Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1952

Overall Score

1 review for Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1952

  1. Joe K

    Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic

    Don Pepin Garcia cigarsOrigin : United States
    Format : Perla
    Size : 4.25 x 40
    Wrapper : Nicaraguan Corojo
    Filler : Nicaragua
    Binder : Nicaragua
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~$95 for a box of 20

    After last week’s debacle with the Series JJ White Label I usually would have put Don Pepin’s products out of my lineup for at least a short while to get the sour taste out of my mouth and intended to do just that. Shortly after writing the review, however, I received gifts from two separate individuals and each contained a Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Blend. Neither had read the Series JJ review and although this blend is not uncommon, I found it an interesting coincidence that they would both send a stick from the line. Always on the lookout for shorter smokes, I put the Perla 1952 size in my desktop humidor to rest and stowed the larger in my coolidor.

    Five days later, I found myself staring into my humidor in an attempt to determine which victim would meet my torch that day. While scanning over the various smokes, my eyes kept coming back to the Black Label I had just added. Although I almost never smoke a shipped stick without at least a week’s rest, I felt myself continually compelled to pull this one out to compare to the White Label from last week. Finally giving in, I removed the small stick and closed the humidor lid.

    The Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Blend sports the same ornate band that the Series JJ does with the exception that the background is black instead of white. Not surprisingly, this design has not grown on me within the past week; it still seemed a bit overdone. The wrapper, however, is quite smooth with only faint veins being visible. Most of these are so slight that they do not even protrude from the barrel’s surface. I am quite impressed with the cap on this one because it is very clean with three sharp lines defining the triple layering. Inspection of the foot reveals a uniform fill with very little in the way of large veins/stems. Tentatively pinching the length of the stick reveals no soft spots whatsoever. The cigar has a slight give but always bounces back. Overall, the construction is very promising.

    Cutting the cap was effortless and very clean. Prelight, the draw is much tighter than the Series JJ, which combined with the solid fill, is likely to provide a steady, controlled smoke. Taking a couple of cold draws, I find myself met with the same hay, grass, white pepper and cherry wood notes as in the Series JJ but in a slightly different array. Where the White Label was rather flat, outside of a very mild sweetness and hay profile, the Black Label has a much stronger white pepper taste. The cherry wood also leaves a more pronounced sweetness on the tongue and lips. Something nutty is in the background as well, similar to oatmeal.

    On lighting, the small cigar toasts quickly and soon has a nice red ash going. The tightness of the draw compliments the sharp burn, leaving behind a tight white gray ash in its wake. Initial puffs amplify the cherry wood flavor that was found during the prelight. Through the course of the cigar I had a hard time placing why this was so familiar but finally I had it. It reminds me of the Swisher Sweets wood tipped cigars that we used to smoke as teenagers camping and fishing. Before you completely give up on this stick and my reviewing abilities however, let me explain.

    Although the flavors are similar, they are by no means the same. Where Swisher Sweets uses the cherry flavored wood tip to mask the inferior quality of their tobacco, Don Pepin’s blend utilizes the flavor from the tobacco to actually compliment the rest of the blend. Earth tones and white pepper cut the initial sweetness while each of those flavors asserts itself. These three strive for dominance through about the first third of the stick.

    At about the second third the flavors stop competing and blend together into a balanced, albeit complex, smoke. The sweetness fades here and the cherry wood morphs into cedar. A short while later I was confronted by an odd, almost soapy, feeling on my tongue and pallet. Finding myself quite put off by this sensation, having never experienced it before, I set the smoke down to rest for a minute to see if the fault lied with smoking too fast and letting the smaller cigar get too hot.

    Picking it back up and purging brought back the sweet cherry flavors and thankfully, got rid of the soapy sensation. The cherry is short lived and replaced by a stronger black pepper that is very enjoyable. This pepper remained for the final third and was accompanied by a bit dryer smoke. There was no problem smoking this one down within the last inch or so.

