El Centurion Gladiadores by My Father

13 Jun 2013 • Posted by Jack • Don Pepin Garcia, My Father • 3859 views

It's pretty well known in the cigar world that Tatuaje is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year. But did you know that Don Pepin is as well? To commemorate the release of his first limited release cigar, Pepin has resurrected the same brand that he released a decade before with the El Centurion. If you were lucky enough to have smoked the original this new one may be a bit of a shock. It's a totally different blend sporting the same name. In perusing the web looking for specs on this cigar, I have to give my thanks to Halfwheel.com for his amazing review of the pre-release El centurion 2013. So, how do I think this new release of an old brand is? Let's see....

Construction: This is a gorgeous cigar. The wrapper leaf is veinless, oily, and silky smooth with a deep dark chocolate color. There is not one blemish to be seen either. I guess it shouldn't surprise me at this stage....flawless construction is synonymous with My Father cigars.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: Out of the cellophane I get some nice cocoa, cedar, and slight hay notes. There is a slight spice in there as well that I can't place other than " floral" . Cutting is a cinch and the draw is perfect.

Light and Burn: Flawless....absolutely flawless. Marbled white ash that clings forever, crisp burn line. In the hour and a quarter that this cigar burned for me, I never had one problem with the burn and when the ash dropped off it showed off the wonderful skill of his rollers using an entubar bunching method. You can usually spot this when a cigar ashes evenly with no cone. Leaves are individually scrolled and bunched together which enables better draw and more flavors to the palate. Learn something new every day, huh?

Tasting: It should come as no surprise that the Centurion starts off with that telltale Pepin peppery blast of spice. Into the first third I get some nice heavy black pepper, cedar, and leather flavors with a touch of black coffee and earth. There is a nice subtle sweetness underneath as well.

Second third has my head swimming. Not from the strength but from the richness of the flavors. There is a very heavy coffee, cocoa, and cedar core touched by a sweet floral flavor that is truly outstanding. I am getting a lot more earth and a warm white pepper as well. The balance that Pepin is able to establish with cigars is amazing.

In the final third the cedar flavors change over to a nice sweet oak. There are hints of cinnamon, cream, and more of that floral aspect that I picked up in the second third. I think this is one of Pepin's best cigars...and that is really saying something. Strength levels for the El Centurion increase a bit from medium to medium-full as you smoke your way through one but it doesn't produce anything that might scare away newer smokers.

Value: Herein is the truly amazing thing. This cigar COULD cost you $15 or maybe more....but they are about $7 to $8 in price.

Final Thoughts: As you can tell, I enjoyed this cigar from start to finish. Pepin is a master and his partnerships with other industry names have created some of the greatest cigars of modern times. I can honestly say that I have never had a My Father product - or even one produced in his factory - that I haven't liked. I highly recommend this cigar to anyone and everyone.

One small note....you will see the contents of the filler below as stated by Halfwheel.com. It includes the Sancti Spiritus leaf that drapes the L'Atelier flagship line. This leaf is a hybrid that only Pepin grows and it is nice to see leaves that didn't make the wrapper leaf cut included as a filler.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo &rsquo 98
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaragua (Criollo, Corojo Habano and Sancti Spiritus)

Strength: Medium and full flavored

Size: 6.5 x 52