Ah, Don Pepin Garcia....you are a genius.

In August, for my 40th birthday, I picked up a bundle of Tabacos Baez Serie H Monarcas, a 6.5x52 toro size draped in a luscious Habano wrapper, from Cigars International.  The retail price for 20 of these cigars is usually around $135 or more, so I was at first quite skeptical of their quality...considering the price I paid was less than half of that lofty sum.  I can honestly say that these cigars are top-notch-grade-A-terrific!  I have noted a price drop at CI for these beauties that will probably put them in my humidor regularly.  Let's get on with the review.

Construction:  I was surprised by the construction of these cigars - smooth leathery brown wrappers, slightly heavy in the hand - all of the hallmarks of something truly special.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw:  A nice rich tobacco and leather aroma out of the cellophane.  They make my mouth water every time I unwrap one.

Light and Burn:  As is the norm for all Don Pepin blends, this one really spices up for the first few puffs.  While all of these I have smoked start off spicy, I have tasted a plethora of spices, the most notable being a nice pumpkin spice flavor.  And that was more than a " hint" of pumpkin spice too.  I don't know how a master blender does these things but I am glad they do!  As for burn, the Serie H exhibits the usual self-correcting burn of Don Pepin's creations.  I have had a couple go a bit wonky on me but I usually attribute that to a thick spot in the wrapper as the habano wrapper is a pretty hefty thing.

Tasting:  The Tabacos Baez Serie H lights the taste buds with a formula: Spice, leather, wood, mystery flavor, more spice.  The mystery flavor is always a surprise.  It might be something simple like cedar or toast, but at least 6 of the 14 I have smoked put forth a pronounced bittersweet chocolate note and even a couple have pumped out the flavor of sugar cookies!

Value: Considering that I paid about $2.50 a piece for these cigars, I can't say anything against the value.  I would say about $7 to $9 would be a fair price for such a wonderful stogie.

Final Thoughts:  Without a doubt the Tabacos Baez Serie H is the best blind purchase I have ever made for cigars.  I intend to make these a usual tenant of my humidor.  Very highly recommended!

Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

I have noticed that all of the Don Pepin creations I have tried sport a Cuban-style triple cap as you can see here.

Firm long ash with an even burn - the hallmark of a good cigar