Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 by My Father Cigars

In 2019, My Father Cigars announced the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019. It’s the fourth Jaime Garcia-branded limited edition cigar by My Father Cigars. The 10th Anniversary pays homage to the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial brand, which was first introduced in 2009. It’s a cigar named for Jaime Garcia, the son of Don Pepin Garcia, who handles much of the blending for My Father Cigars. Today, we take a closer look at the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019.

With the exception of 2014, My Father Cigars has released at least one limited edition cigar across several of its brands. The common denominator is that each of these blends has utilized Pelo de Oro tobacco in the blend. Pelo de Oro is a flavorful tobacco that is susceptible to mold, and as a result it has lower yields when harvested. This has been a gating factor for the availability of these tobaccos and My Father Cigars has utilized the limited edition route for cigars that incorporate this tobacco. With the exception of the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary (which also had a Robusto release), all of the My Father Limited Edition releases have been in the form of a 6 1/2 x 52 Toro.

For completeness, here is a list of the My Father Limited Editions:

Without further ado, let’s break down the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Keeping to the mantra of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial core line and the three of the previous Jaime Garcia limited edition releases, the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 utilizes a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Like all of the My Father limited edition cigars, the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 utilizes Pelo de Oro tobacco.

The Nicaraguan tobaccos come from the farms owned by the Garcia family.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars SA

Vitolas Offered

The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 comes in one size – 6 1/2 x 52. This is the size used on most of the My Father Limited Edition releases and the previous three Jaime Garcia Limited Edition cigars. The 10th Anniversary release comes packaged in 16-count boxes with a total production of 2,500 boxes produced.

Appearance

The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 had a dark chocolate color with a somewhat rugged look to it. Upon closer examination, there was some darker mottling on the surface of the wrapper. This was a wrapper that didn’t have much oil on it. The wrapper also had visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

There are three bands on the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019. The primary band is the one common to the whole Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial line. The background is pale yellow with blue, rust and gold. It says “JAIME GARCIA” in blue font with “Reserva Especial” in blue script. On the right side of the band is the name “My Father Cigars” in blue font. The band is also adorned with some gold medallions.

The secondary band uses a similar color scheme to the primary band. There is a deep blue colored field on the center of the band with the text “JG LIMITED EDITION” and a signature of Jaime Garcia in gold font. The left side of the band has a gold “MF” insignia and the right has the text “MY FATHER CIGARS” in gold font. On the lower portion of the band is a pale yellow ribbon design with the text “HAND MADE” in gold font. There is a small rust colored field on each side of the lower portion of the band. It has the text “ESTELI” and “NICARAGUA” on the left and right respectively – both in gold font.

The cigar also uses a footer band with a similar color scheme to the other two bands. There is also a blue field on the center of this band with the text “10th ANNIVERSARY 2019” in gold font. The left side of the band has the text “MY FATHER CIGARS” in gold font and the right side has the “MF” insignia – both in gold font (inverse positions from the secondary band). There is a small rust colored field on each side of the upper portion of the band. It has the text “ESTELI” and “NICARAGUA” on the left and right respectively – both in gold font (in the same positions as the primary band).

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw. There were some deep espresso notes with some dark chocolate mixed in (giving it what I term “mocha”). There were also some notes of cedar mixed in. This was an excellent pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition cigar and see what smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 started out with notes of espresso, earth, black pepper, and cedar. During the very early stages, the espresso notes took over as the primary note. There was a subtle underlying sweetness to this espresso flavor. Meanwhile, the earth, black pepper, and cedar notes became secondary notes contributing to rounding out the flavor profile. On the retro-hale, there was what could be best described as an exotic spice.

During the second third, the cedar and pepper notes started to increase in intensity. To a lesser extent, there was an increase in earth notes. However, for the most part, the espresso notes continued to dominate as the primary flavor.

By the final third of the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition, the espresso notes remained grounded in the forefront. The pepper notes had closed in on the espresso, but just fell short of eclipsing it in intensity. The espresso still had a slightly sweet component to it. Meanwhile, there were still notes of cedar and earth rounding out the flavor profile. As the cigar experience of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 closed, the cigar finished with a slightly soft and cool nub.

Burn

There was a slight amount of jaggedness on the burn line of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019, but that was more cosmetic than anything. There also was a slight amount of meandering on the burn path. This was remedied with some touch-ups and that kept the burn on track. The resulting ash had several shades of gray on it. This was an ash that was skewed toward the firmer side. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019

Draw

The draw of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 had some openness to it. It was a little more open than I prefer, but it still wasn’t a bad draw. Other than being more open than I prefer, there were no adverse effects it had on the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 started out with medium strength and medium body. Just past the midway point, there was a spike in the intensity of the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition and the strength and body progressed to medium to full. The intensity still climbed slightly until the end of the cigar experience, but the cigar remained in medium to full territory.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

While I was somewhat disappointed with the 2018 My Father Limited Edition release of the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary and My Father Limited Edition 10th Anniversary, the series bounces back nicely with the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019. This isn’t going to be the most complex of smokes, but it excels in the most important category – flavor. At $19.00, it’s not an inexpensive cigar, but it’s a cigar I would certainly recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast. I’d also recommend this to a newer cigar enthusiast looking to graduate to something bolder. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again – and pick up multiples to keep in my humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Espresso, Earth, Black pepper, Cedar
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium (Just past midway point), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium (Just past midway point), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good