to the stuff that went into pre-embargo Cubans is at controversy. At the end of the day, this tobacco is grown in Costa Rica, not Cuba, and I have yet to meet anyone who can reliably compare a flavor today with a memory fifty years old. ( Pre-embargo cigars still exist in the collections of connoisseurs, but it is safe to say they don’t taste now the way they did fifty years ago.) In any case, the preservation of these original seeds is indeed a worthy enterprise. One can only hope that someday Vogel will be able to plant them in Cuba.
As Director of Tabacos de la Cordillera Vogel now produces several lines of cigars, but he also grows leaf from these seeds for other manufacturers, which is where Felipe Gregorio’s Pelo de Oro comes in. Phillip Wynne, founder and president of Felipe Gregorio, wanted to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the company with a new release. He ended up with two: Pelo de Oro Habano, and a line called Power. Both use the pelo de oro wrapper and were introduced in 2006.
Pelo de Oro is available in four sizes, this 6 x 50 perfecto, as well as corona, corona gorda and rothschild formats. The binder used here is Dominican Piloto Cubano, and the filler is composed of aged Nicaraguan leaf. They are presented in traditional cedar chests of 50 sticks.
This perfecto is an attractive and refined shape, with a barrel that very gently expands to the advertised 50 ring gauge, though it appears to be much more slender. The wrapper is rough enough that it is difficult to pick out the cap construction, but the slightly flattened head appears to have a triple cap. The wrapper itself is a little splotchy in color, slightly coarse and marred by veins. I’m not sure that this is what I would call “golden hair.” Rapunzel might be a little embarrassed.
The Pelo de Oro Habano is an earthy tasting cigar with an unusual and pungent aroma. I had trouble coming up with descriptors for the scent, but it reminded me of rich wet earth, recently fertilized the natural way. Lots of barnyard, with maybe a smidgen of leather thrown in for balance. The taste is of straightforward tobacco with a vegetal base, somewhat plain but satisfying. As the cigar progressed it didn’t change dramatically, but perhaps became a little sweeter while retaining its rustic edge.
This cigar scores well in the construction department, with an easy draw, even burn and a solid ash. This allowed me the leisure to puzzle over the aroma and enjoy a well -balanced medium-bodied smoke for a good 45 minutes.
Just for kicks I used the cigar evaluation sheet found on the Tabacos Cordillera website and scored the Pelo de Oro perfecto at 17.4 out of 20, or 87 on the standard 100-point scale. I’m not crazy about numerical scoring, but this number sounds about right.
The perfectos retail for around 10 USD each and are sold in boxes of 50. It may be worth picking up a stick or two (preferably at a discount) just to sample this unusual wrapper leaf. For now I think I’ll pass on the cab.
In the 1960’s and early 70’s the Arturo Fuente company made a cigar in the style of the traditional Cuban perfecto called “Fancy Tales.” They eventually went out of production, but in the early 80’s Carlos Fuente, Jr. sparked a renaissance of the shape with the first Arturo Fuente Hemingway cigar, the 6 x 47 Signature. Carlos Fuente Sr. had learned to make this shape from his father, and to start making them again he first had to recover the original molds. After finding them in the old Ybor City factory, developing the right blend, and discovering that there was genuine interest in this old shape, the Hemingway series became a Fuente mainstay. Five years after the Signature came the Classic and Masterpiece sizes, all with the “Hemingway” perfecto foot, a mark of distinction which today is widely copied by other manufacturers.
The Work of Art is a limited edition cigar, produced in relatively small numbers and released around the holidays as a special treat for Fuente fanatics. The standard Hemingway series employs Cameroon wrapper, so the Connecticut broadleaf maduro version is an even dearer cigar. The WOAM (as it is sometimes called by Fuente followers) is not a parejo with a funny foot like the Signature or the Classic — it’s a figurado of the first order, with a pointy head and a ring gauge that graduates from 46 to a 60.
The blend is a trade secret. As Carlos Jr. explained in a Cigar Aficionado interview, the Fuente family still operates in stealth mode when it comes to guarding their “recipes”:
Q: They’re not written down? A: They’re not written down.
Q: All your blends? That’s amazing. A: That’s how my father taught me. We’re from the old school. Remember, I was born in a community where right next to my grandfather’s house was another cigar factory. At night, when they would have conversations, they would go, “Hush. They’re listening.”
So the only specifications available are that the filler is Dominican, as is the binder, and that is all ye need know.
Prelight
On second thought, ye need to know just a little bit more: the wrapper on this stout perfecto is rough and a little bit chipped, like an old saddle that has been well taken care of and handed down through the generations. Kind of smells like an old saddle too, or perhaps the horse that’s been saddled with it. In any case, this cigar definitely has the aura of maturity about it. The sugars from the wrapper add a soft note to the barnyard scent. After clipping the tip and taking a prelight draw I find some hay with a little sweetness.
First Half
The WOAM lights up easily, due in part to its surprisingly open draw. It tends to burn unevenly at first, but evens out with a little coaxing. The initial flavors are nutty with a sweet char. The finish is very short with a mild and clean aftertaste. This little guy produces lots of smooth smoke with every effortless draw. The aroma becomes woodier as the burn progresses and has a syrupy, molasses-like tinge to it. For the first couple of inches this is a very easygoing medium-bodied smoke.
Second Half
Due to the bulbous construction of this cigar most of it is consumed in the first half. The “sweet spot” is just at the mid-point where the flavor gets meatier, turning from smooth nutty flavors to smatterings of earth and black pepper. The aroma at this point is unreal — this is perhaps the most potently perfumey, sweet musky smoke I’ve experienced from a maduro. This is what I’m after in a stinky black stogie: something to make passersby turn around and take notice. It’s an exquisite scent.
The flavors get gradually darker as the cigar comes to a close. The finish grows to a spicy bite and finally signals the end with a dirty bitterness. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Conclusion
This is a marvelous little cigar. I rarely find much complexity in maduros, but this one has it: nuts, earth, spice, and a rich sweet aroma that invariably leaves me in a puddle. Due to the limited production (and because they’re damned good) prices tend to be inflated when they are in fact available, so be careful. Standard retail price is around 7 or 8 USD, which is extremely reasonable given the quality of the cigar.
If you like a smooth medium-bodied maduro with a lot of complexity, you’ll love this one. Keep an eye out this holiday season for this classic and elusive cigar.
Cigar Stats Brand Owner: El Rey de los Habanos, Inc. – Miami, FL Factory: Rosado Corojo – El Rey de los Habanos – Miami, FL Factory: Maduro Corojo – Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez, S. A. (TACUBA) – Esteli, Nicaragua Model/Vitola: Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ (White Label) Belicoso Size: 5.75 x 52 (torpedo) Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo (Rosado & Maduro) Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo & Criollo
Other vitola sizes available Rosado
Selectos 5.0 x 50 (robusto)
Sublime 6.0 x 54 (toro)
Salomon 7.25 x 57 (perfecto)
Maduro
Selectos 5.0 x 50 (robusto)
Sublime 6.0 x 54 (toro)
All sizes are offered in cedar boxes of 24 with the exception of the Salomon which comes in boxes of 5 – Rosado Corojo wrapped cigars are shipped naked and the Maduro with cellophane sleeves
El Rey de los Habanos (ERDLH) in Miami and Estelí
Being a lover of Pepin Garcia’s cigars, I follow events surrounding their production with great interest and, like many others, have a little concern about the volume of labels this man is producing. Not that I have experienced any degradation in quality but at some point, common sense would tell you something’s gotta’ give. There was some negative buzz surrounding new production at Pepin’s Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez, S.A. (TACUBA – co-owned by Garcia and Eduardo Fernandez) in Estelí, Nicaragua, which opened mid-2006. Most aficionados were concerned about maintenance of production quality and the availability of tobaccos but honestly, as a consumer, I have not detected any problems. Products are readily available (relatively speaking) and the quality seems to be improving IMHO. TACUBA will pump out 2 million-plus cigars in 2007 and the Miami facility, will achieve ~700,000. Jaime says, “The company will grow, but not at the expense of quality.” I believe him.
—Some of the cigars produced at TACUBA
Don Pepín García Serie JJ (White Label) Maduro
Don Pepín García Cuban Classic (Black Label)
El Centurion by Don Pepín García
EO Brands 601 (United Tobacco)
Tatuaje Havana VI (Pete Johnson)
Tatuaje Havana VI – Exclusivo Verocu (Pete Johnson)
Tatuaje Series P (Pete Johnson)
Old Henry (Holt’s)
Fumadores (Holt’s)
Holt’s Connoisseur Selection
Padilla Edicion Especial Achilles (Cigars International)
Legends Pepín García – Yellow Label (Cigars International)
Troya Clasico
Cigar.com Corojo Label
Ashton San Cristobal
5 Vegas Miami (yes this is made in Nicaragua)
Tabacalera Cubana Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua
Video — 10:56 minutes
A side note — Please do not confuse Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez, S. A. (TACUBA) owned by Garcia/Fernandez with Tabacalera Cubana Corp. (a cigar manufacturer) and Tabacalera Popular Cubana, Inc. (a cigar retailer) both of which are owned by Pedro Gomez and his sons Edel and Joel. Back in 2003, Altadis won a law suit against the Gomez family for violating Altadis trademarks by selling “Cuban replica” Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta cigars. A federal judge ruled the Gomez’s were personally liable for the damages and awarded Altadis $900K. An expensive mistake. In addition, there is another factory in Estelí, Tabacalera Cubana Nicaraguense, S. A. (TACUNISA) also totally unrelated.
