The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial is a new cigar blended entirely by Jaime García, son of cigar legend José “Don Pepín” García, and was debuted at an event at the Cigar Inn in New York City on Saturday, December 12, 2009. Only 100 boxes were available at the event with a price of $250 per box of 10 cigars. The cigar will be released in the spring of 2010 in larger form and with a price that does not include the high New York state cigar tax.

Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
  • Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 56
  • Vitola: Toro Gordo
  • MSRP: $25 (Boxes of 10, $250)*
  • Date to be Released: Spring 2010

*Event Price, not regular production.

The Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial is a gorgeous looking cigar, with a dark brown wrapper that smelled of chocolate, cinnamon and tobacco. It has a fairly rough looking wrapper with a few bumps here and there. It looks almost leathery and shows very little oil at all. It is also very spongy when squeezed, exhibiting quite a bit of give. Immediately after lighting and taking a few puffs in the First Third, I was greeted with the following combination of flavors: black pepper, leather, a touch of coffee and a strong dark chocolate, almost, but not quite, bitter chocolate. The four of these in combination was a very nice way to start a cigar.

Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 2 The second third of the cigar started out much the same, or rather, stayed the same, but right around the middle of the second third, I noticed that there was much more of a sweet flavor that had creeped in. Perhaps as if the chocolate, that was still very present, had gone from a dark chocolate flavor to more of a sweeter milk chocolate flavor, if that makes any sense. There was also just a bit of spice I noticed on the back of my tongue.

Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 3

The final third had much of the same flavors, but I also tasted the distinct flavor of cinnamon, and the chocolate was almost replaced by a strong coffee flavor. I was easily able to nub it, and it never got hot at the end.

Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 4

Final Notes:

  • Although there was some pepper and a bit of spice present during the smoke, this cigar never rises above the “medium” level.
  • The wrapper seemed to be where the pepper and spice was present, and the filler seemed to be quite a bit more mild.
  • If this cigar is released in different sizes, I would love to try it in more of a Corona Gorda, or even a Lancero, which I think would combine what this cigar has to offer in the best ratios to really make it shine.
  • The burn was great for the whole stick, but the draw was a bit loose, which is not unusual for a cigar with a large ring gauge.
  • Final smoking time was one hour and 50 minutes.
89 Overall Score

I really enjoyed the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial for what it was, a medium strength smoke with a great combination of flavors. I wish there was just a bit more pepper or spice in the smoke, and I hope it is released in different vitolas, as I think that would really help the flavors that were present shine a bit more.

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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.