DPG Blue Label Firecracker

Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Firecracker

Wrapper: Corojo Oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

From what I can gather, a one-time only release, for July 4, 2007. I picked this one up from 2 Guys Smoke Shop last fall when I was up in NH. I figured what better time to light it up than on the Fourth.




Description: 3" x 50, with a fuse in the cap and a closed foot. I've seen it referred to as a "shag foot," but I thought a shag foot was when the filler extended past the bottom of the wrapper, not the other way around. I was sitting under the gazebo in my parents back yard on a perfect day. As is our tradition, my dad and I opened the day with a little Johnnie Walker Green.

Pre-light: The fuse snapped off rather easily. Quite some time ago, actually. Good idea in theory; in execution, not so much. When I grabbed this one, most of the cigars in the box at the shop were already missing their fuses. It couldn't have been because they were too dry, because I didn't notice any problems with the cigar itself when I picked it up. The hygro in the cabinet read 68%. I think because the fuse is a pretty considerable length, and wrapped pretty tightly, unless these are stored untouched in the box, most would encounter similar problems. I kept the fuse, though, because I needed it for the picture. I clipped a little off the head. There wasn't much of a pre-light draw due to the construction of the foot. I set flame to foot, and away I went.

Early impressions: (The cigar is really too small to break down by thirds, but there were three separate flavor 'developments') WOW! This thing was peppery! Right off the bat I could taste it, and how! I was thinking to myself, if this whole smoke stays like this, I may have to see if I can still find a box of these. This would become my go-to short smoke! After the first draw, I reached for some of my Green Label. Yeah...I could get used to this...

Settling in: The peppery overtones only lasted for the first couple of draws. I'm assuming this was from the excess wrapper at the foot. The cigar quickly settled in to almost muted leather and cedar. Talk about a power swing! It's as if this had gone from a full bodied cigar to a mild/medium in just a couple of draws. The flavor stayed like this until about the mid-point of the cigar.



The finish: The leather and cedar flavors stayed, but as the cigar smoked along, they intensified. This was getting good. And I was getting to the end of my Green Label. So, I reached for a Dinkel Acker, which was a nice touch. The closer I got to the end of the smoke, the stronger the flavors got. I wished I didn't have to put it down.



But, like all good things, this too had to come to an end.

Wrap-up: When I hit the middle of the cigar, I was honestly disappointed. After the smoke started off so strong, for it to go so mild so quick was a little disheartening. I was happy that it picked right back up after the half-way point. Yes, I liked the cigar. But, for the single price of $5, I'm not tripping over myself to pick up anymore. You're definitely paying for the novelty of the Firecracker design, since the larger Blue labels can be found at similar prices. If I was able to find them at the box price of $4 a piece... I would probably pick up a couple more for when I needed a short smoke. The cigar was exactly what it looked like: a condensed version of a full-sized DPG Blue.



(Yeah, I lit the fuse to see how long it would burn for. It was July 4th. Gotta set something on fire. )


Edit: to change title

Great review! I just saw these for the first time recently and was contemplating ordering some just to try. I think I'm going to have to pull the trigger.

What a nifty little cigar! Thanks for the great review :thumbs:

I almost pulled the trigger on a box of these, because I like the Blue Labels so much. Decided they were a little pricey for the novelty, and I'd most likely end up smoking them anyway..... :laugh:

Thanks for the great review - B.B.S.

Nice pictures and good review! Thanks!

Nice review and nice pictures...thanks!

You were smoking without your helmet again? Bad Tom, bad.


Great review and it looks like a great way to celebrate the 4th!!!

I smoked another one yesterday.





Another beautiful day, this time smoking it out front of my place. Paired it with a Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55. As you can see from the pics, this one lost its fuse (somewhere in my humi, not sure where), and the foot was kind of banged up.

Prelight draw was tight, but that's to be expected with the closed foot. Only problem this time, once the foot was lit, it didn't get any looser. I don't mind a draw that's a little tight, but this was almost unbearable. It was annoying, too. I could feel the knot about an inch in from the head. Is it that difficult to roll a 3" robusto so there's a decent draw?

But I digress. I fought through the tightness and got a lot of pepper on the initial draws. As I smoked, the pepper stayed, but like the first time, not as heavy as the first couple draws. I managed to get past the damaged portion of the foot without incident.



As I smoked along, the flavor didn't change. At all. The same peppery taste from the beginning stayed the entire time. The burn was getting closer to where I could feel the knot, I was hoping the smoke would open up and do something different for me.



