For those of you that don’t know…

Earlier this year, Pete Johnson of Tatuaje released a cigar made specifically for the TAA, and My Father Cigars has apparently decided to follow suit, releasing their own version of the popular Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial for the same purpose. Sadly, not much is known about this Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA release. There has been no official press release, no comments online (yet) and all of my messages to those at My Father have yet to be answered, although they could be out of town at events. That means that we don’t know the blend of the cigar for sure, although I have been told it is a “tweaked” Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial. We don’t know for sure how many were released, although again, we have been told that there were 350 boxes in the first release. We will update info as it becomes available…

Having said that, the we do know the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA is actually the exact same vitola as the My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo Box Press, a 6 1/8″ x 52 cigar that was released this year at the IPCPR show in Las Vegas.

With the addition of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA, there are now seven different vitolas in the line. They are:

• Petite Robusto – 4 1/2 x 50
• Robusto – 5 1/4 x 52
• Belicoso – 5 1/2 x 52
• TAA Box Pressed Torpedo — 6 1/8 x 52
• Toro – 6 x 54
• Toro Gordo – 6 x 60
• Super Gordo – 5.75 x 66

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Here is what the boxes for the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA look like, taken with an iPhone, sorry:

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed:Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 6 1/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Box Pressed Torpedo
• MSRP: $9.50 (Boxes of 16, $152.00)
• Date Released: December 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The cigar itself is a wonderful looking box pressed specimen, with a very dark and quite toothy espresso brown wrapper and a blue ribbon on the foot. It has the perfect amount of give when squeezed, and the wrapper smells strongly of barnyard, hay, dark chocolate and black pepper.

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The First Third starts out with notes of hay, dark chocolate, dark coffee, leather and black pepper. There is just a tad bit of spice on the tongue throughout the First Third, but it comes and goes, never really remaining at a consistent level. It is also very “gritty” in my mouth, not a bad thing, but definitely noticeable.

The Second Third mellows out quite a bit spice wise, but is still quite flavorful, albeit the same flavors for the most part. Leather, dark chocolate, espresso and a hint of black pepper on the retrohale. Towards the end of the Second Third, there is a fleeting note of maple sweetness, which goes quite well with the profile, but it is not overly strong at this point. Strength is a solid medium so far.

The Final Third stays the course profile wise, although the maples sweetness is more evident, and there is more spice present then before. Dominant flavors are still that dark espresso/leather combination. Strength has remained a steady medium throughout.

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Final Notes:

• As mentioned above, these are the only Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial that have a ribboned foot. These come in boxes of 16, like the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011, although the latter is more of a 15 + 1 scenario.
• I have to say, I love this vitola for a 52 RG. The combination of the Torpedo and the box press makes it easy to smoke, even for such a large RG, and it never felt awkward in my hands or mouth.
• Unlike the Tatuaje TAA release that we reviewed here, which could only be ordered by the members of TAA that actually attended the get together in Cabo, the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial TAA release was offered to specific stores to sell first, and more stores will be added at some later point.
• The draw on all three samples I smoked was superb, but the burn was a bit erratic. Nothing horrible, but I did have to touch them up a few times during the smoke.
• The Final Smoking Time for all three samples was right at 1 Hour and 40 Minutes.

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The Bottom Line: While this is a solid cigar, with nice, enjoyable flavors, it is not the most complex profile in the world. The interesting thing is that the price of these TAA release ($9.50ish) is quite a bit more than its closest size in the line, the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Toro sells for about $7.25. While I loved the vitola, I am not convinced that they are worth the trouble to track them down or the price difference compared to the other sizes in the line.

Final Score: 85