Don Pepin Garcia Black Label Cuban Classic Robusto 1979

5" X 50, Corojo 99 Wrapper (Nicaraguan Puro)

Appearance: This cigar was quite inviting looking. Dark and toothy, and oily. It was odd I had heard people talk about cigars as oily, and thought I knew what they meant. But this time was different. This cigar had an obvious sheen to it. Interesting. Overall a very promising looking stogie.

PreLight: Clipped easy, and produced a forgiving draw. Pre-Light notes were rich and woody. Again, promising.

Burn/Draw: The burn was a tad uneven but nothing to worry about personally. On the bright side it was long and slow and languid and cool. The draw was forgiving and produced a ton of smoke, that was big in the mouth and smooth and rich.

Taste: A subtle cigar this is not. From the very beginning this cigar is in your face, with notes of spice (black pepper), wood, leather and tobacco. All of the notes bold, but never harsh. Its a full bodied smoke, and as it burned it also seemed to develop notes of coffee and bittersweet chocolate. I found that "Cuban Classic" was an apt title for this cigar, because it seemed to share notes with some of the stronger Cuban cigars I have had. Not anything that I can describe specifically, but it just feels like some I have had in the past. All in all though, this is one good powerhouse of a stogie.

This is one tasty cigar, and from a little research it looks like a fairly reasonably priced one. I can heartily recommend it to anyone who can get one. One other little tidbit, evidently all the sizes of this line have a year attached to them. Well the Robusto I had today was the "1979" which is cool cause that's my year of birth. Heh.

TomC