My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary Staff Review
My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary is a phenomenal and rare 6-by-52-Toro blended by José ‘Pepin’ Garcia to celebrate the tenth year of the annual Pepin Mania event we host at our historic Holt’s retail locations in Philadelphia. Fans of My Father cigars shouldn’t hesitate to add this super-premium limited edition to their collections. Today I have the pleasure of smoking one to tell you why.
When we hosted our first Pepin Mania event at Holt’s a decade ago, we had no idea how big the occasion would become. Cigar lovers travel from all over the region to our Holt’s retail shops to meet the Garcia family, makers of My Father, La Aroma de Cuba, San Cristobal, and Tatuaje cigars. Master cigar-maker José Pepin Garcia, his son, Jaime, and daughter, Janny, are a tightknit family who left Cuba over twenty years ago and have grown into one of the most prestigious producers of today’s best Nicaraguan cigars.
The Garcias have been close to the folks who own Holt’s, the Levin family, for years. The Levins, who also own the La Aroma de Cuba and San Cristobal brands, partnered with Garcias in 2007 to produce both lines in Nicaragua. Our annual Pepin Mania event showcases all the great cigars the Garcias make, especially their My Father brand. They were so moved by the turnout and enthusiasm of our customers, Pepin blended an event-exclusive cigar called My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania, and the My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary is an even rarer edition created to commemorate an entire decade of Pepin Mania.
The original Pepin Mania cigar is finished in a succulent Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, but for the 10th Anniversary I’m smoking today, a dark and extra-oily San Andrés Oscuro wrapper leaf covers a bold recipe of proprietary Nicaraguan long-fillers the Garcias grow on private family estates. Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary is round instead of box-pressed like the original, and a secondary navy-blue cigar band, that reads “Pepin Mania 10th,” rests under a primary My Father label. Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary cigars come in a 24-count cedar box.
San Andrés is one of my personal favorite wrapper varietals, and when it’s been fermented longer than normal to achieve the deep complexion you only get with an Oscuro wrapper, you can look forward to greater power and smoothness in the smoke. On top of that, every leaf of tobacco in Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary cigars is triple-fermented, and the cigars are matured for three additional years after they’re rolled. The Garcias exercise immeasurable selectivity and craftsmanship to create this cigar.
When I open a full box and slip the cellophane off a fresh Toro, the wrapper emits sweet and substantial notes of leather, fresh tobacco, and black cherry as I pass it under my nose. The cigar looks immaculate from head to foot with its dark, shimmering color and seamless cover leaf. Copious spices surface in a potent profile of espresso and hickory when I clip the cap and begin to pull air into my palate.
Vigorous notes of cocoa, hickory, espresso, and nougat blossom with hints of dark fruit and anise upon lighting the cigar, which I do slowly to absorb its robust taste and complex nuances. Exhilarating spices travel the nasal cavity as a satisfying sense of completeness leaves its impression.
Toasty notes of cocoa-powdered almonds, black pepper, and espresso bean mingle with hints of raisin after thirty minutes of smoking. Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary bathes the palate with creamy, disarming texture followed by an elaborate finish in every puff of smoke expelled from my mouth. The ash exhibits strong structure, and the tobaccos burn in perfect syncopation. Pour a vintage, top-shelf bourbon to go with this cigar, and smoke one with a pal over a long conversation for an experience you’ll easily commit to memory. Its elaborate finish lingers on the palate in a luscious aftertaste that lasts beyond the hour I spent smoking. At 97 points, it ranks among my favorite Nicaraguan cigars of all time.
There is nothing whimsical about My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania 10th Anniversary; it’s for aficionados who love strong cigars. Pepin is a virtuoso when it comes to blending robust tobaccos and getting them to harmonize without tasting abrasive. Maturity is key, and Pepin is a patient man. He will wait several months or years until the flavor is perfect. I implore you to order a box today before they’re all gone. It would be a shame to have to wait another decade for the twentieth anniversary of Pepin Mania.
