Flatbed Cigar VLI, Don Pepin Garcia and Plasencia Cigars

I’m working on plans to get to the TPE (Total Products Expo) in Vegas at the end of the month, it’ll either be a one day, quick in and out, or the whole three days. It’s an interesting show, as I’ve chronicled before here, I’m not sure what comes out of it, but I hope to see some old friends. If you’re going, let me know, I’ll tell you where to find me.  Anyway, I’ve been rummaging for new things to smoke, there’s some stuff in the pipeline, and I came up with a few for today.  First up is the Flatbed Cigar Co. VLI from their Homestead series.  Flatbed Cigar Co. makes their cigars in the Dominican Republic, the factory is a closely held secret.  I’ve been quite impressed by the majority of their offerings, especially their value.  Please note their Daily Deal on the left sidebar, always something good at a great price.  It was one of these daily deals where I ended up with the VLI.  The VLI, and I can’t seem to find out what that stands for, is a 5½ x 52 with a Pennsylvania wrapper (presumably broadleaf), Dominican binder and Pennsylvania and Nicaragua fillers.  Let me tell you, this is right up my alley.  This is a bold cigar, with rich, dark flavors, along with some spice, but not overwhelmingly so. There’s a dry cocoa component, and it’s perfectly constructed.  I really enjoyed this and I recommend it highly.  Check out this small, boutique company based right here in PA., the cigars are very good.

I was looking for something new and interesting and came across a Don Pepin Garcia cigar I hadn’t seen before. It turns out it’s a TAA exclusive, for now, called the Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H., comes in three sizes (robusto, toro and gordo) and is priced in the $8-9 range.  I had to grab a 6″ x 52 Toro to try.  E.R.H. refers to José Garcia’s first factory in Little Havana, El Rey de los Habanos.  This has a striking red band and foot ribbon, I was surprised to see this, and didn’t realize it was a TAA cigar until I looked it up. It has a Sumatra Oscuro wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  It was a really nice looking cigar. I got some sweet woody kinds of flavors, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an oasis in a desert of $15 TAA cigars, it’s quite a good value and one I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again.

I had heard some good things about the Plasencia Cosecha 151 recently and decided since the DPG was so affordable I would pop for the more expensive Plasencia. This is one of the more reasonably priced cigars in their offering, running around $16.  The 151 refers to the Plasencia family’s 151st harvest,dating back to 1865.  So when the US was wrapping up the Civil War, a Plasencia was planting tobacco in Cuba. Wild!  This is another Toro, called the La Tradicion, and is listed at 5.9″ x 54. This has a Honduran wrapper, binder and fillers.  This was a very good cigar.  It had some woody, nutty, coffee flavors and while not 100% my flavor preference, it was very nice, nothing objectionable. I found that the strength crept up on me, and I put it down probably where most people put cigars down, instead of smoking it under an inch like I do with most cigars. I liked it, glad I tried it, given the choice between this and the Don Pepin, I’d probably get two of the DPGs. While pricey, I’ve generally had good experiences with Plasencia cigars.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig