Today, we review the Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary by My Father Cigars. It marks the 20th anniversary of company patriarch Don Pepin Garcia setting up shop at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Little Havana, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Don Pepin Garcia brand. A few years later, Pepin’s son Jaime Garcia went to Nicaragua and started working on a blend without his father’s knowledge. Eventually, he gave the cigars to his father, who fell in love with them. Jaime decided to name that cigar “My Father”, which would not only develop into a brand name, but became the company name of the Garcia family.  The 15th Anniversary of My Father was also in 2023 (but there wasn’t a cigar this year for that). The 20th Anniversary pays homage to the cigar that started it all for the Garcia family, Don Pepin Garcia Original (a.k.a Don Pepin Blue Label).

2023 is also the anniversary of Tatuaje Cigars. As many know, Pete Johnson started working with Pepin and El Rey de los Habanos that same year. He has been making cigars with the Garcias ever since.

The Limited Editions

Over the years, My Father has built up quite an impressive roll-call of limited-edition cigars. In all of these cases, these have been one-and-done releases.

• My Father Limited Edition 2010
• My Father Limited Edition 2011
• Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011 (included bonus 2012 cigar)
• Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2012 (included bonus 2011 cigar)
• My Father Limited Edition 2012
• Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2013
• My Father Limited Edition 2015 5th Anniversary
• My Father Le Bijou 1922 Limited Edition 2016
• Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2017
• Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary
• My Father 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2018
• Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019
• My Father Cigars Humidor Deluxe Edition (2021)
• Flor de Las Antillas Limited Edition 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2022
• My Father Le Bijou 1922 100 Años Limited Edition Corona Extra
• Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary
• Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary (Humidor Release) (2)
• La Union (Black) (2)

(2) Two blend release

The 20th Anniversary Releases

Three limited edition 20th Anniversary Cigars were released under the Don Pepin Garcia brand. The first is the Nicaraguan puro we are assessing today. This comes in a special 20-counthumidor box.

In addition, there was a larger ultra-premium Elie Bleu humidor release. The Elie Blue release comes with two other blends: Connecticut Shade and Habano.  The “regular” Nicaragua puro 20th Anniversary is limited to 5,000 20-count humidors.  The Elie Humidor is limited to 75 units, each containing 50 cigars of the Connecticut and 50 cigars of the Habano. Coming in for $40.00, the Nicaraguan puro we are assessing today is one of the more premium offerings by My Father Cigars. The Connecticut Shade and Habano offerings that are not covered today have even higher price points.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary by My Father cigars and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary by My Father Cigars – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

As mentioned, the 20th Anniversary consists of all Nicaraguan tobaccos grown on the Garcia family farms. The blend incorporates Pelo de Oro, which has been a staple of many of the various limited editions that My Father has released over the years. Because Pelo de Oro is susceptible to mold, it is grown in small quantities and used in small quantities. My Father says that in addition to Pelo de Oro, the blend includes Corojo, Criollo, and Habano tobaccos.

Today, the Garcias make most of their cigars at their My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, where the 20th Anniversary is produced.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Available

The 20th Anniversary comes in one size—a 6 1/ 2 x  50. This size and shape have been used in many of My Father’s various limited editions over the years. The cigars come in a 20-count box that serves as a humidor.

There was a total production of 5,000 boxes, of which 1,100 were handled for the international market, leaving 3,900 for the U.S.

Appearance

The 20th Anniversary’s Nicaraguan wrapper had a color I would describe as chocolate bar brown with a strong rosado tint. This was a smooth wrapper with some oils on the surface. There were some thin, visible veins. Any visible wrapper seams were minimal.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

After removing the ribbon around the footer, a straight cut was used to commence the smoking experience of the 20th Anniversary. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a combination of cedar, cream, coffee beans, and some light spices. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast the 20th Anniversary and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes (*)

The 20th anniversary opened up with an assortment of flavors. This included coffee beans, cedar, citrus, natural tobacco, earth, and baker’s spice notes. The coffee bean notes were settled as the primary note during the first third. The citrus, earth, and baker’s spice settled in the background. As for the cedar and natural tobacco notes, these floated back and forth between the forefront and background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered a layer of white pepper. By the end of the first third, some of the white pepper was on the tongue.

The second third of the 20th Anniversary saw the coffee bean and cedar notes grounded in the forefront. The natural tobacco notes were now in the background with the citrus, earth, baker’s spice, and pepper. The pepper notes gradually increased in intensity during this third.

The final third saw the pepper join the cedar and coffee bean notes in the forefront. The triple combination of the coffee bean, cedar, and pepper was dominant. There were still some background notes of natural tobacco, earth, baker’s spice, and citrus. This is how the 20th Anniversary came to a close. The resulting nub is soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the 20th Anniversary was on the high-maintenance side.  The burn was quite uneven and, at times, wanted to meander. This particularly became a problem in the second third with each of the cigars I smoked. The result was frequent touch-ups.  The resulting ash had a silver-gray color. This wasn’t the firmest ash in the world, but it was neither loose nor flaky. The burn temperature was ideal. The burn rate was a little slow but not horribly slow. This was about a two-and-a-half-hour smoke.

Draw

The 20th Anniversary’s draw was open. Normally, I like a little resistance in the draw. Despite the more open draw, I was still surprised this was a slow-smoking cigar.

Strength and Body

The 20th Anniversary opened with medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both intensity levels increased in the first half, and by the second half, both attributes were in medium to full territory. The intensity continued to increase in the second half, but it was very gradual, and the 20th Anniversary remained in medium to full territory.

The strength and body balanced each other very nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

My Father is doing some of the best packaging in the cigar industry. The 20th Anniversary offering is no exception as this packaging is quite impressive. We will start with the outer box.

The humidor unit is packaged inside a velvet sleeve.

The humidor itself has an elegant blue “piano style” finish. After testing it, I found it sealed well and maintained the humidity well.

Given that the 20th Anniversary pays homage to Don Pepin Garcia’s Blue Label line, it is no surprise that the bands are a more embellished version of the Don Pepin Garcia Original band. This band is quite similar to what was used on the Don Pepin Garcia 10th and 15th Anniversary cigars. Overall, I think this is an excellent design, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel with the band.

One final note is that the 20th Anniversary cigars did not come packaged in coffins like the 10th and 15th Anniversary cigars. I really didn’t have a problem with this, as I am not the biggest fan of coffins.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The way the 20th Anniversary came out of the gate, it looked for a few minutes like My Father could be on the way to another Cigar of the Year finish. However, this soon turned into a tale of two cigars. The second third saw the burn maintenance take away some of the scores, and more significantly, the flavors no longer performed at the level in the first third. This resulted in an more ordinary smoke. By the final third, the flavors seemed unbalanced – more in favor of the spice.

The 20th Anniversary still managed to rack up a respectable 88-point score. This was on the strength of the flavors early on and the complexity level this cigar had throughout the smoking experience. However, at $40.00, this is quite a pricey cigar. In terms of value, I recommend trying this before smoking, but that might not be practical for a limited-edition, ultra-premium cigar like this.

Summary

Key Flavors:  Coffee Bean, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Baker’s Spice, Earth, Citrus, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (Second Half)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (Second Half)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 88

REFERENCES

News: Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary Showcased at the 2023 PCA Trade Show
Price: $40.00
Source: Cigar Coop via Blue Smoke Dallas
Brand Reference: My Father

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop

(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating