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Old 09-10-2007, 07:48 PM   #1
JBI
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Pittsford, New York USA
Posts: 141
San Cristobal By Ashton And Pepin (Comprehensive review)

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Name: San Cristobal by Ashton and Pepin Garcia
Size: Perfecto (6*60)
Components: Wrapper – Nic. Corojo, Binder – All aged Nic., Filler – All aged Nic.

Appearance/Construction: Beautiful, silky, dark wrapped perfecto with a few small pencil-like vein lines. This gorgeous shiny wrapper looks almost like a light maduro and the construction is impeccable.

Pre-light Draw: Very good, especially for a perfecto sized cigar before lighting.

Pre-light Aroma: Lightly spicy and earthy with a soft barn-yard aroma accompanied by a faint sweet vanilla nuance.

Post-light Aroma: Very strong and sharp under the nose and made me sneeze LOL!

Opening and Early Stages: Nice and spicy out of the gate with a slight sweetness. Per usual in “The Don’s” latest stuff, it’s fantastic and this is his first real full step-up from the rest. Wow, it’s a gamer! I’m in Casa JBI’s watching Monday Night Football, but more interested in this fine looking and tasting cigar than watching the Big Screen (not normal )! I’m having a hard time staying focused and writing this review because I just want to concentrate and enjoy this gem! I gotta hand it to Holt’s and Pepin lately; they’re the shit as a team and this is such a cool size and shape.

The Heart of the Cigar: This has the trademark Pepin profile but it’s different and extremely high in quality. I haven’t had a Cuban that tasted this good since some Diplomatica #2’s from Toronto a few years back. The cigar is getting very rich now and the nice warm spicy flavor continues but has mellowed a bit and has become very balanced. Lip smacking good! Tommy, tell your wife I’ll be down this week while your working to check over all your humidors for leakage (if there are a few of these missing, it’s because I’m doing some maintenance and need to test your cigar storage setup and make sure it’s keeping your stuff perfectly). An excellent mix of complex flavors going on now and not just the typical spice as it backs off a little. Did I say rich? Gobs of smoke billowing out like a smokestack. The draw is superb as well!

Latter Stages and Finale: What a balanced, rich smoke with an overall smoothness that rivals the best and produces tons of spice, cream, chocolate, nuts, a faint cedary citrus sweetness and a warm earthy quality that is just wonderful! Medium plus and the tobacco has a very aged quality to it. Maybe Pep. can adopt me into the family as his tester :P !

Summary and Afterthoughts: One fine, extraordinary effort by both parties, mainly Pep. And this is a keeper along with many of his others. However, this is a notch above some of Pepin’s other endless lines and extensions in every aspect regarding quality (i.e., tobacco, taste and construction). Believe it or not, the wrapper is almost identical to the Holts Connoisseur line and is similar in some ways, but the Holts Connoisseurs is cheaper. So if you can’t afford this pricy cigar, try the Connoisseurs. I was very sad when this cigar came to its inevitable conclusion and all I was thinking is that I need to stock these in spades! As the copy reads, this pretty much sums it up: Blended entirely from rich and delicious Nicaraguan tobaccos, these cigars feature dark, oily Nicaraguan wrappers. The flavor is rich and full-bodied, exhibiting a perfect balance between strength and complexity. Hearty notes of earth, cedar and spices are accompanied by lighter notes of walnuts, espresso and dark chocolate. A real knockout in any arena!!!


Ratings: (1=Lowest, 10=Highest)

Appearance – 9.5
Pre-light Flavors- 7
Construction – 9.5
Draw – 10
Aroma - 9
Flavor/Taste – 9
Burn/Ash – 8
Finish – 8
Smoking Experience – 9
Overall Impression – 8.7 maybe higher overall!
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