Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Churchill

These cigars, along with Pepin’s Tatuaje line, define full-bodied cigar. Once you have smoked one of these, you will realize that any other non-Cuban cigar you have ever smoked that you thought was full-bodied was…not.

Some people swear that the Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label blend is identical to the Tatuaje. I disagree. The Tatuaje seems more refined than this intense dynamo. The Blue Label is raw power combined with full flavor.

I like the Delicias, which is a 7 inch by 50 ring Double Corona with a dark, oily Corojo wrapper and a Criollo binder. The filler is a blend of Corojo and Criollo.

The first thing you notice on lighting up a Delicias is a “hit” of pepper and sweet spice that settles quickly into a very earthy and aromatic mix of leather and cedar. The wrapper adds in flavors of coffee and a hint of cocoa. About a third of a way into the stick, it all blends into a creamy, spicey, peppery mix with hints of a Cubanesque tang — and it stays that way until the long, nutty finish.

The thing that struck me while trying to find the best way to describe the taste of a Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label for this review was that it is as if a mild and complex old Cuban El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme was somehow ramped up to a full-bodied, full-strength cigar while managing to keep most of its nuances.

This is not a cigar for beginners. Nor for daytime or an empty stomach. Enjoy it after a full meal and you will marvel at what Don Pepin can do with Nicaraguan tobacco.

$139.95

The Black Label is a medium strength, medium-to-full bodied cigar with excellent flavor and creaminess.

This is a somewhat milder cigar than the Blue Label, but a complex and enjoyable smoke that you can enjoy at other times of the day if you are used to full-bodied cigars. It is also a good option for those who find the Blue Label simply too strong. It is hard not to compare this (and other cigars by Don Pepin) to Cuban cigars — on the one hand, nothing is a Cuban except a Cuban. On the other hand, Don Pepin is making cigars that are the closest thing to Cubans outside that island.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying here. His cigars are not simply “knock-offs” or imitation Cubans. Instead, each Don Pepin cigar line unique and has an extra quality of its own that elevates it to the same level of excellence that good Cuban cigars have. They are among the finest cigars currently available.

$119.95