The Cabiguan Guapos is made in Esteli, Nicaragua at My Father Cigars S.A., the factory responsible for most of Tatuaje products. Available sizes include 5 5/8 by 54, 5 by 50, 5 5/8 by 46, 4 5/8 by 42, and 7 1/2 by 38. Tony reviewed the 5 ⅝ by 54 Gaupo here.

The lancero vitola of the Guapo is only available in the sampler. While the sampler will be in regular production, it will be made in limited quantities during each run.

The Facts

A gift from my bride
Price: $9.50 ($95 for the sampler)
Vitola: Lancero
Size: 7 ½ by 38
Wrapper:Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder:Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Smoke Time: 1 and 35 Minutes

Pre-light

The Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper is consistent in its medium brown color. I am met with a pungent aroma once the cellophane is removed, along with cedar and wet earth notes. The foot gives off more of the cedar and earth with an added sweet vanilla smell. The wrapper leaf is marked with bumps and veins giving it a slightly rugged look.

The Guapos Lancer0 is filled evenly all the way down to its neat, pointy cap. The cold draw is on the dry side with the same cedar and earth notes from the wrapper and foot aroma, along with a faint clove flavor. I am also feeling a spice tingle on my lips the lingers for a good amount of time.

First Third

One thing I have come to expect from cigars produced at My Fathers is spice. And the Guapos does not disappoint in that area. I am met with a considerable amount of spice in the first couple of puffs that warms my mouth and lip, and leaves quite the burn through the sinuses during the retrohale. The other flavors are deep and in-line with the cold draw being of cedar and earth. As I take a smaller, shallower draw, I notice the pepper lessens and some sweetness comes through. I can’t put my finger on it yet, but it may be a vanilla-like sweetness. The finish is a bit dry with a dark fruit flavor. The burn-line is crazy thin and first ash made it past an inch.

Middle Third

Making my way into the second third, the dry cedar has moved to the front of the profile with the unique, vanilla sweetness. The sweetness is refreshing and brings a nice balance to the smoke. The earthyness is gaining ground and an acidic citrus has joined in right around the halfway point. As I knock off the ash, I find a small tunnel in the center of the cigar. So far it is not having any kind of negative impact on the flavors or smoke production. Even the smallest of draws fills my mouth with a satisfying amount of smoke. The flavors are full, with the strength falling not too far behind.

Final Third

The Tatuaje Gabaiguan Guapo Lancero is still smoking cool with two and a half inches left. The pepper has calmed but in no way completely departed and the spice is still warming my mouth and lips. The vanilla I got early on is really only noticable on the finish, along with a dusty cocoa flavor. The deep cedar and wet earth notes are still holding strong as I begin to wrap up this 7 1/2 by 38 lancero.

Wrap-up

I have been a fan of Tatuaje for some time, but there were several cigars included in the sampler that I had yet to smoke and the Cabaiguan Guapo was one of those. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first experience with a cigar. The cigar burned cool and even. There were no touch-ups or ashes dropped in my lap. Just a complex, flavorful cigar to sit back and relax with. One thing I noted on this lancero was how big, deep draws brought out an overwhelming pepper, while a small shallow draw highlighted  the nuances of this stick. As is the case with lanceros, you need to slow down your regular smoking pace to fully enjoy what this traditional vitola offers. I highly recommend you get your hands on these. You won’t be disappointed.

The post Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo Lancero appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Contrary to what you might expect, this cigar is not made at the amazing and famous My Father Cigars Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. However, it’s production location is not too far away at the Tabacalera Cubanas S.A. factory, also in Esteli. Now the actual name behind this cigar is El Rey de los Habanos, the company Don Pepin Garcia started in Miami(Little Havana) when he landed state-side. The headquarters is still located in there as well as a smaller El Rey de los Habanos factory .

This blend was released be Don Pepin to the public in 2006. From what I’ve been able to gather, the various names of the original 7 vitolas in this line all correspond to important years in Don Pepin Garcia’s life. However, I wasn’t able to find the significant milestone behind the year 1979. It seems also that although there were 7 vitolas available at some point, there are only 5 easily available now.

The band on this cigar has also changed slightly over time. As it stands now, there are two bands. The top band has a black background with a nicely scripted “Don Pepin Garcia” in the middle surrounded by some gold and red filigree designs. In an older band, the red and gold filigree was slightly different. Below that band is another thinner black band that says “Cuban Classic” with a line of gold and red on the top and bottom.

Now the Black Label is touted to be the strongest of the Don Pepin Garcia cigars. The other blends in this line are the Blue Label and the Series JJ (White Label). I’m going into this cigar with high expectations as I’ve come to know from many different Pepin Garcia blends. It’s a gorgeous day as I sit outside to spark up this cigar, so let’s see how it fares.

