Don Pepin Garcia Vintage Staff Review
Don Pepin Garcia Vintage cigars debuted in 2023 as an exclusive blend for the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA), a small group of retailers who pool their buying power together. In 2024, the DPG Vintage blend was released to stores nationally, and today I’m reviewing it in a 5-by-54 Robusto.
Don Pepin Garcia cigars are named for the family patriarch of My Father Cigars, José ‘Pepin’ Garcia, aka Pepin. Before My Father became the world-famous brand it is today, Don Pepin Garcia was the first brand Pepin launched after arriving in Miami from Cuba in the early 2000s. A master cigar-maker in his native Cuba, Pepin started over in the States with the help of his family, especially his son, Jaime, and daughter, Janny. With much perseverance and hard work, the Garcias have become one of today’s most creative forces in the premium cigar industry with several top-rated brands to their credit.
Don Pepin Garcia Vintage cigars commemorate the twentieth anniversary of their first brand. Unlike the limited-edition Don Pepin Garcia 20th Anniversary cigar, Don Pepin Garcia Vintage is a regular production cigar, and it’s available for a more affordable price – in the $14 vicinity. The cigars come in maroon-and-cream-colored bands with a simple, old-school look, and they’re packaged in 20-count boxes.
A particularly oily Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper glistens with a reddish-brown sheen over a meaty blend of Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos, all of which the Garcias grow on their sizeable network of farms. When I choose a Robusto from a fresh box, hearty aromas of cedar, spice, leather, and raisin bran cereal leave a solid impression. Don Pepin Garcia Vintage cigars look immaculate inside the box as well as when I inspect one closer when I take it out. The cap is perfect, and the cigar is structurally firm when I pinch it.
After clipping the head with my Xikar Xi1 Cutter and taking a few cold draws, classic notes of coffee bean, leather, and black pepper mingle with a touch of citrus. The draw on the Robusto is stellar as Don Pepin Garcia Vintage comes to life with creamy notes of wheat toast and cedar once I’ve got the cigar fully lit. Hints of citrus fill out the finish of the initial puffs, but the cigar’s defining characteristic is its spice – which is especially prevalent in my nose during the retrohale.
Twenty minutes in, Don Pepin Garcia Vintage builds a strong foundation of wood and black pepper on the palate while its intensity delivers increasing zest in my nasal cavity. The cigar is fierce but smooth, and the construction is flawless as a strong, tight ash builds at the foot. The flavor leans into the full-bodied spectrum with plenty of classic nuances you would expect from the well-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos Pepin and Jaime grow.
A chewy profile of cedar, fresh tobacco, and pepper lingers on my taste buds as I eagerly power through the nub. Traces of citrus and mesquite add complexity to a robust cigar you should enjoy after a meal. After roughly fifty minutes of smoking, Don Pepin Garcia Vintage is on par with the bestselling Don Pepin Garcia Original, or DPG Blue Label, that’s been a staple of the Garcias for years. A woody finish resonates leaving an appealing hearth-like aroma in the air as I add my stamp of approval to Don Pepin Garcia Vintage with a 92-point rating.