And different it did. The ash fell, a split in the wrapper was starting to open up, and the burn wasn't staying too straight. But the pepper never wavered!



I tried to keep it going. Really hoping to get it down as far as I could. Trying to coax something other than pepper out of it. But there was nothing there. The wrapper split turned into a full-blown explosion, and I couldn't keep the cigar burning any longer.



Unfortunately, this one was a dud. Not nearly as good as the last one. Not sure if it was because of the construction problems, or if this is one of those smokes that's better fresh. Only time will tell, because I have one more in my humidor I plan on lighting this time next year.

That was a good review, I wished it had given off more than just pepper for you, though. I like the idea of novelty shaped cigars as just rolling it seems to be an art itself.

Tom,

Thanks for the follow up. Excellent concise and descriptive review.

I was hoping that the cigar would be much more enjoyable for you.

Perhaps next years taste will be worth the wait.

:thumbs:

Very interesting review. Thanks for sharing.

Nice novelty smoke there, Tom! Thanks for sharing that with us, hopefully third times a charm. :thumbs:

Time for my 3rd annual installment of the DPG Blue Firecracker review. It's my last one. I have a friend not too far from NH who says he'll try and stop by sometime soon and pick me up some more, but I know the ones they had last have the new-style DPG band. If these do continue, it will be an interesting comparison between new-blend and old.



Went to a nearby park with the family on the Fourth, trying to avoid the crowds. We packed a picnic dinner, played on the playground for a while, and once the sun started heading west, we headed up closer to the water to eat and relax. Finished dinner, opened a can of Oskar Blues' Dale's Pale Ale (thought the red, white, and blue can was appropriate) and grabbed my traveldor. Because of the setting, the review will be short and sweet.

This one was real beat up. Cracks all up and down the wrapper. But somehow, amazingly, the Fuse was still intact. I was shocked. Clipped the Fuse with my cutter, and put flame to foot. Once I had it going, I carefully slid the band down a little, trying to make sure the cracking didn't get worse. Like the first two, I was hit with lots of pepper right up front. The burn was a little off, but it wasn't from the cracked wrapper. Much to my surprise, the cracked parts weren't burning too bad.



Around this point is when the pepper started to fade to a more leathery taste. I thought this was familiar, but I wasn't sure. (I didn't re-read the previous reviews until just now to see how my notes match up, and I didn't want to influence my review) The leather just rode it out the rest of the way.



I tried to keep it going, but it was tough to keep it lit. It definitely did the job. Looking back, it wasn't as good as the first, but without a doubt, better than the second. I'm thinking that one must have been a dud. The hoppiness of the beer paired well with the cigar. And it was around this time that the sun was going down. Time to pack everything up and head home.



I have one last picture to add to the review. I didn't want to resize it, because it just wouldn't look the same. The pic is huge, but I think it's worth the view. Thought it was a welcome change from the ads normally being pulled around.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/tomthirtysix/Cigars/100_6554.jpg

Awesome. Simply...awesome.

I've only got one of these left myself...wouldn't mind having a few more as well.

Kingantz said:

Awesome. Simply...awesome.

I've only got one of these left myself...wouldn't mind having a few more as well.

Click to expand...

Greg, addy in my profile!

Tom...

Loved your approach to this review and how you posted updates so we could see how the cigar might change over time. Great job.

Tom,

You have excelled at giving yourself a pedicure and taking care of your finger nails.

Also, you have the same gazebo as me I believe.

Also, excellent review. Thanks so much!

I had one on July 4th weekend. My first time with it - and I thought it was a pepper bomb (n a good way) from start to finish. If nothing else, it was fun to smoke.

John

Fantastic reviews Tom. This dedicated multi-year concept is very effective at giving the smoke a full scope and hope more people will do something like this in the future. The Blue Labels are one of the first cigars that I tried while smoking and have found them to be an enjoyable smoke since. The firecracker is now in my list of things to watch for.

Nicely done, Tom. A good read, and a very interesting way to look at a cigar.

The small Pepin / Tatuaje smokes are really something. I still have a full box of Tatuaje Bombazo (Fumare Exclusive) and a full box of Tatuaje Cohete (Tower Cigar Exclusive) in the humidor. Neener, neener..... I wish I'd have bought five boxes of each. Why Pepin or Pete doesn't make a cigar in this vitola as a regular part of the line is beyond me. There are just so many times that I want a real cigar, but not a big real cigar.

The little Illusione 68 is a dandy, but there is something about those little Pepin smokes.....just love 'em....

Cheers - B.B.S.