My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania Staff Review
My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania is a sought-after and exclusive cigar, blended by legendary cigar-maker José Pepin Garcia, available during the annual Pepin Mania event we host at both of our historic Holt’s retail locations. I’m smoking this dark and decadent Toro rolled from a proprietary recipe of premium tobaccos in 6-by-52 soft-box-pressed dimensions.
Pepin Mania is one of the busiest days of the year at Holt’s. We offer event specials on every cigar in the My Father portfolio, as well as several other brands that are blended and handcrafted at the Garcia family’s cigar factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, including La Aroma de Cuba, San Cristobal, and Tatuaje.
Once a year, My Father Limited Edition Pepin Mania cigars go on sale for a short time, but we sell out fast. We serve a strong contingent of fans of My Father cigars at Holt’s, and they jump on whatever boxes of this small-batch release we receive as soon as we list them for sale. Pepin Mania cigars are handcrafted from an oily Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and a robust amalgam of premium long-fillers drawn from select Garcia family estates. Every leaf of tobacco undergoes a triple fermentation to achieve maximum smoothness, and the cigars are aged an additional three years in aromatic cedar cabinets after they’re rolled to ensure they’re perfectly mature when they reach the City of Brotherly Love, where our palatial humidified warehouse and Holt’s headquarters are located.
The Pepin Mania blend is packaged in boxes of 24 cigars, each clad in a classic My Father band with a secondary gold band that reads “Pepin Mania” beneath it. When you unsheathe a Pepin Mania cigar from its cellophane, hearty and sweet aromas of chocolate, raisin, leather, and pepper tantalize the nose. The toothy Broadleaf wrapper conceals a perfectly firm box-pressed cigar from head to toe. A quick snip to the triple cap provides ample anticipation as I wrap up my thorough pre-light inspection.
The cold draw produces peppery and earthy flavor with a sinewy sweetness. Pepin Mania is an after-dinner cigar; it’s loaded with classic Nicaraguan taste and good amount of nicotine. Its pronounced profile comes to life in abundant draws as I finish flashing my soft flame lighter across the foot. The smoke is especially zesty when you push it out through the nose.
After eight minutes, a firm ash forms. Notes of sweetened espresso and dark cocoa powder express the profile with greater intensity. Hints of almond and coffee bean straddle the palate with velvety nuances while the density of Pepin Mania plods forward, leaving a big finish behind in every draw. I suggest sipping a high-end rye, with sufficient age, with My Father Pepin Mania. The cigar is blended to meld with an ultra-smooth spirit that can sink into your taste buds effortlessly.
Exuberant notes of cracked black pepper and molten brownie persist throughout the second half of the Toro. The Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos Pepin Garcia assembled for Pepin Mania match up marvelously with its aged Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. By the time I peel the last band off to indulge in the nub, I’m slowly drawing long streams of creamy and spicy smoke across my palate, giving each puff ample time to resonate. The Toro delivers a powerful crescendo you’ll want to savor without rushing.
My Father Pepin Mania boasts earthy, leathery, and sweet flavors with satin-like texture and a vivacious zest before a deep, intricate finish arrives. Secure a box of these seasoned super-premiums, worth 96 points in my book, from Pepin Garcia before we’re sold out for another whole year.