    Overall, this small stick was leaps and bounds ahead of the Series JJ reviewed last week. The blend is stronger and more complex. The construction was significantly improved and not having to wrestle with the cigar at every turn proved quite an enjoyable experience. Although I may have gotten lucky with this Cuban Blend (or unlucky with the Series JJ) the improved flavor and somewhat cheaper price point would persuade me to grab for one of the Cuban Blend Black Labels over the Series JJ White Labels. The sweetness will not appeal to everyone but I would recommend picking up one of these shorter Cuban Blends to experiment with.

    Appearance : [rating:3.5/5]
    Construction : [rating:4/5]
    Flavor : [rating:4/5]
    Value : [rating:4.5/5]
    Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]

    [sz]garcia cuban classic[/sz]

    Helpful?
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    • The Cigar Spy

      My Review of the 5×50 Robusto

      Like many of the cigars I have had the opportunity to review, the Cuban Classic had excellent construction with zero construction issues. The textured, smooth feeling brown wrapper really helped highlight the slightly oversized band.

      Using a punch and wooden match to light the cigar, I was immediately greeted with a strong burst of spicy, peppery notes. Accompanying the pepper were also hints of coffee, which is interesting because about 30 minutes into the cigar, my wife brought me a cup of coffee. The cup of coffee paired very well with this cigar, almost like this cigar was made specifically to be matched to each other. I did notice that once the peppery notes did subside about 20 minutes in, the flavors of the cigar did dip a bit throughout the rest of the cigars smoke, even though this is a more medium to full bodied smoke. It wasn’t anything that was a deal breaker for the cigar but I can’t help wonder if letting the cigar age a bit would help heighten the flavors.

      I did find that in using a punch, I had a slightly tight draw throughout the whole of smoking this cigar. There was also a slightly uneven burn at the start of the cigar but it did even out within 10-15 minutes. Another high point of this cigar that I was found was the almost solid, attractive white ash that stayed with the cigar until I found it necessary to flake it off.

      Recommendations: While I would buy this cigar again, I think there are others out there that I would select first over this one. If I was drinking quite a bit of coffee on a regular basis, I would no doubt have a number of these on hand. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that a box of these aged for a year or two could make these middle-of-the-road cigars move up closer to the head of the line. Still, if someone offered me a stick, I would happily accept with a gracious “Thank You”.

    • JL154

      Now this Cuban Classic by Pepin I do love. I strongly disagree with Joe K. Everybody’s taste buds are different. I love the JJ series & Cuban Classic. Also the whole La Aroma De Cuba Line. I think some of these reviews are just abit too Fa-Fa for me. Happy smoking & may you find your bliss. —–Joe L.

    • Matt

      My Review of the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Robusto (5 x 50)

      Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic

      Another killer cigar from the master blender Pepin Garcia. This is a fantastic cigar. The wrapper is a gorgeous shade of brown and it has lots of tooth. The burn is excellent and the salt and pepper ash is a little loose but not so much as to be a problem. It is a medium to full bodied smoke, peppery with a nice bite. The bite is a pleasant bite, not a harshness if that makes any sense. The cigar produces a ton of creamy smoke and will burn slow and cool as long as you take your time with it. I think it showed the potential to burn a little hot if you try to rush it so be sure you have time to kick back and enjoy this one at a leisurely pace.

      I really like the Don Pepin Series JJ’s but after smoking this I think I have a new favorite line in this brand. I will hold off until I smoke a couple more to finalize that decision. I really enjoyed this cigar and plan to add it to my regular rotation. Between Don Pepin Garcias and the Tatuajes, Señor Garcia’s cigars have taken over my humidors and smoking rotation.

    • Zippo

      I really enjoy the figurado in this line.

    • Ethan

      the perla is my go-to short smoke. i think the figurados and belicosos are noteworthy in this line, as well. barnyard, berries, vanilla, caramel…what’s not to love?

    • ryanc

      I am a straight up Pepin whore. I pretty much love everything he makes, but out of all his lines, I can’t stand the Cuban Classic. About every 6 months or so, I retry it to see if my palate has changed, but I always come back to not liking it. It has this weird twang that I just cant stand.

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Cigar Region United States
Filler Nicaragua
Wrapper Nicaragua Corojo Oscuro
Binder Nicaragua
Length 4 1/4
Ring Gauge 40
Vitola Perla
Construction Hand Made