Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro by My Father Cigars

Today, we review the Don Pepin Vintage Edition in the Toro size. The Don Pepin Vintage line first made its debut in 2023. Initially, it was a release made exclusive to members of the Tobacconists Association of America (TAA), but this past year, it had a widespread national release at the 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. The Don Pepin Vintage Edition was a part of My Father Cigars’ 20th anniversary, celebrated in 2023. It is named after the patriarch of the company, Don José “Pepin” Garcia. The Don Pepin name was the original brand Garcia used on his earliest cigars before the establishment of My Father Cigars.

The Vintage Edition is said to pay homage to the very early days when Don Pepin Garcia was rolling cigars in Miami. The band on the vintage edition was designed based on one of those cigars. I’ve seen some pictures of the cigar band it was based on, but as far as that original cigar itself, I’m not aware of any specifics around it.

Let’s break down the Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro without further ado and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro by My Father Cigars – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Don Pepin Vintage Edition blend consists of 100% Nicaraguan-grown tobacco highlighted by a Corojo ’99 wrapper. Production comes from the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Offered

When it was first released to the TAA, the Don Pepin Vintage Edition was available in the Robusto, Toro, and Toro Gordo sizes. The Petite Robusto and Corona Gorda sizes were added for the national release. The other change is the box counts. While the TAA release was in ten-count boxes, the five sizes of the national release are in 20-count boxes.

Petite Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Corona Gorda: 5 3/4 x 48
Robusto: 5 x 54
Toro: 6 x 52
Toro Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance (*)

The Vintage Edition Toro’s Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper was quite impressive. It had a dark caramel color to it. There was a light sheen of oil on the wrapper. The seams of the wrapper were minimally visible. While there were some thin visible veins, this was a relatively smooth-looking wrapper.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut removed the cap before lighting up the Vintage Edition Toro. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered notes of cream and earth. Overall, this was not a very exciting pre-light draw experience. Because the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric merit score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. It was time to light up the Vintage Edition Toro and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Vintage Edition Toro opened with notes of herb, cedar, cream, earth, and lemon. Early on, the herb and lemon notes moved into the forefront. The earth, cedar, and cream notes settled into the background. The early part of the first saw the lemon and herb notes also on the retro-hale. As the cigar moved through the first third, some black pepper also emerged in the background. The black pepper reached the retro-hale and became the prominent note.

During the second third of the Vintage Edition Toro, the lemon and herb notes remained primary, while the earth, cedar, and pepper notes remained secondary. The cream notes diminished significantly, and by the time the cigar passed the midway point, they had been dissipated.

The final third saw the lemon and herb notes still grounded in the forefront. The pepper had increased and was now the most prominent of the secondary notes. In addition, notes of earth and cedar rounded out the flavor profile. This is how the Vintage Edition Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Vintage Edition Toro was a well-constructed cigar, and this was reflected in the burn. The cigar needed minimal touch-ups to maintain a straight burn line and a straight burn path. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose or flaky either. It had several shades of charcoal gray color to it. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The Vintage Edition Toro’s draw was open. It wasn’t loose, but I usually prefer what Ben Lee calls the “milkshake draw” – a draw with a bit of resistance. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

The Vintage Edition Toro opened with mild to medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. During the first third, the strength kicked up to medium. The strength continued to increase throughout the smoking experience gradually but didn’t get out of the medium range. As for the body, this also increased, and by the second half, medium to full-bodied flavors were being delivered.

The body maintained the edge throughout the smoking experience in terms of strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

In the introduction, I mentioned that the Vintage Edition’s band design was based on a cigar from the early days of Don Pepin’s cigars. I have mentioned in the past that My Father Cigars has done some of the best packaging in the business, and the Vintage Edition is no exception. The combination of the vintage-looking band and varnished boxes is simple but elegant enough to work nicely.

Packaging of the Don Pepin Vintage Edition

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

In the case of the Vintage Edition Toro, it has beautiful packaging and excellent construction, but it simply was not enough. The most critical attribute was flavor, and the herbal-centric profile of the flavor here merely does not work well. The problem was that as the cigar got bolder in strength and body, the shortcomings of the flavor profile in my book were amplified. Ultimately, it’s $14.00, and I know I can do better within the My Father portfolio here. In the end, this is a cigar I don’t see myself returning to, but I would be curious to try the different sizes.

Summary

Key Flavors: Herb, Lemon, Cedar, Cream, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (Start), Medium (Remainde)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good