I smoked 2 of them before writing this post, one Saturday afternoon, and one Sunday evening.  The first one started out a bit hot and very spicy, but quickly mellowed into a mild-to-medium smoke with hints of leather.  The second one wasn’t hot at all, was smooth all the way through, and I got the same hints of leather and some earth tones to it.  There was plenty of smoke and the flavor was quite good, but I think that I still liked the Blue Label better.

The cigar burned a bit unevenly towards the end, but this didn’t affect the flavor or quality at all, in my opinion.  I look forward to smoking the other 4 sticks I got.

Don Pepin Garcia Vegas Cubanas – Invictos – Robusto is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine

The previous night before I smoked this black-banded classic, I smoked a Tatuaje Torpedo, probably my favorite or 2nd favorite of his cigars, so in my opinion the Cuban Classic didn’t quite measure up.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a great smoke, but I didn’t care for it as much as I liked the Tatuaje.  I will probably pickup another one of these to try again at some point, especially if I find a deal online for a 5-pack or something.  My tastes weren’t all that on-target this night, I couldn’t really taste anything specific, perhaps some nutmeg but I am not too sure.  Definately leaves room for me to smoke another one at some point.

Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic, Robusto is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine

The cigar started strong with a lot of smoke. It stayed strong all the way to the end, giving good tastes of wood and perhaps some nutty flavor that I couldn’t place. The draw was near perfect. The only thing that disappointed me was that it kept going out. I had to re-light it literally about 10 times during the course of the smoke. I was waiting only 1-3 minutes in between puffs, so it should have stayed lit much better, in my opinion. It could be the fact that I smoked the cigar right when I received it in the mail and if it had been kept in a very moist place, it could have been too humid. So the other 2 sticks I got, I am going to leave in the humidor for a couple of weeks before trying to smoke them again.

Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ, Torpedo is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine

Now having said all that, I don’t think that I would smoke this cigar on a regular basis. I’d like to try 1 or 2 more of the Vitolas but frankly after I try them I probably won’t buy any more. They are great smokes, but they taste very similar to the Don Pepin Garcia Black-Label Line or the Tatuajes. And since the San Cristobals are $2-$3 higher than the other 2, I will probably stick with the cheaper ones.

San Cristobal Monumento, Maduro is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine

This cigar started out bitter and stayed that way through the first 1/3 of the smoke.  After that it developed a taste that would be like any old $2 cigar that you might buy in a gas station humidor.  Being that is was from Pepin, I was not at all impressed.  The thought crossed my mind that it might have been stored improperly from the shop I got it from, but it is a good shop in Arlington that has a good reputation, so I can’t imagine that is the case.  I might go ahead and try another, just to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I expected alot more from a Pepin Cigar.  Right now, I’d rate it at a C-

The vitola I smoked is the one at the bottom on this photo.

El Rey De Los Habanos, Robusto is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine

Don Pepin Garcia 1950, Black Band is a post from: Cigars and Wine in Grapevine