This box-pressed Nicaraguan puro hits like a freight train dressed in velvet. The 5¼"x52 Robusto comes 23 to a box at $225.63, wrapped in that signature Ecuadorian Habano Rosado leaf so oily you could check your reflection. Triple caps? Check. Triple nicotine? You bet. Jaime García's tribute to pop Pepín isn't playing games - Cigar Aficionado's 94-rating beast flexes with volcanic soil muscle.
Instant black pepper salvo fades to espresso grounds and charred cedar. The draw's tighter than a drumhead, pushing thick smoke that coats teeth like 80% dark chocolate.
Volcanic soil earthiness rises through roasted almond notes. Retrohale flashes cinnamon heat over leather-bound book musk. Burn line stays razor-straight despite the dense pack.
Nicaraguan strength shows its teeth - damp earth transitions to baking spices as tar builds at the nub. Finish strong with molasses sweetness battling pepper residue on the tongue. Clock your smoke: 65 minutes minimum.
García's secret sauce? 18-month pilón fermentation on that Ecuadorian wrapper. Binder/filler leaves hail from Nicaragua's "Iron Triangle" - Estelí's volcanic bite softened by Jalapa valley's aromatic leaf. Rolled at the Estelí factory by torcedores who could probably do this blindfolded.
