My Father # 2 review by Bradley Nix

My Father # 2 review by Bradley Nix

Here is my review of the Don Pepin Garcia My Father #2, which happens
to be my favorite cigar ever smoked...please keep in mind that I have
NEVER written a review before on a cigar.

Prelight Ritual:
The belicoso is near perfect with no visible flaws and some near
invisible veins. The smell is of sweet nicaraguan tobacco which has
changed my opinion of smelling cigars before puffing each one. Before
the My Father, I did not have a need to do this...now it is imperative
before enjoyment. Very well packed with a beautiful band which also
gets top honors for me. If this were on anything else that I did not
like, I would think it was a horrible marketing mistake....I like my
bands small but the Pepin My Father band works for this cigar.

The burn and taste:
After cutting with my Xikar xi3 Spectra, I found a clean draw with
minimal resistance. Upfront I taste the usual pepin pepper even before
lighting, kind of tingles my lips. I lit this with a match as I have 3
torch lighters and none seem to work when its time for a cigar. Within
seconds I was hit with the pepin cracked pepper, followed by a mellow
woodsy taste around 6-8 puffs in. The cigar continued to mellow thru
the entire first third with ample natural sweet notes. I was thinking
to myself, could this cigar get any better?

YES! It did, as the second third continued, the cigar changed in
complexity from a medium body to borderline full body. Lots of pepper
and spice. This tingled my sinuses and the back of my throat. I did
not have a drink but figured this would be a good opportunity for a
tawney port so I did pour a small glass. The two paired well thru the
second third.

As the final third started to burn, I noticed another change in
flavors. This time the spice was present but the pepper seemed to fade
away. Instead of mellowing out, the cigar started to become strong.
The minimal resistance on the draw was allowing enormous clouds of
smoke. The retrohale still had the pepper in my sinuses and the sweet
tobacco returned in a stronger form. At this time I was nearing about
1 1/2 inches of the cigar left. I continued until my finger tips were
hot and I was very sad to see it nubbed.

Overall the burn was near PERFECT with the only flaw being that the
cigar almost burned out near the second third...this may of been my
mistake but I was able to puff some life back into it. It was razor
sharp and even and held an ash as long as 2 inches. The price is a bit
high but for a cigar of this caliber, I feel that it is considerably
lower than other labels. If I could afford it, this would be the only
cigar I smoked for the rest of my life.
And my top 25 cigars of this year:

#1 Don Pepin Garcia My Father #2
#2 Drew Estate Liga Privada Toro
#3 Oliva Series V Robusto
#4 Rocky Patel Decade Torpedo
#5 Ashton VSG Belicoso
#6 Punch Gran Corojo
#7 Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Toro
#8 Alec Bradley Tempus
#9 5 Vegas Cask Strength II Box Pressed Toro
#10 Padilla Miami Lancero
#11 Padilla 1932 Robusto
#12 Perdomo 10th Anniv Reserve Maduro Epicure
#13 Perdomo Habano Corojo Epicure
#14 CAO Gold (Vintage 2002 blend) Corona
#15 Fuente Opus X Love Story (would be higher on list if price was not
ridiculous)
#16 5 Vegas Triple-A Fat Robusto
#17 5 Vegas Limitada 2009 Torpedo
#18 Graycliff Double Espresso
#19 Graycliff Crystal PG Toro
#20 Cubao Toro
#21 Man O War Ruination Torpedo
#22 Macanudo 1968 Toro
#23 Perdomo ESV '91 Maduro
#24 Cohiba Robusto
#25 Nica Libre (all sizes)