Friday, October 23, 2009

Don Pepin Garcia My Father Le Bijou 1922

This is the new offering in the My Father line, it is a pricier cigar with an $11+ retail. The cigar is beautiful to look at as it is draped in a nice oscuro wrapper that has some prominent veining, but it appears to be well made. The roll seems firm, but supple and the cigar has a nice oily gleam. The pre light aroma has light notes of spice, candy and fruit. The pre light draw has notes of tobacco, earth and spice.

The cigar opens with more strength than I expected. The profile is deep and has flavors of earth, rich tobacco and a sweet candy note at the back of the palate. The burn is a bit slow, but the draw is smooth and easy producing plenty of smoke.

At the one third mark the profile has opened up. There are notes of caramel, spice, tobacco and wood and at the back of the palate a coffee note has presented as well. The burn has become lopsided and I am starting to experience a runner. The draw has stayed smooth and bountiful.

At the halfway point the runner has developed into a full blown canoe, I am still attempting to persevere as I do not want to char the excellent profile of the cigar. The profile is showing notes of earth, tobacco, wood and coffee. The draw has stayed consistent.

With about a third of the cigar left I opt to knock off the canoe instead of relighting. This can be a rather neanderthal approach, but I sometimes go to this move to save the profile. Satisfied that I am past it I refocus. The profile has maintained notes of earth and tobacco, but the caramel notes return in the last third. The draw has stayed easy throughout.

The finish is long and smooth. It showed notes of earth, coffee and tobacco.

Appearance- 90 veining hurt the score
Taste- 94 an excellent, complex profile
Construction- 82 the canoe severely detracts from the score
Strength- 88 stronger than I thought and at times in the way of a wonderfully complex profile
Overall- 88.5 construction hurt the score, but the taste was excellent

No comments:

Post a Comment