Pepin has been rolling cigars since the age of 12 and aside from 2-years in the military, has not stopped. He received the rank of Tabequero Maestro while rolling and blending cigars in Cuba. He can make just about anything out of tobacco leaves. He personally specializes in those extremely difficult large figurados called diademas or salomons. A torpedo head and supple curves as you get toward the foot, which has a big bulb then a small nipple. It takes a lot of cuts to make that work, and Pepin makes it look simple. He always seems to smile as he rolls. Watching him, you can tell he really enjoys what he’s doing. He trained rollers in Cuba, and now he’s training them in Miami and in Estelí.
Don Pepín García Cigar Rolling Demo @ RTDA 2007
Video — 2:27 minutes
El Rey de los Habanos Booth @ RTDA 2007
Video — 1:52 minutes
When Pepin Garcia left Cuba for Nicaragua, he worked with Fernandez in the Jalapa region, and then opened El Rey de los Habanos (Little Havana) in 2003. High ratings in Cigar Aficionado soon followed. But the Garcia’s could only do so much in Miami. Given the tiny factory had a total of 12 rollers, expansion was inevitable and I believe the addition of 36 pairs of rollers in the TACUBA factory learning from Pepin is a boon for cigar smokers everywhere. There are differences in rolling approach at the 2 factories. In Miami, the cigars are made by one person, who bunches and wraps. In Estelí, the bunching is done by one worker, the wrapping by another, thus the “pairing” of rollers.
To help bring TACUBA up to speed Pepin’s son, Jaime, now spends much of his time there: one month in Nicaragua, followed by a few weeks in Miami, then back to Nicaragua. His father does a similar rotation to ensure that one of them is at the Estelí factory on most days.
It’s amazing to think that, with so many cigar making operations out there collectively employing tens of thousands of rollers, probably 50-60% of the cigars I regularly smoke are made by the same 12 rollers in one tiny little factory in Miami and 72 rollers in one slightly bigger factory in Estelí. That’s right, I am a Pepin whore and proud of it!
Don Pepín’s Dream Cigar
In an interview Pepin was asked what tobaccos he would use to make his finest cigar. Would it be all Cuban? All Nicaraguan? He replied, “The wrapper would be Cuban. The binder would come from Nicaragua, as would two leaves of ligero filler. The seco and viso filler would come from Cuba. That cigar,” he says with confidence, talking about his dream smoke, “would score perfectly in anyone’s rating system.” Jaime Garcia claims, “Cuban tobacco is the best in the world, when worked properly. Nicaraguan tobacco is very close to the quality of the best tobacco in Cuba.” I think the Garcia’s tried to create that incredible “dream cigar” when they blended the Serie JJ, or come as close to it as possible sans the Cuban tobaccos.
It is arguable that Don Pepin is currently making some of the best smokes in the world today. His secret family recipe for blending and fermentation has been handed down generation to generation since his family’s beginnings in old Cuba. I for one am oh so glad he left the island. Thanks Jose for all these fantastic smokes. Keep em’ comin’ big guy!
Don Pepín García Serie JJ (White Label)
The Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ, a medium to full-bodied Nicaraguan puro, was blended by Jose in collaboration with his son and protégé, Jaime—thus the name “JJ”. It debuted in 2005. The tobaccos are rich Nicaraguan leaf that rivals the flavor, character and experience of the finest Cuban cigars. Exquisitely made with the careful construction that has become a DPG hallmark. This amazing cigar, which Pepin proudly called “his masterpiece”, was one of the highest rated and top selling cigars of 2006/2007. Because it is so popular, he has blessed the cigar world with a delicious Maduro version of this world-class blend, released at this years RTDA in August. Although it is not the first Maduro created by Don Pepin, it is the first with his name on it.
