Maestro Tobaquero Jose "Pepin" Garcia

[Fyodor]

As some of you may know from my previous posts I'm really into these Tatuaje cigars. They are made by Pepin Garcia who is also responsible for Cabaiguan and Padilla Miami 8/11 cigars. He fled from Cuba five years ago and runs the El Rey de Los Habanos factory in Miami. Since I have liked what I have had so far I decided to do some research about him on the net. Apparently he makes A LOT of different cigars. They look pretty good judging by the pictures I've seen of them (nice oily wrappers). A local cigar shop here, Cigar King, sells quite a few of them.

It may be a long shot but I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these cigars. Here is a list of some of them-

Havana Soul
Cuban Diplomat
Vegas Cubanas
Nacionales W
Habana Leon
Hirsh Y Garcia
Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label
Don Pepin Garcia JJ

Check out http://www.cigarking.com/ for more info if interested.

Here's the description of the Havana Soul cigar from Cigar King-

As you walk Calle Ocho (Eigth Street) in Little Havana, Miami, you might walk right by the small factory that produces this superb smoke. El Rey de Los Habanos is the factory where Jose "Pepin" Garcia skillfully creates some of the best cigars in the world. "Pepin" was born in Cuba and was considered to be one of thier finest Master blenders of cigars. While in Cuba, he helped blend cigars such as Cohiba, Partagas, and Montecristo. He fled Cuba about 5 years ago in search of a better life. He ended up in Miami and now makes cigars using mostly Nicaraguan tobaccos, as he believes they are the closest to Cuban tobaccos in flavor and strength. Havana Soul is rich and full-bodied, with notes of brown butter, nuts and chocolate thanks to it's oily Corojo '99 seed wrapper grown in Nicaragua. The Cuban triple-layered cap construction is flawless. The draw is effortless as you would expect from this masterpiece. This cigar has a very Cuban-esque flavor. Do NOT attempt to smoke this cigar on an empty stomach!

 

[Ginseng]

NIce legwork Fyodor!

I have not had experience with any of those other marques but I'm curious to hear what the other botls have to say.

 

[headstrong]

I've tried the Habana Leon Robusto size. Picked up a sampler along with the Havana Soul from the shop you mentioned. The Leon has a very similiar flavor profile to the Tatuaje, just a bit more mild, and at a lower price point. Haven't tried the Havana Soul yet, but they look and smell just as good as the Leon. Fyoder, shoot me a PM and I'll send ya a couple to try.

 

[Fyodor]

Wow thanks Headstrong! very generous.

 

[Fyodor]

Well, I just tried the Havana Soul cigar Headstrong was nice enough to send me. The wife cooked a really good dinner and I had this for dessert along with a cup of Kona coffee and a couple pieces of dark chocolate. It was the torpedo (52x6.13) and had a dark brown wrapper. It was basically a straight forward full bodied Nicaraguan cigar. It had notes of chocolate and coffee, so the coffee and dark chocolate I was having with it was a good match. It also had an almond like finish. It could have used more complexity but I still enjoyed it completely. A good cigar for the price, I think these generally go for about $6. I probably wouldn't buy a box but would happily smoke one whenever offered to me, or purchase a single occasionally.
Thanks again Headstrong!

 

[headstrong]

NP, glad you enjoyed it!!