MiamiCubano
El Martillo (My Boxing Name)
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2003
- Messages
- 3,876
Specimen - Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label - Exclusivos
Specs -
9.25 x 48 ("A" Size)
Origin: USA (Miami, FL)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo, Corojo
Today started out beautifully. Gorgeous "spring" day here on South Beach, got up for some early morning PT, followed by a cafe w/ tostada. Then the little wife wanted to hit some of her favorite stores on Lincoln Road, so we headed there. Came home around lunchish, threw some steaks on the grill and had a damn fine hearty lunch. After that, decided to fire one of these babies up, which some of you might remember were "gifted" to me by my lovely little wife.
From the start, these look and smell beautiful, as well as farily massive. But they are indeed a beauty to behold, exuding some of the finest craftsmanship that Don Pepin is known for. Make the selection and get ready for the ritual to begin.
Also decide that since I was gonna be with this stick for a while, I'd get an equally good beer to accompany it. Enter:
Cut the stick with scissors and the pre-light draw is flawless and smooth. Toast, light and the initial tastes, amongst a bevy of smoke, is of forest, wood and earth. No real "spice" here, but that does develop later. The stick held an ash nicely, but with my smoking buddy present as usual, I knock it off before its time.
It starts to get a very slightly uneven burn, but that soon passes and it corrects itself with no intervention on my behalf. I was able to just sit back and enjoy this ride, coupled with outstanding beer and equally enchanting tunes ("Point of No Return" and "Where Are You?" by Frank Sinatra to start)...in a mellow vibe, to be sure, but this is a stick not to be rushed, nor is this beer. This is absolutely the *perfect* stick to just sit back and relish in just how amazing this "thing of ours" that we BOTLs/SOTLs pursue actually is. It's absolutely devine, and the flavors start to unfold as the stick progresses. Some undertones of cocoa, coffee and leather are also present, along with slight spiciness. I'm only awakened from my quasi-hypnosis caused by this stick when, literally out of nowhere, it begins thundering, lightning, and storm clouds start rolling in.
The storm inched a bit northward and just barely passed over me, but did give us a bit of a passing downfall. I continue with this stick and the flavors described above get even more prevalent, with some becoming stronger than others and then fading into the background again, yielding to yet another flavor. It was just like a symphony, each instrument stepping forth at just the right time.
The damn battery on my camera died shortly after this last pic, so I continued with my endeavor resigned to no longer partaking of this photo-documentary. Even better for me, as I only recently (somewhat begrudgingly) started taking pics as I smoke, something I find somewhat intrusive to the whole experience. Now, with a dead camera battery, I had that as an added excuse to my feelings on the matter. I continued on, and near the time of this stick's nubbing, the finishing off of this lofty bottle of tripel, I was feeling pretty damn good.
It's definitely a full-bodied stick, but I've gotten deeper into the full-bodied spectrum with certain Tatuajes as opposed to this. In other words, by my tastes anyway, this is not an all-out knock you on your ass stick. Keep in mind I had previously consumed a very hearty porterhouse with some garlic mashed potatoes, so perhaps my take on a stick of this size would have been different had I done this on an empty stomach. Still, full stomach aside, it really isn't as powerful as some of you may have been lead, though it definitely is not for someone who prefers the lighter-weight sticks.
All in all, as with all Pepins I have tried, this is definitely not one to be missed. As I have said before, sticks this size are (sadly) a rarity mostly as a result of lack of time. But, they are out there and I cannot emphasize enough that you should set aside some time, and just sit down with one of them, and get reminded a hundred-fold over why we do what do here.
Specs -
9.25 x 48 ("A" Size)
Origin: USA (Miami, FL)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo, Corojo
Today started out beautifully. Gorgeous "spring" day here on South Beach, got up for some early morning PT, followed by a cafe w/ tostada. Then the little wife wanted to hit some of her favorite stores on Lincoln Road, so we headed there. Came home around lunchish, threw some steaks on the grill and had a damn fine hearty lunch. After that, decided to fire one of these babies up, which some of you might remember were "gifted" to me by my lovely little wife.
From the start, these look and smell beautiful, as well as farily massive. But they are indeed a beauty to behold, exuding some of the finest craftsmanship that Don Pepin is known for. Make the selection and get ready for the ritual to begin.
Also decide that since I was gonna be with this stick for a while, I'd get an equally good beer to accompany it. Enter:
Cut the stick with scissors and the pre-light draw is flawless and smooth. Toast, light and the initial tastes, amongst a bevy of smoke, is of forest, wood and earth. No real "spice" here, but that does develop later. The stick held an ash nicely, but with my smoking buddy present as usual, I knock it off before its time.
It starts to get a very slightly uneven burn, but that soon passes and it corrects itself with no intervention on my behalf. I was able to just sit back and enjoy this ride, coupled with outstanding beer and equally enchanting tunes ("Point of No Return" and "Where Are You?" by Frank Sinatra to start)...in a mellow vibe, to be sure, but this is a stick not to be rushed, nor is this beer. This is absolutely the *perfect* stick to just sit back and relish in just how amazing this "thing of ours" that we BOTLs/SOTLs pursue actually is. It's absolutely devine, and the flavors start to unfold as the stick progresses. Some undertones of cocoa, coffee and leather are also present, along with slight spiciness. I'm only awakened from my quasi-hypnosis caused by this stick when, literally out of nowhere, it begins thundering, lightning, and storm clouds start rolling in.
The storm inched a bit northward and just barely passed over me, but did give us a bit of a passing downfall. I continue with this stick and the flavors described above get even more prevalent, with some becoming stronger than others and then fading into the background again, yielding to yet another flavor. It was just like a symphony, each instrument stepping forth at just the right time.
The damn battery on my camera died shortly after this last pic, so I continued with my endeavor resigned to no longer partaking of this photo-documentary. Even better for me, as I only recently (somewhat begrudgingly) started taking pics as I smoke, something I find somewhat intrusive to the whole experience. Now, with a dead camera battery, I had that as an added excuse to my feelings on the matter. I continued on, and near the time of this stick's nubbing, the finishing off of this lofty bottle of tripel, I was feeling pretty damn good.
It's definitely a full-bodied stick, but I've gotten deeper into the full-bodied spectrum with certain Tatuajes as opposed to this. In other words, by my tastes anyway, this is not an all-out knock you on your ass stick. Keep in mind I had previously consumed a very hearty porterhouse with some garlic mashed potatoes, so perhaps my take on a stick of this size would have been different had I done this on an empty stomach. Still, full stomach aside, it really isn't as powerful as some of you may have been lead, though it definitely is not for someone who prefers the lighter-weight sticks.
All in all, as with all Pepins I have tried, this is definitely not one to be missed. As I have said before, sticks this size are (sadly) a rarity mostly as a result of lack of time. But, they are out there and I cannot emphasize enough that you should set aside some time, and just sit down with one of them, and get reminded a hundred-fold over why we do what do here.