Also a medium to full-bodied smoke (ERDLH calls it 3/4 to full); the Serie JJ Maduro is an exquisite cigar sporting a luscious Nicaraguan Maduro Corojo wrapper leaf. It is a smooth smoke building in complexity as it is enjoyed and the aromas are truly mouth-watering. I have mentioned to several buds that I think the Serie JJ Maduro could be serious competition for the PAM. Not quite as strong but has all the other attributes one looks for in a special occasion cigar and comes in at less than half the price.
Both Cigarfan and I have sampled the Serie JJ and the following review represents a combination of both of our observations.
Bottom line up front …..
Both the Rosado and Maduro versions of the Serie JJ are not to be missed for anyone who enjoys complex full-bodied smokes. These are some serious good smokin’. The core blend is clearly evident in both while the different wrappers impart a unique experience. Son magníficas y deliciosos!
The Serie JJ is said to be one of Don Pepin’s favorite smokes. It ranks up there for me as well!
Pre-light
Both the Rosado and Maduro appear a bit ruddy with a few veins but the construction is solid with no soft spots. The belicoso’s are beautifully triple-capped in a large swirl. There is a very small tooth over the entire wrap. Pre-light draw is excellent with perfect resistance and the belicoso feels balanced in the hand, like it belongs there.
Rosado
The wrapper is a light-brown Rosado Corojo which is not as dark as regular Corojo and is a bit creamier on the palate. There is very little pre-light aroma from the wrap though the pepper did tingle my nose, even unlit.
Maduro
A thick, oily dark-brown wrapper with a deep red hue in the background envelopes this stogie. The aroma from the unlit wrap is hay with a touch of barnyard. The pre-light draw leaves an ever so slight sweet taste on the lips.
The Smoking Experience
Both versions of the JJ toast and light very easily for a large ring gauge and draw is superb end to end. Both burned well with the burn line getting a little bumpy but self correcting.
Both exhibit lite bite for the first half inch and then hold medium strength until the halfway mark where they begin to ramp up. The last third of each fit squarely in the full strength category. Doesn’t make you dizzy though. The nicotine is not overpowering. Just enough to let you know that you have smoked a fine cigar!
Both had a good volume of cool smoke and time to nub was around an hour fifteen minutes. Each provides a long smooth finish with a pleasant aftertaste of dark coffee or mocha.
Ash on both is a light to medium gray and holds well. First ash for me would hold until about the halfway mark. The Maduro ash did a little flaking but nothing obtrusive. I did find it interesting that both cigars seemed to have better flavor if I kept the ash short. Unusual.
Rosado
Starts with a little pepper on the back of the throat and some sharp pepper on the nose. That lasts about 1/2 inch, and then warms to a creamy and smooth core of toasty wood and leather with very distinct notes of vanilla, cherry and cinnamon. Some hints of coffee and toasted nuts (maybe roasted cashews) in the second half. Aroma is of sweet tobacco and has a “Corojo twang of pepper” pretty much through the entire cigar.
Maduro
Start is similar to the Rosado but has a little sweet edge to it I attribute to the Maduro wrap. It settles into a darker earthy core flavor of sweet wood and bittersweet chocolate with notes of espresso and cinnamon. The flavor and aroma is so buttery you might think you were in the theater for a movie. The aroma from the Maduro wrap is remarkably strong—that’s one serious leaf. You may want to have a handkerchief close by for the aftermath. What starts as a little pepper on the tongue and the back of the throat continue through the entire cigar. Pepper really ramps up in the last third.
My take …..
I read that Don Pepin Garcia feels cigar aging is not necessary, in fact, he says Cuban cigar makers pitch product if it hangs around the humidor too long (love to dumpster dive in that neighborhood). I find that intriguing since I am sitting on about 350 Pepin sticks that just seem to get better and better the older they get!
Both Serie JJ varieties are top notch and near the top of my favorite cigar list. You won’t find me without some these in the humi unless I’m pushing up daisies and my wife has thrown them away or, perish the thought, Pepin stops making them.
Both Cigarfan and I are hoping a little age will temper the pepper in the Maduro version. I like a little pepper, but in moderation.
MSRP on the Corojo wrap is $210.00/24 or $8.75 per stick. MSRP on the Maduro wrap is $238.00/24 or $9.92 per stick. Best online price at the moment is Cigar Place at $149.99/24 or $6.25 per stick. A steal for this kind of quality. These cigars compare to stogies that cost 3 times as much in some cases.
Like it … Love them Buy it again … As many as I can afford Recommend it … Strongly
What others are saying about Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ (White Label) …..
Like it … Yes
Cigarfan.net 