Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro is light brown, with the lightly raised veins surrounded by a lighter shade and a tinge of green. The seams are a bit raised and the caps well applied. The band is aged brick red, gold and yellowish cream and designated the brand and country of origin on front and company on the sides. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of cedar and earth while the foot brings cedar, bread and light spice. The pre-light draw brings an airy, aged cedar note.
Seth: The Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro is simple in appearance. Finished with a Natural to Colorado wrapper. The cigar features small veins throughout. Slightly firm, the cigar has aromas of cherries, tobacco, rich earth and sweet spices.
John: The Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro comes in cellophane and the cigar I’m reviewing has a retailer UPC sticker that tears in half when opened. The cigar has a single band that is definitely a throwback style to the 70’s and 80’s style cigar band. Aromas from the cigar included sweet tobacco, faint hay and barnyard. From the foot, I was picking up sweet earth and wood. The cigar weighed in at 16.4 grams, and the humidity was 63.0% as measured by a HumidiMeter Pro.
Jiunn: The Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro has a leathery Colorado wrapper shade. Veins are decently pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head well wrapped and capped. Aromas from the wrapper tell of pungent dry barnyard. Aromas from the foot reveal a blast of black pepper spice, nuts and cedar. Cold draws reveal cedar, hay and saltine crackers.

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and floral notes. At a half inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar and floral notes. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front with the floral note right behind and light creaminess in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The cigar begins with some leather, earth and sweet spice flavors. Bits of tobacco and nuts as well. Medium in strength and body. Nice level of complexity.
John: The first third opens with sweet tobacco, a dry hay in the middle and a spicy wood finish. Creamy, spicy wood with some herbal accents develops as the first third settles in. Herbal earth and dry wood combine on the post draw. The post draw gains spice at medium strength as the dryness steps up in intensity as well.
Jiunn: The first third does a good job of presenting the spicier variation of Corojo but it does not do a good job of delivering a cohesive array of flavors. Aside from the dry red pepper spice, it’s bitter cedar and hay. Retrohaling gives a higher concentration of the red pepper spice. The finish gives generic dirt soil and slight red pepper spice on the rear palate. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the overall profile is now a bit dry. At a third of an inch in, a light black pepper joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, floral notes and light earth. At an inch and a quarter, the pepper increases a bit as the floral note is now in the background. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper in the middle and the floral note and now a light wood bitterness in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The second third is very similar, but no complaints on my end. Leather, earth and sweet spice flavors. Tobacco and nuts as well. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Herbal hay leads off the second third with dry hay and wood combining into the post draw. As the second third continues, earth joins the post draw and the cigar settles into an overall dry, herbal profile.
Jiunn: The second third is a smoother delivery of the existing dried red pepper spice, bitter cedar and hay. The retrohale is still the best because it awakens the palate. Strength and body continues to be medium.

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit and the wood bitterness increases a bit. The toast level of the cedar also increases. At half an inch in, the earth now takes a slight lead over the toasted cedar. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with a very mild black pepper. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is just ahead of the toasted cedar with black pepper and wood bitterness a fair bit behind and a very light floral note in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third has a great finish of sweet spices, nuts, tobacco, leather and some stone fruit. Medium in strength and body. Smooth and balanced to the end.
John: Herbal cedar takes the cigar into the last third at medium to medium-full intensity with herbal, dry wood lingering on the post draw. There are no other flavor changes through the last third.
Jiunn: No changes to the final third. Still a ho-hum delivery of dried red pepper spice, bitter cedar and hay. Strength and body remain the same medium.

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Solid burn. Sometimes a little wavy.
John: The cigar had minor unevenness in the first third, was straight in the second third and wavy in the last third. No intervention was required.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect. Even burn, ample smoke production, tight ashes and cool burning temperature.

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Very good draw from start to finish.
John: I used the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust straight cutter and the draw was right in the ideal zone between open and resistant.
Jiunn: Flawless draw, giving the best balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and floral notes. Some creaminess joined in a bit later. The second third saw some black pepper join in and some wood bitterness a bit later. The final third saw the earth take the lead and the wood bitterness increased. The Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro had a nice start with a low strength and a classic flavor profile. As it reached the second third, it went down a notch as the profile wasn’t as dynamic and maintained that level the rest of the way. I’d like to try this cigar in a thinner ring gauge if they ever offered it, just to see how it would change things up. I appreciate the profile that was exhibited in the first third and just wish it could have maintained itself longer. Not something I really see myself coming back to with any frequency.
Seth: This Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro was an enjoyable Nicaraguan puro, and a great Corojo ’99 release. I am going to be honest, I looked at this and compared it against any AGANORSA Corojo ’99 release. I will be honest, it is superior to any AGANORSA Corojo ’99 release. My Father is back and appears to be taking on the Nicaraguan puro market again. I like the Don Pepin reference with the name.
John: The Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro had an interesting herbal forward flavor profile in the first third, but by the second third, was fairly linear and did not engage me in the same way and delivered a similar experience in the last third. The burn was wavy at times but required no intervention, and the draw was perfect. I didn’t find anything in the flavor profile here that stood out enough for me to want to return to this cigar in the future. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Jiunn: The best thing about this Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro is the awesome vintage/retro band. It’s so nice that I’d like to have some clean copies of it and make it wall art. In terms of the flavor profile, it’s an easy leave it. The flavors weren’t offensive, but the generic and uneventful nature of it and needing to smoke through a long Toro was not a pleasurable moment.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$2.33

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$2.05

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$2.30

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.43

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Don Pepin Vintage Edition Toro