(purchased on sale, $2)
Here's the setup...winding down a hot Dodge City day...still 100 degrees in the dusty dusk shade. For some reason, Michelle decided to join me in the furnace on our back patio to help me enjoy/review this stogie. Given the temperature, I felt a Red Stripe beer would be a good choice...and I was right. Red Stripe hits the spot when it's hot and it never competes with a stogie for attention.
The wrapper is smooth and attractive. It has a slight reddish tint and is a corojo. It's supposed to be a Nicaraguan puro and is the cheapest of Don Pepin Garcia's personal line...I have had several (purchased on a special for $2 apiece) and all have tasted/performed the same.
DPG's marketing engine spews out a bunch of info about the cigar being made from the "top primings" of the tobacco plant and aged an extra year, as well as the fact that they are made by Cuban rollers living in Miami, at the DPG factory there. I have also read that this cigar is the first one that DPG made for his own company after coming to the USA.
This smoke starts off with a mild blast of pepper and then quickly settles down. I can taste a mixture of mild pepper and occasionally a mocha flavor at several points during the smoke. The smoke is consistant, fairly tasty, and undemanding. Although this smoke either gets overlooked or dogged by the Don Pepin fans out there, I think it's a great bargain...and should be compared to other smokes in general, not to his "better" smokes specifically. Though I would like to get his top of the line stuff at his bottom of the line prices, I think that's probably asking a little much.
Here's a pic of Michelle "guest-tasting" the cigar. Though she would not officially review this, she did sneak about six puffs, which is a goodly amount for her. She also commented "It is sharp but sweet at the same time". I tried to get more info from her but I suppose one cannot push the Oracle too much for clear answers...there is something to be said for mystery!
The aroma on these is very nice and is actually superior to the flavor. It's full of "big smoke" and the puffs are creamy. I imagined myself as a godlike "cloud generator", filling the sky with puffy bits of cloud-fun...then I smacked myself and assumed a more proper, manly posture.
The cigar burned a little roughly but only needed one touch up-just didn't look too pretty.
I think that this cigar is pretty solid-I'd buy more for $2-though I'm not sure I'd pay much more. My final thoughts, are that this cigar might be best enjoyed in a smaller format (robusto)...though it is tasty, has good smoke, etc...it doesn't change flavor much and by the 1/2 way point I'm wondering if I want to commit to the other 40 minutes of smoke...
This smoke rates 7.5 on my scale with value, construction and plumage/smell being the best parts of the experience.
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