CI Legends Yellow (by Don Pepin Garcia)

CI Legends Yellow (by Don Pepin Garcia)

Here's a short review of this stogie...




It's way too damn fine a day to be inside shuffling paper and keeping a (small) digital empire alive...so I'm enjoying a stogie on the back porch. The sun is smiling and so am I!

I decided to bust out a CI Legend Yellow stogie...primarily because I've become disenchanted with the line(s). I figured "if it sucks or I have to leave early, I won't lose much).

This stick is 5.75" x 54 ring gauge-a fat sucker. The wrapper is rough-nothing fancy. The band is kinda...ugly as well. The burn is uneven and is started out with a strong but persistent pepper blast that obscured all other flavors (not in a good way). However, over time this bad boy mellowed out and mixed jalapeno peppers and a nutty flavor-pretty darn tasty!

When I first got these a year ago, I hit some major consistency problems. Some were too peppery to smoke (almost) and at least one was "sour". A year or so in the humidor evened this stick out though and for $3 (with some humi time) it's a pretty decent smoke.



I'm creating a new rating system that is simpler and possibly more useful. I decided that most cigars really either suck, are good, are very good, or are outstanding.

RTR's 4 Point Scale

1: Throw that shit away (Most of Puros Indios and Vega Talanga)

2: Decent "quickie/budget" Cigar that is okay but you wouldn't mind tossing if you had to. (Most of the CI Legends, Oliva Angel, Alec Bradley cheaper stuff, etc). These are fully doable cigars but not something that I'd go ape shit over.

3: Good Premium Cigars, especially if you can get it on sale (Most Don Pepin Garcia, Tatuaje, San Cristobal)

4: Really Great Cigars (Oliva V, Coronado, most of La Flor Dominicana, Padron 1964, Don Pepin Garcia JJ White Corojo). These are my favorite.

With that in mind, this CI Yellow is a 2-respectable and fully decent but not something you smoke if you just won the lottery.

Home Front Update
This month has been freakin' crazy. I went to KC three weeks out of the last four...and racked up some major road miles. Also had some D&D and another big game coming up in Anthony in March. We've been juggling lotsa work, family illnesses, and an everfull schedule. I've got a birthday coming up and this is the first year that I've thought "so this is what it feels like to get older"...Angie Reid always says "It's a great life if you don't weaken" and I think I understand that statement more every year.

Rock out, dudes and don't forget to get off your lazy asses and post some stogie reviews on this blog!

Bad to the Bone Special Edition 2007 (Don Pepin Garcia)

Bad to the Bone Special Edition 2007 (Don Pepin Garcia)
6 x 50? Toro?

This stogie blew my mind last Summer at the Don Pepin Garcia party at the Outlaw. Does it still perform or was my brain foggy from good company, great stogies, free beer, and free bbq pork?



It's a perfect night...like February woke up and thought it was April...warm, no wind...truly a rare and delightful night for Southwest Kansas in Winter. Above is a photo of the stogie before I lit it up.

This stogie was created by Don Pepin Garcia for The Outlaw, a cigar store in Kansas City. As such, it's a limited edition and no longer made. Additinally, I believe it is a maduro and DPG doesn't make that many maduros so it's a minor novelty in that respect.

The prelight was...muted. Dull, in fact. The appearance was nice, though-dark and oily with what seemed like a thick wrapper. I paired the stick with a big bottle of Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale (one of the few brown ales I can tolerate) and lit that sucker up!


Here's a photo of the band. Nothing really that exciting.


Here's the stick after it's been lit for awhile, beside my beverage.


Here I am looking cooler than Hell, rocking this stick with my poncho.

The stogie doesn't have the pepper blast that I associate with DPG sticks but does have a nice maduro flavor and a very pronounced "twang" that is present in most DPG sticks. In this respect, I think it is pretty unique-it has more of that flavor than most of the other blends he has and I enjoy it. The construction was top notch and the odor is delightful-aromatic and full. The wrapper is "chewy"-thick and pliant. I found myself kind of chewing it a bit, which I rarely do-the tactile sensations were very pleasant.

Sadly, this stick is not as good as I remember it last Summer. That's doubly sad because I bought a box while I was there since I liked it so much! Each stick retails at around $9 and I doubt you can get them anywhere besides the Outlaw. On the other hand, it's a very good stick...so rating it is kind of a challenge.

RTR's Firing From the Hip Rating: 8.7.

If you like the DPG JJ (White Label) Maduro or the 601 Maduros (but prefer something with a little less kick), these cigars will suit you just fine.





Here's a pic of Michelle and I and Thane in KC a few weeks ago. We dined at an Italian place on the Plaza with Eric, Kellie, and Anne-Marie. Good times!