Cigar: Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1979 Robusto
Drink: Erdinger Weissbräu Weißbier Dunkel
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado (Corojo 99)
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Niaraguan
Price: $4.50 – $5.50
Burn Time: Just short of 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic has a light brown wrapper with a very nice orangey glow to it
• There are hardly any visible veins and the wrapper has a slight roughness and toothiness to it
• From head to foot, this cigar has a nice little spring when squeezed that is just about right
• The triple cap is finished off very cleanly and the foot looks to be fairly well packed but not overly full
• The draw on this cigar is just about perfect after a small slice with my double bladed guillotine cutter

Burn:
• Toasting was very easy and even, I sometimes have a hard time getting it right on bright days since you can’t see the flame, but this one toasted up evenly without any problems at all
• Through the first inch the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic has had a flawless and even burn
• The burn continues to be just about perfect as I roll into the halfway point, nothing to complain about here, just a razor sharp burn
• It’s also allowing me to smoke slowly, never seems to go out
• A tiny touch-up was required because the extra glue on the band cracked the wrapper, so it caused a bit of a funky burn line

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is bringing a nice amount of smoke with no extra draws required
• After setting the cigar down, there is almost no visible resting smoke to be seen although it still gives off a nice campfire aroma
• The ash is very strong, even and clean with no flaking to be seen anywhere
• The nice light grey colors on the ash are very nice too
• Unfortunately, I knocked the first ash off accidentally and it went flying to the floor
• Each ash was easily hitting the 1 inch mark but since I didn’t have a proper ashtray with me today I had to tap them off early. You’ll also notice the ashtray picture is missing today.

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic gives off a mostly woodsy aroma, not much else to it
• The foot brings more woodiness but this time it’s a lot more fresh, like a fresh strip of cedar wood, very nice aroma
• On the pre-light draw I’m getting more of the cedar flavors but also an interesting fresh taste, almost like a light and refreshing mint
• Initial draws bring none of the typical Pepin kick you might expect, it’s more of a subtle roasted wood and almonds type of flavors
• The is a bit of leather flavors being thrown into the mix here and there along with some coffee notes that are starting to sneak in slowly
• As we get near the halfway point I can safely say the cigar has barely passed into the medium category so far
• The retrohale is bringing just a tiny bite along with a smooth cedar and coffee finish
• The coffee flavors continue to develop nicely, more of an espresso flavor now and the leather flavor took an interesting turn into a black licorice type of flavor
• The strength of the cigar started picking up closer to the final third as it launched into the high end of the medium range
• In the last third all the flavors started coming together and balancing even better as their intensity kicked up a notch
• There was a huge burst of awesome roasted almond and espresso near the end and the cigar finished with no bitterness at all, very nice ending

Final Thoughts:
I hadn’t had too many of these before so I didn’t have many notes to fall back on but what I did find was mostly good. And judging by my experience today, I’d say the don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic is another winner from this renowned blending master. I was happy to see another blend that didn’t have the pepper kick at the start but still had tons of flavors that were enjoyable. I’m not sure I would go for a Churchill vitola in this blend but as a Robusto it was excellent and I would definitely buy more. The flavors were enjoyable even if not overly complex and it burned amazingly even. My only real complaint was a little too much glue on the band that ended up cracking the wrapper a bit, not a huge deal. This might also have been because I tried sliding the wrapper rather than taking it right off. These are definitely worth trying if you haven’t had one before and definitely worth buying again if you have. I know it is a staple in many people’s humidors and it’s easy to see why. One thing to watch out for is the price, I saw a huge variety of prices and these can be easily had for under $5 if you look hard enough, and at under $5 this is a great value cigar!

Pairings:
This isn’t my first review with Erdinger’s Weissbräu Weißbier Dunkel and it definitely won’t be my last. This dark ale from Erdinger’s German brewery is a classic and tasty brew that I’d say falls somewhere in the middle of a dark ale and a porter. The unique consistency probably comes from the fact that this is a dark WHEAT beer, so it’s a little different from the rest. It’s not quite as light as a dark ale and not quite as heavy as a porter. It’s got an awesome array of roasted malt, dark berries, coffee and a tiny bit of bitterness to round out a very flavorful brew. It makes a great pairing with the Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic as well as many other cigars. Other suggested pairings here would include a dark roasted coffee, a stout or porter, and of course, some tawny Porto!

The post Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic (Black Label) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

So this week I sat down on a crazy warm day to write my review. It was like 65 degrees today and only 2 days ago it was 5F! 55 degree difference in 2 days? Crazy right?! Well I made the most of it and sat down with a cigar I’ve been wanting to review for awhile. It is the Nicks Sticks Little Havana Blend by Perdomo, a special budget friendly blend created by none other than Nick Perdomo himself!

