 |
| Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 by My Father Cigars (Cigar Coop Photo) |
The Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 is as the name indicates – a cigar commemorating the ten year anniversary of the brand that started it all for the Garcia family. It was in Miami, Florida back in 2002 where Don Pepin Garcia opened up the El Rey de los Habanos factory. One of those cigars that originally came out of that factory is the Don Pepin Garcia Original (commonly called the Blue Label). It would be that line which would serve as an inspiration for the 10th Anniversary cigar. The Garcia family would pull out all of the stops to make this particular cigar. There was a considerable build-up since the end of last year for this cigar. While the cigar made a sneak preview at a 10th Anniversary party thrown by the Garcias this Spring, it would be the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show where this cigar was finally released. I recently had an opportunity to smoke the Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013. This cigar lives up to all of the expectations and it will rank as one of the Garcia family’s all-time releases.
In terms of this release, the Garcias are going top of the line in terms of the packaging and the blend. Each cigar is being packaged in an individual coffin box. The coffin boxes are then packed in a numbered commemorative box. If this sounds familiar, this is similar to how the My Father Limited Edition 2010 – the Garcia’s first ultra-premium limited edition cigar was packaged. The difference here is the packaging for the 10th Anniversary is inspired by the Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label.
 |
| Coffin for the Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 (Cigar Coop Photo) |
 |
| Packaging of the Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 (Cigar Coop Photo from IPCPR) |
The Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary is going to be one of the pricier cigars by My Father Cigars. The SRP is listed at $21.95. While we don’t factor price into our assessment ratings and scores, we do mention this for informational purposes.
At this point, let’s break down the Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 and see what the cigar experience delivers:
Blend Profile
The wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano seed from 2009. The binder and filler are from Nicaragua utilizing crops from 2007 and 2008. In keeping with the tradition of the previous ultra-premium limited editions from My Father Cigars the blend incorporates pelo d’oro tobacco.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano-seed (2009)
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitolas Available
The DPG Limited Edition will be made in one size – a 6 1/2 x 52 toro. This size is also consistent to previous limited editions by My Father Cigars.
There are 14 coffin boxes packed in the commemorative box. There are a total of 2500 boxes produced.
Appearance
The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper to the DPG 10th Anniversary has a nice chocolate color to it. It almost is as dark as a maduro. The wrapper itself has an oily complexion and it features a triple cap. There are a few visible veins and a few visible wrapper seams.
The band to the DPG 10th Anniversary draws its inspiration from the Don Pepin Blue Label band. I’d consider the 10th Anniversary band to be much more intricate. The 10th Anniversary band has a rich sea blue color with gold, red, and orange adornments on it. At the top of the band is a red and gold crown. Under the crown it says “MY FATHER CIGARS” in thin blue font on the gold adornment. The main part of the band features a sea blue field with a chain-link gold pattern. On that field is the DPG symbol in gold. Below that it says “Don Pepin Garcia” and “10th Anniversary” in a classic gold font. Below that it says “LIMITED EDITION” in thin blue font on a gold adornment. To the far right is the signature “Jose Pepin Garcia” in gold font.
 |
| Open coffin of the Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 (Cigar Coop Photo) |
As mentioned each cigar is packaged in a coffin box with a light varnish finish. The coffin has a slide top and has the text “Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary in blue cursive text and “LIMITED EDITION 2013” in blue printed text.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to begin the cigar experience. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded to begin the pre-light draw. The cold draw yielded some notes of unsweetened chocolate, pepper, and just a touch of cherry sweetness. Overall, I was quite pleased with the pre-light draw the DPG 10th Anniversary offered up. At this point I was ready to light up my cigar and see what the overall cigar experience would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
With DPG 10th Anniversary, one thing that I was little surprised was that out of the gate, I didn’t get a typical Garcia family pepper blast. At the same time, there was no shortage of flavor. I was treated to notes of cocoa and nut with some mild pepper and some background grass notes. The pepper picked up after a few minutes joining the cocoa and nut flavors, but I would not categorize it as a “blast”. The retro-hale was not typical for a Garcia family cigar as I detected an herbal spice through the nasal passages.
When the cigar reached the second third, the pepper spice diminished again into the background with the grass notes. The cocoa and nut flavors remained in the forefront. By this point I could also detect some cocoa with the herbal spice on the retro-hale.
As the DPG 10th entered the second half, some earth notes joined the nut in the forefront. The cocoa notes receded joining the grass and pepper in the background. The DPG 10th Anniversary continued to get more earthy as it reached the latter stages of the smoke. While I see this happen with a lot of cigars, the nice thing was that the secondary notes (grass, pepper, and cocoa) continued to produce nice flavor nuances with the earth notes.
The close to the DPG 10th Anniversary was flavorful. There was no harshness and it was not overly spice. The nub was a real finger-burner – cool in temperature and firm to the touch.
Burn and Draw
With a higher price tag, I had high expectations for the attributes of burn and draw. The DPG 10th Anniversary has impeccable construction, and the burn and draw reflect this. The burn line remained relatively straight from start to finish requiring minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was a nice salt and pepper color – and had no flaking or flowering. The burn temperature was ideal. I thought the burn rate was a little fast each time I smoked cigar, but it had no negative effects other than the cigar just burned fast.
 |
| Burn of the Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 |
The draw was excellent. It was not too tight or too loose. This made the DPG 10th Anniversary a low maintenance cigar to smoke from start to finish.
Strength and Body
From a strength perspective, the DPG 10th Anniversary is not going to be “in your face”. The cigar starts out as a medium strength cigar. I did find the strength ramped up – and by the second half the strength was in the medium to full range. The strength never got to be too much – and it never crossed into full strength territory. The flavors have some nice depth to them. I assessed them to be medium to full-bodied – again not getting to be what i term “too heavy”. There is good balance between the strength and body, but I give a slight edge to the body.
Final Thoughts
There was a lot of hype on this cigar. We had high expectations for this cigar too. We predicted this as one of the top five hottest relases at the 2013 IPCPR (and I think the sales lived up to it). We had this as our #1 overall pick in the 2013 Cigar Coop Cigar Draft. The Don Pepin Garcia – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013 lived up to these expectations rather easily. Yes, this cigar will carry a steeper price tag, but this cigar is also the total package. It is one of the best releases to come out of My Father – and there have been some good ones.
While the banding does have some parallels to Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label, the similarities stop there. The DPG 10th Anniversary cigar is completely different than Blue Label. I’d recommend this to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast with no problem. If a novice is looking for a special occasion cigar that is a little stronger an fuller, I would not hesitate to recommend this. As for myself, this is not only box worthy, but one of 2013’s bet. This is highly recommended in my book.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 95
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased at Outland Cigars in Charlotte, North Carolina
