Pepin Garcia

Christened José García, Pepin was born into a large family of tobacco growers/cigar makers in Báez, a town in Villa Clara province, Cuba.[1]

A bundle of Don Pepin's cigars

In the short time he has been on his own, Pepin Garcia has moved from a relative unknown to a major name in the "boutique" brand arena.[6] In addition to his own brands, he has blended and makes several others for various companies. His skill as a master roller has often been recognized. Pete Johnson said that his "unusually adept skill is evidenced by the fine construction of the cigar".[7] By 2007, his reputation as a superior cigar maker[8] had grown and he was tapped to create and manufacture a completely new brand (San Cristobal) for a major premium cigar company, Ashton Distributors, Inc.[8]

The first brand Pepin made on his own was Tatuaje for Pete Johnson, and after this brand received high ratings in Cigar Aficionado magazine, Pepin was suddenly in great demand and many people wanted a Don Pepin brand.[6][9] The tiny Miami factory was unable to keep up with the growing demand, and it became necessary to open a second factory, Tabacalera Cubana, in Estelí, Nicaragua. With the opening of the Esteli factory, Pepin changed the overall company brand name to My Father Cigars, derived from a blend son Jaime Garcia had made for him. My Father's rise to prominence was capped when his Flor de las Antillas was named 2012 Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado, an accolade repeated when My Father Le Bijou 1922 received the same honor for 2015.

Don Pepin's goal is to re-create the Cuban style as closely as possible without using Cuban tobacco. He has found that Nicaraguan tobaccos render the flavor closest to the Habanos he has in mind, although other tobaccos are used as wrappers from time to time, notably Ecuadoran grown Connecticut shade. His cigars are not for everyone, as they are medium- to full-bodied and can pack quite a punch.

All of the cigars made at his factories are made in the Cuban style and are finished with a triple cap. In addition, every box is marked with the date of manufacture,[10] a practice which is beginning to gain favor outside of Cuba, where it has always been done.

The El Rey de los Habanos factory, the first cigar factory established by Pepin, shares the address of the corporate headquarters in Little Havana at 1120–1124 SW 8th St., Miami. The factory was started by Don Pepin in 2002. The factory manufactures not only Pepin's own brands, but several brands for major clients and house brands for various cigar stores. The factory currently employs 12 rollers, all Class 8 (Master),[11] and they can turn out about 800,000 cigars per year.[11]

On August 18, 2010, Eduardo Antonio Fernandez Pujals, who owns 50% of the shares of El Rey de los Habanos Inc., sued the Garcia family claiming, "breach of fiduciary duties, conspiracy to commit breach of fiduciary duties, aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duties, conversion, tortious interference, and ultra vires..."[12]

Located in Estelí, Nicaragua, Tabacalera Cubana S. A.[14] was established in June 2006[15] to allow the company to meet the growing demand. It is larger than the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami, and currently employs 62 rollers,[15] allowing the company to turn out in excess of 3.5 million cigars per annum.[15] A new factory is being built which will employ 100-110 rollers, allowing the factory to make from 7 to 9 million cigars per annum.[15]

TACUBA has also expanded into growing its own tobacco and expects to be able to harvest approx 120,000 kg. of tobacco annually for use in the cigars they make, with no plans to re-sell.[15]

In addition to the regular production cigars noted above, Don Pepin has from time to time created special limited edition cigars for clients. Some of those are listed here, as well as some odds and ends.

• El Centurion. The original El Centurion was a special, one-time limited release for Don Pepin himself and was limited to 50,000 cigars made in the Nicaraguan factory, TACUBA. There were three sizes: Guerrero, a 5x50 robusto; Emperadores, a 5.5x50 figurado, and Gladiatores, a 6.5x50 toro. They were packed in cedar boxes of 20. A new El Centurion with a somewhat different blend was released as a regular-production line in 2013.
• Tatuaje Bombazos. The Bombazos (4" x 46) were produced for Fumare Cigar in Reno, NV. It is a strong, spicy blend.
• Tatuaje La Maravilla. This cigar was produced for Leaf and Ale. The La Maravilla is a Punch Punch-sized cigar at 5-5/8" x 46.
• Tatuaje Cohetes (Rocket). This limited edition cigar was made exclusively for Tower Cigars. A short, fat cigar (4 x 50), it was packed in cabinets of 25, each numbered, dated and signed by Pete. There were only 50 such cabinets available. It was made in the Miami factory.
• Bad to the Bone was a special limited production made for the Outlaw Cigar Co., of Kansas City, MO. It was released during a rolling demonstration held in Kansas City by Don Pepin in June 2007.

El Centurion cigar band (image by R. L. Hardesty)

Bad to the Bone cigar band

Bad to the Bone (photo by Rufus Shaw)

• Cigar brands

• Review of the Nacionales W El Mundo