The Nick’s Sticks line comes in 3 wrapper types and all are filler and bound by Cuban seed Nicaraguan tobacco. There is a white label for Connecticuts, a black label for Maduros and todays blend is the Sun Grown marked by a deep red/burgundy label. The Nick’s Sticks name actually dates back to the beginning of the Perdomo brand and these cigars were only available at their store in Little Havana, Miami at the time. Nick listened to his fans and customers and by popular demand the blend is now being produced in larger quantities for distribution across the nation.

You will notice that the price of these cigars is very accessible and if history is any indication, they will carry the trademark quality and consistently that I’ve come to know from the Perdomo brand. I’ve always been amazed at how Perdomo can produce such consistent sticks for a fraction of the cost of some other manufacturers. So does the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend live up the Perdomo legacy and will it be another winner in their growing line up of cigars? Read on to find out what I thought!

Cigar: Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Torpedo (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Nicaraguan
Binder: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Price: About $4.00 – $4.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a soft but rough texture to it with very few veins
• There do seem to be a few bumps and even two little tears in the wrapper
• The cap is amazingly finished and blends seamlessly into the rest of the wrapper
• The foot appears full and well packed and the whole cigar has a nice firmness to it but with just the right amount of spring when squeezed
• The cut was super clean and easy leaving me with a perfect draw

Burn:
• Toasting was very even and easy, it’s like the cigar wanted to light itself
• There’s a slight wave as I burn through the first inch but nothing major so far, let’s hope it doesn’t turn bad
• The burn is still slightly wavy but it’s keeping the wave at a good minimum and not causing issues, burn has been good so far
• Just after I passed the halfway mark the wrapper cracked just below the band, nothing major now I’m just hoping it doesn’t explode on me
• The wrapper split didn’t get bigger but it did cause a bit of a wonky burn that needed a little correction from my lighter
• Quick note that I didn’t have the spilt problem on any other Nick’s Sticks cigars that I smoked in any wrapper

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of smoke coming from every draw on this cigar
• The resting smoke is equally abundant and giving off a nice campfire type of aroma
• So far the ash is very clean, very white and holding strong through the first inch
• The first ash rolled off into the ashtray shortly after the 1 inch mark
• Each subsequent ash stayed strong just past the one inch mark before I tapped it off
• The smoke stayed full and thick throughout the entire cigar

Tasting Notes:
• The dry aroma on the wrapper of this cigar definitely shows signs of cocoa and soft tobacco
• The foot brings forth a ton of woodsiness an a good helping of baking spices
• Pre-light draw brought more cedar flavors and spices with just a touch of cocoa in there too
• Initial flavors on the Perdomo Nick’s Sticks are cedar, a bit of leather, some baking spices and a touch of earthiness in there too
• The body is definitely on the mild side with a very smooth woodsy finish
• The leather and spices seem to have tapered off a bit and I’m left with a smooth woodsy cigar with some hints of earthiness and cocoa
• The retrohale on this cigar brings an interesting spice mix and the finish is smooth and woodsy
• As I get near the middle of the cigar it seems the body has stepped up a bit to a nice smooth medium
• The flavors continue to be well balanced and enjoyable despite not changing up a whole lot, there is a nice fresh baked cookie type of flavor appearing now and then
• The spice is making a nice slow comeback and balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• The flavors really started to pop in the last third, no harshness but a definite spike in the spices and cedar and a touch more body as well
• Getting a slight coffee flavor in the last third as well that’s joining the other flavors nicely

Final Thoughts:
I’m a pretty big Perdomo fan and enjoy a lot of their cigars. I find that they are all well made, and enjoyable. They seem to fit into the comfort zone of a lot of smokers and can be a good “Ol’ Faithful” stick to keep in the humidor. Having said that, I came into this review with high expectations and I was not left down. At a cost close to $4.00 for a Torpedo stick this is definitely a budget friendly cigar and it fits the bill perfectly. It had some interesting flavors and a great burn (minus one minor wrapper crack that didn’t really cause any major problems). I have to say that Perdomo has another quality and reliable stick on their hands with the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown and I will definitely be seeking out more of these. Their price also makes them easy to hand out to friends without breaking the bank and everyone gets a good cigar in the process. Grab some an enjoy!

Pairings:
As you may know I’ve been battling some cold/flu symptoms lately so I visited my doctor and got some nice anti-biotics to help clean out whatever it is that’s been bothering me. So that means I gotta lay off the alcoholic pairings for a little while. I decided to make myself just a plain cup of coffee with a bit of milk to go with today’s cigar. It ended up being quite a nice pairing. There weren’t any strong coffee flavors from the cigar so it almost added a nice little dimension to the whole experience. I think a nice dark ale would have been a perfect pairing here too.

The post Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.