The setup: It's a warm day...first day in the 90's since last Fall...and Mom and Dad are visiting. We just grabbed some greazy burgers and tacos at a local watering hole...the wind is low and I've got cold beers left over from Eric and Kellie's visit...so everything is just right for a special smoke. I reached for a cheapie but then saw the oddly shaped Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Figurado that my brother Eric had given me a couple of months ago and I knew what time it was!
Here's my stogie and accessories. I've had the DPG Black in the robusto size several times but the shape and girth of the Figurado intrigued me. It reminded me of a german "potato masher" grenade...weighted heavily towards the big end and crazy thin at the other. The one thing that stayed constant with me as I smoked this dude was how fascinating the shape was.
Here it is before light.
Here's the guest star of this Blog...Dad!
Sadly, I noticed a few cracks in the wrapper before I lit up...and this happened about the time the burn hit those cracks. I spent much of my time doing torch touch-ups...it was a very high maintenance cigar.
Here I am enjoying the robust, leathery flavors of this cigar. Lots of pepper after the first inch and really peppery intoxicating aroma. I don't think Mom agreed with the latter, though, as she scooted her chair across the patio away from me!
I nubbed this puppy.Here's the scoring:
Construction: 6 (I'm being very lenient here, I think) I have had several Don Pepin Garcias have cracking wrappers, especially the Cuban Classics).
Flavor: 8.5 It had a great leathery and pepper flavor that really picked up after the first inch. At some points I almost got a "cameroon" vibe but I don't think that there is supposed to be any of that kind of leaf in this smoke.
Value: 8 (I think they sell for $4-5 when you get a box and they're very tasty for that)
Plumage: 10 This dude sent up booming clouds of grey smoke that smelled/tasted of pepper and some other intoxicating aroma. I really enjoyed the smell and quantity of smoke.
Special: 8
Total Score: 7.75 This was a really great cigar, marred only by construction issues. I had it stored and rested for two months (at 65-68) and hope that the construction problems were a fluke. So far, this is my favorite cigar in Don Pepin Garcia's Black Label (Cuban Classic) line and I will seek out others when I get some $.
