History of Label: Made by the son of the legendary Don Pepin Garcia. This is the second stick blended by Jamie Garcia to come out of the My Father factory. Lots of rumors were spreading that this cigar would retail at 20.00 apiece which is not the case. The Reserva Especial cigar is made with a blending of 2 different kinds of Nicaraguan tobacco. One tobacco is grown by Garcia and his father Pepin. The other is tobacco from the well known Oliva Tobacco Company of Tampa, Florida.
Pre-Light Inspection: The appearance is a dark chocolate brown, near oscuro. Upon smelling the stick from top to bottom I received notes of cocoa, coffee, mild pepper, and cedar. A visual inspection returned results of a well packed stick, no soft spots, and thin veins. Upon cutting with my Xikar, I was greeted with a good minimal resistant draw and mild cocoa/pepper on the palate.
1/3: Easy even light with my Xikar crossover. Initially starts with mild pepper upfront with notes of cedar and black coffee. The body is medium-full, however rounding the final portion a sweet mellowing occurred. The burn remained sharp.
2/3: The slight wave starts and the body/strength remain medium-full. The ash appears rock solid with an attractive light grey color. Pepper, cocoa, and cedar are dominant during the second portion. Rounding this portion the burn line did self-correct.
3/3: The nicotine kick does come to play here. A nice gradual change to full bodied strength was expected and occurred. A bit of bitterness lurked with the dark cocoa and coffee. The ash did fall at about 2 ½” at this point. The cedar had a bit of sweetness to it and the pepper was kicking in full strength. I did make a touch up near the end.
Overall Opinion: The My Father factory produces one of my favorite sticks. I had high expectations for the Reserva Especial and the smoke itself exceeded my initial thoughts. For a petit robusto, I was thinking a 30-45 minute smoke but just over an hour goes to show just how well this is made. I do recommend purchasing a box soon, try a few and also set some back for some aging. I think this cigar will mellow more over the next 1-3 years. The quality speaks Pepin and Jamie all over it, good job guys and keep the new blends coming!
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