Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Robusto

In 2010, My Father Cigars, Inc. released its most ambitious project to date: the My Father Limited Edition 2010.

The company—which had launched the My Father brand just two years before—created a limited edition 6 x 52 cigar that incorporated what at the time were becoming two of the company’s signatures: a 6 1/2 x 52 toro vitola and pelo de oro tobacco.

At the time, the García’s farms were relatively young and yet, the family was already growing one of the most infamous strands of tobacco. Pelo de oro, a name that translates as golden hair, is largely known for being banned in Cuba. The tobacco is susceptible to mold and as such, forbidden to be grown. But, it’s one of José “Pepín” García’s favorite tobaccos.

The company claimed that the 2010 release was rolled by García and his son Jaime over the course of four months. A total of 24,000 cigars were released, each one packed in a coffin and 12 coffins packed in each box.

Since then, My Father has more often than not released an annual limited edition, packaged in coffins and in the 6 1/2 x 52 toro size, albeit 2010 remains the only year when Pepín was said to have rolled the cigars. In 2013, the company opted not to produce a My Father Limited Edition as it had done the prior three years, instead releasing the Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary.

As the name implies, that cigar celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Don Pepin Garcia brand—the precursor to My Father Cigars, Inc.—and for those keeping count, that means 2018 marks another major anniversary.

This year there is a 6 1/2 x 52 version of the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition, but there’s also a robusto, marking the first time that there’s been a size beyond the 6 1/2 x 52 toro. The Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition is a Nicaraguan puro using tobacco from the García’s farms, including the aforementioned pelo de oro leaf.

• My Father Limited Edition 2010 (6 1/2 x 52) — September 2010 — $20 (Boxes of 12, $240) — 2,000 Boxes of 12 (24,000 Total Cigars)
• My Father Limited Edition 2011 (6 1/2 x 52) — April 2011 — $20 (Boxes of 12, $240) — 3,500 Boxes of 12, 300 Humidors of 50 & 75 Bundles of 15 (58,125 Total Cigars)
• My Father Limited Edition 2012 (6 1/2 x 52) — November 2012 — $20 (Boxes of 12, $240) — 2,500 Boxes of 12 (30,000 Total Cigars)
• Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary (6 1/2 x 52) — August 2013 — $22 (Boxes of 14, $308) — 2,500 Boxes of 14 Cigars (35,000 Total Cigars)
• My Father Limited Edition 2015 5th. Anniversary (6 1/2 x 52) — July 2015 — $23 (Boxes of 14, $322) — 4,200 Boxes of 14 Cigars (58,800 Total Cigars)
• My Father Le Bijou 1922 Limited Edition 2016 (6 1/2 x 52) – June 2016 – $23 (Boxes of 14, $322) – 4,000 Boxes of 14 Cigars (56,000 Total Cigars)
• Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Robusto (5 3/4 x 50) — May 2018 — $20 (Boxes of 14, $280) — 2,000 Boxes of 14 Cigars (28,000 Total Cigars)
• Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro (6 1/2 x 52) — May 2018 — $24 (Boxes of 14, $336) — 2,000 Boxes of 14 Cigars (28,000 Total Cigars)

• Cigar Reviewed: Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $20 (Boxes of 14, $280)
• Release Date: May 2018
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,000 Boxes of 14 Cigars (28,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The process—and it is very much a process—of getting the cigars ready to smoke highlights the importance of the release for the company. Slide the clasp to open the box, remove a coffin, open the coffin, take the cigar out of the coffin, take the cigar out of cellophane, remove the foot band, proceed as normal. The Nicaraguan wrapper smells of leather, some chocolate chips and baker’s chocolate, albeit relatively light, around mild-medium. The foot has an almost new car smell, alongside some floral notes and a mineral-like flavor that reminds me of a mezcal whose name I cannot remember. As for the cold draw, it’s got some lacquer flavor–albeit not a ton—touches of jalapeños, muddy earth, some generic fruitiness and a fresh-baked corn tortilla. Both the foot and cold draw are more intense, around medium-full.

The Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary begins quite toasty with some earthiness and rock salt. Two samples have an open draw, though that seems to close to a more standard level as the ash forms. The first third is quite nutty with key limes, banana bread, and horseradish. Through the nose, there’s more horseradish, peanut shells and some generic earthiness. It’s full in flavor, medium-full in body and medium-plus in strength.

There’s still quite a bit of earthiness in the second third of the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Robusto. It’s now joined by some beef jerky, sourdough bread, crisp apple cider and sharp lemon. Like the first third, the retrohale doesn’t provide the majority of the complex flavors. That being said, I pick up a ripe tomato, some spices and cedar through the nose. Two of the three cigars require a touch-up as there’s a part of each cigar that doesn’t want to stay lit, while the other cigar is fine. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is now medium-full.

The final third changes a bit, but it’s still earthy. There’s apples, some sourdough bread, white pepper and rock salt. For the first time in the cigar, the retrohale is where the majority of the flavor is: dry brisket, sunflower seeds, a bit of lemon, white pepper and a lingering paprika. At times things can get harsh, but slowing down alleviates all those issues. The same two cigars that had burn issues in the second third are needing touch-ups in the final third. Strength increases to full, the same level as both the flavor and body.

Final Notes

• This really is a year of anniversaries. Joya de Nicaragua and Macanudo are both celebrating their 50th anniversary. Davidoff is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its own brand, as well as the 30th anniversary of AVO. Villiger is celebrating 130 years, Toscano is celebrating 200 years, Tatuaje is at 15 years, and I’m sure there’s another dozen or so major ones I’m forgetting.
• As always, the packaging for the My Father Limited Edition is fantastic, so much so I think this is the best of the releases so far. The boxes appear to be nearly identical to the 10th anniversary release, though the bands are different and this release gets a secondary band.
• One note, the first release came with a DVD about how the cigar was made. While I still have it, I don’t think have anything that can play DVDs.
• The toro is not a traditional Cuban size, but it’s interesting that in this particular case the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Robusto is closer in size to a standard 6 x 50 toro than the Toro is for this release.
• In addition to the various My Father Limited Editions, there have also been two releases of the Jaime Garcia Limited Editions.
• While none of these cigars are inexpensive, they are substantially less than the $35 Garcia y Garcia which was released in 2016. Interestingly, that cigar was not 6 1/2 x 52.
• Looking back at where the Garciás were in 2010 versus now is stark. Yes, the My Father Cigars S.A. factory was open, the company had farms and a lot of cigar brands, but it seemed like My Father was largely known for making cigars for other people. That’s not the case anymore. While the company still makes cigars for Ashton, Tatuaje and a few others, it’s hard to say that those brands overshadow the My Father brands.
• I smoked the Toro version and found the Robusto to be better.
• Two of the three cigars had issues with one part of the cigar not burning correctly. The other cigar burned flawlessly from start to finish.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 40 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and Corona Cigar Co. have the Don Pepin Garcia 15th Anniversary Limited Edition Robusto in stock.