About a month ago I was taking part in a Make a wish – Pay it forward, over at Club Stogie. After sending out my end of the deal, I made a wish to try something made by Don Pepin Garcia. A few days Later a package arrived with a few cigars, one of which was a Don Pepin Garcia Black Label.

After a couple of weeks I could not resist the urge to light one up any longer. I opened up the humidor and began to inspect my newly acquired Pepin Black Label. The overall feel of this cigar was smooth to the touch and felt slightly soft when pinched. The wrapper had small veins and a beautiful triple cap.

After inspecting I used my Palio cutter to slice off a portion of the cap. The pre light draw was excellent and immediately gave way to rich tobacco flavors. With things shaping up to be a great smoke, I began to toast and light the foot of my cigar.

Once lit, my Pepin Black Label produced ample amounts of thick flavorful smoke. The initial flavors were cedar and spice with a nice long finish. The body started off in the full range and complimented the flavors well at this point. The burn gave me the impression that it would be a little fast but burned nice and even.

The first third of this cigar was not much different from the start. The spice I experienced at the start backed off slightly while the cedar tones became the dominant flavor. The draw was perfect and produced lots of thick smoke that filled the room with a rich tobacco aroma. The ash was nice and firm while being light in color.

Just before reaching the second third the flavors of this cigar began to change. I could now begin to taste hay like flavors that mixed very well with the cedar and spice. The mix of these flavors created a Habano-esque flavor that I really enjoyed. While this flavor was not in the same ballpark as a Habano, it had the closest flavor that I have ever experienced in a cigar that was created without the use Cuban tobacco.

By the time I reached the second third of this stick, I was taken away by how much I was enjoying it. I don’t know if it was just the right cigar to match my mood at the time, or if I had found one of those cigars we all search for as cigar smokers. The flavor profile remained a mixture of hay, cedar, and spice with a long drawn out finish that was very crisp and clean. The body slowly picked up to reach the Medium to Full spectrum and the draw remained nice and smooth producing lots of thick smoke.

The final third was not much different from the second, with the only change being that the hay flavor started to fade and the spice began to build. Overall I think that this was a fantastic smoke and the only thing that I will be doing differently next time, is that I will be equipped with some sort of holding device that will allow me to smoke it to under a quarter inch in length.

I am unsure of the price point on this particular stick (38 x 5.50) but the Robusto size sticks I picked up just the other day ran me between $5.50 and $6.00 at my local shop. While these are a little more than I normally pay at a local shop for a single, I think that they are worth every penny. I will definitely be buying more in the near future. As far as recommending them goes, I would highly recommend giving them a shot.