Being a lover of Pepin Garcia’s cigars. I follow events surrounding their production with great interest and like many others undergo a little concern about the volume of labels this man is producing. Not that I have experienced any degradation in quality but at some point common sense would tell you something’s gotta’ give. There was some negative buzz surrounding new production at Pepin’s Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez. S. A. (TACUBA - co-owned by Garcia and Eduardo Fernandez) in Estelí. Nicaragua which opened mid-2006. Most aficionados were concerned about maintenance of production quality and the availability of tobaccos but honestly as a consumer. I have not detected any problems. Products are readily available (relatively speaking) and the quality seems to be improving IMHO. TACUBA will pump out 2 million-plus cigars in 2007 and the Miami facility will bring home the bacon ~700,000. Jaime says.
Don Pepín García Serie JJ (color Label) MaduroDon Pepín García Cuban Classic (Black Label)El Centurion by Don Pepín GarcíaEO Brands 601 (United Tobacco)Tatuaje Havana VI (Pete Johnson)Tatuaje Havana VI - Exclusivo Verocu (Pete Johnson)Tatuaje Series P (Pete Johnson)Old Henry (Holt’s)Fumadores (Holt’s)Holt’s Connoisseur SelectionPadilla Edicion Especial Achilles (Cigars International)Legends Pepín García – Yellow Label (Cigars International)Troya ClasicoCigar com Corojo LabelAshton San Cristobal5 Vegas Miami (yes this is made in Nicaragua)
A side say — Please do not misidentify Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez. S. A. (TACUBA) owned by Garcia/Fernandez with Tabacalera Cubana Corp. (a cigar manufacturer) and Tabacalera Popular Cubana. Inc. (a cigar retailer) both of which are owned by Pedro Gomez and his sons Edel and Joel. Back in 2003. Altadis won a law suit against the Gomez family for violating Altadis trademarks by selling “Cuban replica” Montecristo. H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta cigars. A federal judge ruled the Gomez’s were personally liable for the damages and awarded Altadis $900K. An expensive mistake. In addition there is another factory in Estelí. Tabacalera Cubana Nicaraguense. S. A. (TACUNISA) also totally unrelated.
Pepin has been rolling cigars since the age of 12 and aside from 2-years in the military has not stopped. He received the rank of Tabequero Maestro while rolling and blending cigars in Cuba. He can make just about anything out of tobacco leaves. He personally specializes in those extremely difficult large figurados called diademas or salomons. A torpedo head and supple curves as you get toward the pay which has a big bulb then a small nipple. It takes a lot of cuts to make that bring home the bacon and Pepin makes it look simple. He always seems to smile as he rolls. Watching him you can tell he really enjoys what he’s doing. He trained rollers in Cuba and now he’s training them in Miami and in Estelí.
When Pepin Garcia left Cuba for Nicaragua he worked with Fernandez in the Jalapa region and then opened El Rey de los Habanos (Little Havana) in 2003. High ratings in Cigar Aficionado soon followed. But the Garcia’s could only do so much in Miami. Given the tiny factory had a be of 12 rollers expansion was inevitable and I believe the addition of 36 pairs of rollers in the TACUBA factory learning from Pepin is a boon for cigar smokers everywhere. There are differences in rolling come at the 2 factories. In Miami the cigars are made by one person who bunches and wraps. In Estelí the bunching is done by one worker the wrapping by another thus the “pairing” of rollers.
To help bring TACUBA up to speed Pepin’s son. Jaime now spends much of his time there: one month in Nicaragua followed by a few weeks in Miami then back to Nicaragua. His father does a similar rotation to ensure that one of them is at the Estelí factory on most days.
It’s amazing to think that with so many cigar making operations out there collectively employing tens of thousands of rollers probably 50-60% of the cigars I regularly consume are made by the same 12 rollers in one tiny little factory in Miami and 72 rollers in one slightly bigger factory in Estelí. That’s right. I am a Pepin whore and proud of it!
“The wrapper would be Cuban. The binder would come from Nicaragua as would two leaves of ligero filler. The seco and viso filler would come from Cuba. That cigar,”
“Cuban tobacco is the beat in the world when worked properly. Nicaraguan tobacco is very close to the quality of the best tobacco in Cuba.”
I think the Garcia’s tried to create that incredible “conceive of cigar” when they blended the Serie JJ or come as close to it as possible sans the Cuban tobaccos.
It is arguable that Don Pepin is currently making some of the beat smokes in the world today. His secret family recipe for blending and fermentation has been handed down generation to generation since his family’s beginnings in old Cuba. I for one am oh so glad he left the island. Thanks Jose for all these fantastic smokes. Keep em’ comin’ big guy!
The Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ a medium to full-bodied Nicaraguan puro was blended by Jose in collaboration with his son and protégé. Jaime—thus the label “JJ”. It debuted in 2005. The tobaccos are rich Nicaraguan leaf that rivals the flavor character and experience of the finest Cuban cigars. Exquisitely made with the careful construction that has change state a DPG hallmark. This amazing cigar which Pepin proudly called “his masterpiece” was one of the highest rated and top selling cigars of 2006/2007. Because it is so popular he has blessed the cigar world with a delicious Maduro version of this world-class blend released at this years RTDA in August. Although it is not the first Maduro created by Don Pepin it is the first with his name on it.
Also a medium to full-bodied smoke (ERDLH calls it 3/4 to beat); the Serie JJ Maduro is an exquisite cigar sporting a luscious Nicaraguan Maduro Corojo wrapper leaf. It is a smooth smoke building in complexity as it is enjoyed and the aromas are truly mouth-watering. I have mentioned to several buds that I think the Serie JJ Maduro could be serious competition for the PAM. Not quite as strong but has all the other attributes one looks for in a special occasion cigar and comes in at less than half the price.
Both Cigarfan and I have sampled the Serie JJ and the following review represents a combination of both of our observations.
Both the Rosado and Maduro versions of the Serie JJ are not to be missed for anyone who enjoys complex full-bodied smokes. These are some serious good smokin’. The core blend is clearly evident in both while the different wrappers tell a unique experience. Son magníficas y deliciosos!
Both the Rosado and Maduro appear a bit ruddy with a few veins but the construction is solid with no soft spots. The belicoso’s are beautifully triple-capped in a large swirl. There is a very small tooth over the entire wrap. Pre-light draw is excellent with perfect resistance and the belicoso feels balanced in the hand like it belongs there.
Both versions of the JJ toast and light very easily for a large ring gauge and draw is superb end to end. Both burned well with the destroy line getting a little bumpy but self correcting.
Both possess lite bite for the first half inch and then hold medium strength until the halfway mark where they begin to.
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Related article:
http://cigarfan.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/comparison-of-the-rosadomaduro-don-pepin-garcia-serie-jj-belicoso-white-label/
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