Posted in Other, tagged 601, Ashton, Don Pepin Garcia, El Rey de los Habanos, Espinosa y Ortega, La Aroma de Cuba, My Father, San Cristobal, Tabacos Baez, Tatuaje, Tatuaje Monster Series, Vegas Cubanas on June 16, 2009| 6 Comments »
There is no one cigar maker more popular than Don “Pepin” Jose Garcia… or busier! His tiny little shop in Little Havana has exploded into several factories in Nicaragua and more brand names and collaborations than you can shake a stick at. He has almost single-handedly changed what comes to mind when consumers think of Nicaraguan cigars. He has helped make the lancero and salamone popular and sought after sizes. And full-bodied cigars? The bar has been raised through the ceiling.
Pepin & Jaime
Posted in Cigar News & Notes, Store Events, tagged Don Pepin, Don Pepin Garcia, My Father, Tabacos Baez, Tatuaje on June 11, 2009| 4 Comments »
Last Friday we had the privilege of having one of the most popular figures in the cigar industry at Empire Cigars – Don Pepin Garcia!
Pepin showed up promptly at 3pm and the festivities began with Empanadas and Mojitos. Our pal Hal Rubin, the owner, also splurged on a few bottles of Zaya, a 12-year old rum from Trinidad which was absolutely fantastic.
Dave preparing for the fun
There were great promotions that night, discount on boxes of DPG cigars and a free 5-pack with every box purchase. Box purchases earned a ticket for the raffle which included a few pipe and baseball cigars and a few ashtrays as well.
Posted in Cigar News & Notes, Store Events, tagged Don Pepin Garcia, Empire Cigars, La Riqueza, Tabacos Baez, Tatuaje on May 28, 2009| 7 Comments »
June 5th @ 5pm!! This should be an awesome event! I’ll be there taking pictures and trying to shmooze with the man behind Tatuaje, DPG, San Cristobal, Cabaiguan, Tabacos Baez, La Riqueza, La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial and many others! Be there or miss out on an oppurtunity to speak with a legend in the biz! Check out the Empire Cigars website for maps and contact information.
Posted in Cigar Reviews, Don Pepin, tagged Don Pepin, Don Pepin Garcia, Tabacos Baez on August 2, 2008| 6 Comments »
Size: 6″ x 52
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Origin: Nicaragua
This cigar is already available at my local, Empire Cigars (formerly Capital City Cigars). I picked this up last night and couldn’t wait to smoke it.
The Tabacos Baez a new from the busiest man in the world, Don Pepin Garcia. Named such as this is where DPG began rolling cigars when he was in Cuba.
First off, the band looks like it was designed by a 6th grader.
The cigar however, has a beautiful reddish brown luster; it’s very oily and not nearly as veiny as other Pepin cigars.
I punched the cigar and it draws perfectly. It starts out real smooth, tons of smoke, mild wood and hazelnuts with very little that tells you this is a Pepin smoke. Personally this is a good thing, because it recently seems that all of his cigars taste the same.
An inch down, the cigar really picks up steam, gone is the mildness, as you get punched with a hefty amount of peppery spice. Coffee shows up on the palate as well as a little bit of cocoa.
Wow! This cigar just gets better and better! A couple more inches down this hefty cigar I am greeted by waves of espresso and mocha. Let me reiterate, this is NOT your typical DPG cigar.
My one complaint was that this cigar did not burn very evenly. But it did not go out or require any touch ups.
What really impresses me most about this cigar is that it is ready to be smoked. So many new cigars are so fresh (read ammonia) that you can’t really enjoy them as intended for months. Empire Cigars just got these in last night! Mr. Garcia treated this cigar right. Bravo!
Here’s a bold statement – The Tabacos Baez is my favorite new cigar if the year (so far)!
Rating: 89 (B+)
Zen & the Art of the Cigar 