If you’re familiar with classic mafia films, you’ll know the term “Don” is not thrown around lightly. This is an honorific title of respect, one that only men such as Don Vito Corleone have earned. Similar to Italian culture, Spanish-speaking cultures likewise use “Don” to distinguish men of high social status through respect… only these men aren’t necessarily associated with la cosa nostra (we hope).
Within the world of premium cigars, this distinction is associated with only a select few, including the legendary Don Pepín García. Don Pepín was born in Báez, Cuba, where he began working with tobacco at a very young age; eventually becoming known as one of Cuba’s best torcedores and Master Blenders. Don Pepín left Cuba in 2001, establishing a small factory in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, which employed roughly 12 cigar rollers. Working with his son (Jaime) and daughter (Janny), the García name spread quickly, bolstered by their factory’s top client—Tatuaje.
The Garcías expanded operations soon thereafter, opening a factory in Nicaragua that could handle 80 rollers, and eventually building the juggernaut My Father Cigars S.A. factory in Estelí, Nicaragua in 2009. This factory was originally intended to bear the García name, but when Jaime (Don Pepín’s son) decided to blend a secret cigar in his father’s honor, he named the blend “My Father,” which was such a convincing cigar that the family’s own cigar brand and factory would later take the name as well!
Jaime García, now the Master Blender at My Father Cigars, crafted the famed My Father cigar using the García’s own Nicaraguan-grown leaves, as well as a Habano-seed wrapper from Ecuador. The combination produces a rich smoking experience that could easily be mistaken for a classic Cuban Habano! A barrage of various cabinet spices mingle through the nostrils from the first puff; offering complex nuances of cinnamon, nutmeg, leather, medium-roast coffee, cedar, and much more. This is a medium-bodied experience with full flavors and intricate complexities.
