Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. Staff Review
The all-new Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. is one of a handful of new releases from the My Father company in 2025, and today, I’m smoking a 6-by-52 Toro. The Don Pepin Garcia line is named for the patriarch of My Father Cigars, José ‘Pepin’ Garcia, who operates a network of farms and factories with his son, Jaime, and daughter, Janny, in Nicaragua and Honduras today.
The Don Pepin Garcia line is one of the first brands the Garcias launched when they arrived in Miami from Cuba in the early 2000s. E.R.H. stands for “El Rey de los Habanos,” the name of the small factory the Garcias opened in Miami’s Little Havana district. The Garcias have come a long way from their humble start in Miami to run one of today’s largest premium companies, responsible for producing dozens of today’s bestselling brands, including My Father, La Aroma de Cuba, San Cristobal, and Tatuaje.
In 2024, the critics in Cigar Aficionado awarded The Judge from My Father a stunning 98-point score and their coveted ‘Cigar of the Year’ title, marking the Garcias’ third such title. Like The Judge, the new Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. is finished in an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper leaf, piquing my interest even more. The wrapper on E.R.H. is technically a Rosado, giving the cigar its reddish-brown color. The blend comes in a 20-count box, and it’s handmade in three popular sizes: Robusto, Toro, and a chunky Toro Gordo.
When I choose a Toro from the box, its rustic, cocoa-hued wrapper shows a thin structure of veins. Inside the wrapper is a complex blend of Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos grown on the Garcias’ farms. A noticeable aroma of cinnamon, cedar, black pepper, and birch beer gets my attention before I light the cigar, while the cold draw offers notes of leather, spice, and bell peppers with a vegetal hint of bean after I cut the cap and take a few puffs.
The draw is perfect when I toast the foot of the Toro. Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. reveals tasting notes of cedar and pepper in the first minutes. Although it’s particularly spicy in the nose, notes of leather and damp earth create balance as the cigar progresses. A tasteful profile of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon follows. The cigar’s spicy tendencies diminish dramatically before I finish the first half.
E.R.H. continues with an unusually vegetal profile as the spices recede. A straightforward smoke of coffee bean and earth mingles with nuances of moss, leather, and cedar. The Toro burns at a delightful pace despite showing a flaky ash at a few points. After fifty minutes, I gently peel the band off and prepare to enjoy the nub.
A long crescendo of earth, wood, and leather fills out the final moments. Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. leaves a medium-bodied impression at the beginning but gradually builds into a stronger finish, worthy of 92 points in my book. Subtle intonations of anise, baking spices, and cocoa powder linger in the aftertaste.
Explore this high-quality blend as soon as you encounter it. Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H. offers the pedigree of the Garcia family, paired with the unique taste of a Rosado wrapper leaf grown in Ecuador, for an excellent value in the range of $10 per cigar. I expect fans of My Father cigars will eagerly devour this recent addition to their lineup. If you’re in the market for a complex Nicaraguan premium that doesn’t cost a fortune, I’m convinced you’ll be impressed.
