Don Pepin Garcia Original Blue

Purchased: 3 X Generosos (6 X 50 – Toro)
Price: $12.99 ea
Buy Again: Oh yeah!
Box Worthy: You betcha!
Experience Rating: 96

As I’ve delved deeper into this hobby, while there are tons of blenders out there like Nick Melillo of Foundation and Matt Booth of Room 101, invariably, there’s a major production house that is behind many of their blends. For instance, Nick Melillo uses AJ Fernandes’ production facility. And in using these facilities the blends take on a lot of the character of those facilities, and this is a good thing because it provides a certain familiarity that endears us smokers to the sticks produced there. Tatuaje is no exception. Many of Tatuaje’s sticks are produced at the Don Pepin Garcia production facility. So, it’s safe to assume that they’d take on some of the facility’s character.

I’ve been smoking Tatuaje cigars for years. It’s my favorite brand! But amazingly enough, I had never had any cigars from Don Pepin Garcia until recently. Now I’m kicking myself for not having tried any of them sooner. Oh well, live and learn.

The other night, I happened to be near my local B&M that I hadn’t visited in months. So, I decided to stop by and have a stick. To my surprise, they had changed up their humidor and added some of my favorites, such as the Tatuaje 7th Natural. I scooped up a few of those immediately simply because they’re not easy to find. But then it occurred to me to try something by Don Pepin Garcia since Tatuaje cigars are rolled at that facility.

I asked the gentleman working there what would be a good foundational cigar from Don Pepin Garcia; something that was like the Tatuaje sticks rolled there and he immediately recommended the Original Blue. And the moment I lit it up and took my first draw, I could taste the foundation of Tatuaje. It wasn’t the same, but it had all the characteristics that I love about Tatuaje: earthy, nutty, leathery, spicy white pepper, espresso, roasted cacao bean; right in my wheelhouse! And a great thing about this stick is that despite its bold character, nicotine is minimal. Yowza!

This is a cigar that I will buying regularly, especially since I can get them for $3-$5/stick! Talking about punching way above its weight, this cigar is magnificent! I’ll be ordering a bunch post-haste!