Pepin is not rolling as good a cigar as he used to. His original blends and branded cigars, for Padilla, Black Cat, etc. were some of the very best cigars I have ever smoked. All this other crap is just not worth it to me anymore. That said, since he went vertical, I buy a sampling every year to see if he is getting back to his original quality of flavor. Not even close, yet, but definitely better than when he hooked up with Ashton, got into it with Fernandez, and EVERYTHING he was rolling went to pure shit in flavor and construction. We'll see, but it will be a long time before I can buy anything made by Pepin with a caution to the wind attitude.