Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5.75 x 52 “El Billetero”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $7.00-11.00

These Don Pepin cigars are not that easy to come by. As you can see by the price range, they are a limited run stick. I paid $23 for a 5 pack on Cigar Monster. You see them a lot there. So don’t go Googling them and pay $11 a stick.

Let’s get to it. Rustic is the word that describes the construction. Lots of veins, big and small. It appears to have a single cap because it is an impeccably done cap. So there could be more lurking beneath. The medium brown wrapper has just a bit of oiliness and the slightest of tooth.

The cigar is not a jam packed full of tobacco type. It is solid but not like the usual Garcia stick.

I clip the cap and find aromas of clove, cinnamon, dark brown sugar, spice, wood, leather, and a natural sweetness. Anyone find themselves in the mood for a Christmas ham?
Time to light up.

I get a wash of interesting flavors. Very earthy. Sweet. No pepper. Nutty. And yam. The Christmas story continues. Sometimes we buy sweet potatoes or yams, bake them like a baked potato. Then split them, butter them up, a little cinnamon and we are good to go. That’s what this reminds me of.

And then out of nowhere a creamy caramel nougat flavor arrives on the scene. Apparently, this cigar is about sweetness. I fully expected the famous Garcia blast of pepper upfront but it is very slowly, gradually building.

The char line is pretty good with only the slightest bit of waviness. The ash is a dirty gray.

Creaminess shows up. Encapsulating the sweet components into one big sit down dinner.

The body is classic medium at the first inch. Yes. That’s right. All this has happened within the first inch.

The cigar is not your usual blunt instrument that most Garcia cigars are. I do not include the My Father line in that context. Just the sticks with the Garcia name on them.

Yet, this cigar stands apart from both blending styles. It begins its complexity early in the smoke. It is a unique cigar. And that’s me sticking my neck way out after only approaching the end of the first third.

A few reviews and online stores describe the cigar as full bodied. Others, medium/full. A true full bodied cigar would start out that way as opposed to reaching it at the final third. A good example of full bodied is the Illusione brand, or the 601 La Bomba, etc. They are knee knockers from the start.

None of the flavors have dissipated, gone away, or any added to the profile. It remains static in the list of flavors I previously laid out for you. The only change would be that these flavors continue to embolden themselves and yet reach a nice level of complexity and balance. Very chewy with a long finish.

At the halfway point, the rich earthiness leaps forward. The pepper is beginning to disappear. To add to the sweetness of the cigar, that nuttiness performs as raw cashew. A very sweet treat, indeed.

The strength begins its ascent. I should add that the cap is doing exceptionally well. Not a single piece of loose tobacco, nor it unpeeling itself. So it just might be a triple cap.

You know what strokes my turbine? You clip a cigar’s cap and then within the first inch, the wrapper begins to unravel. A lousy cap construction can really put a damper on things. So rather than toss it, I glue it. My favorite glue is Kingpin cigar repair glue. It is almost thick compared to El Ligador glue and therefore, fastens the wayward wrapper much quicker. You can schmear it around with your finger on the inside and outside edges of the tear. And it only takes about 5 minutes for it to be good to go. El Ligador can take overnight.

Kingpin comes in flavors but don’t let that throw you. There is a faint aroma while placing the glue in place. After that, there is no taste of it when you go back to smoking your cigar. I have no idea why they do that. But at $1.49 a bottle, you can’t go wrong.

And Kingpin gives you about three times as much glue for about a third of the price. Here is the link: Kingpin

I enter the last third and we enter the full body arena. This is a wonderful cigar. For being a Nicaraguan puro, it has none of the typical flavor profile of one. No detectable cocoa, coffee, red hot spice, etc. It is a nice shift to the rotation.

I notice that more and more reviewers are pairing their reviewed sticks with hard liquor or beer. I don’t drink. Never have. Runs in the family. One beer and its beddy-bye time. Although, back in the early 2000’s, my bosses drank like fishes and would always take us senior project managers for a drink at an exclusive bar/restaurant. They would order the most expensive scotch at the bar. $50 per glass. I got really schnockered on Fridays with a 45 minute ride home to Livermore, Ca.

So I got a bottle of Glen Livet and would sit up on weekend nights drinking scotch, smoking cigars, watching QVC and buying boatloads of knives I didn’t need.

It is here that there is a flavor explosion. This group of flavors just goes completely nuts. Every single one of them is blasting away at Mach 2. The creaminess, the caramel nougat, yam, and cashew. With a nice earthy baseline. And for a nice change, the char line did not need a single touch up along the way.

The strength of the cigar is kicking my ass but I will not go down with the ship. These flavors are worth vomiting into a horse bag feeder around my neck.

The Mi Barrio is an extraordinary cigar. It doesn’t follow the pack just because it is a Nic puro. It seeks out its own identity. A flavor bomb, for sure. But be careful about the pricing. I would keep checking Cigar Monster every day. $4.60 is a helluva lot better price point than $11.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS