A little more than three years ago, My Father Cigars, Inc. released a new version of its Blue Label blend, which carries that name due to its signature blue band. Measuring 6 x 52, the Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro incorporated the same Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos as the regular blend, but replaced the normal corojo 99 wrapper with a higher priming leaf from the same plant.

The one-time release was shipped to just two retailers—Atlantic Cigar Co. and Casa de Montecristo— who split the 630 boxes of 18 that were produced. The cigars carried the same price as the similar vitola in the regular line, $9 per cigar.

Here is what I said in my original review back in July 2014:

Going into this cigar for the first time, I was unsure what the differences would be compared to a regular Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label, which has always been a favorite blend of mine, albeit one I don’t get to smoke as often as I would like. It turns out the differences are significant and fairly obvious: the new blend is lacking quite a bit of the signature Pepín kick, not just in the first few puffs, but throughout the entire smoke. As a result, the profile seems significantly creamier and slightly sweeter overall, although I would be lying if I said that I did want just a tad more pepper on the retrohale. The construction was great on all samples for the most part, and the finish was quite pleasant as well. Having said that, the profile itself was fairly monotonous, and the blend just did not have that many noticeable switch ups between thirds. What Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro does, it does well, but I will stick to the regular blend.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 6 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 52
  • Vitola: Toro
  • MSRP: $9.00 (Boxes of 18, $162.00)
  • Release Date: July 2, 2014
  • Number of Cigars Released: 630 Boxes of 18 (11,340 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Much like the last time I reviewed it, the Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro is covered in a dark espresso wrapper with a bit of tooth, as well as some noticeable veins running up and down its length. The cigar is just a tad spongy when squeezed, and there is a huge soft spot under secondary band. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of aged oak, leather, earth, dark chocolate and coffee, with a hint of sweetness, while the cold draw brings flavors of strong creamy cedar, bitter espresso, salted nuts, earth, manure, hay and raisin sweetness.

The dominant flavors of the Original Maduro follow the cold draw almost exactly, with strong creamy cedar and bitter espresso being the dominant flavors, while other notes of leather, earth, peanuts, hay and bread flit in and out. There is some noticeable spice on my tongue that finally begins to fade just before the halfway point, and some black pepper on the retrohale that actually gets stronger as the cigar burns down. Just after the first third ends, the raisin sweetness that is present in the blend becomes more distinct, combining very nicely with a dark chocolate note that has become more dominant at around the same time. The black pepper begins to recede around the start of the final third and I also notice an uptick in the amount of creaminess on the finish as well, which continues until the end of the cigar.

Construction-wise, the Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro features an excellent draw throughout the entire cigar. While the burn was not razor sharp, it only wavered enough for me to have to touch it up once in the second third. Smoke production is massive from the first puff, with the foot putting off copious amounts of dense white clouds. The strength in the blend was well-integrated, and hit a solid medium about halfway through the cigar, where it remained until I put the nub down with a bit more than an inch left after a one hour and 32 minute smoke time.

90 Overall Score

When I reviewed it three years ago, my main complaint with the Don Pepin Garcia Original Maduro was its lack of complexity, but that time of rest has done this blend wonders. Gone is the linear profile, replaced by a wonderful and distinct combination of creamy cedar and bitter espresso, as well as a rich raisin sweetness that really set off the other flavors. Construction was very good with the cigar needing just one touch-up in the second third, and the draw gave the perfect amount of resistance. Cigar blends don’t always get better with age, but the My Father Original Maduro definitely did, and I wish I had more of them.

Original Score (July 2014)
87
Redux Score (September 2017)
90
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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.