Lately I’ve been feeling a little disappointed by the standard of cigars I have been smoking, so thought I would go on a small tangent from my cigar challenge. Since starting this blog I have smoked many cigars, and I am starting to see a pattern in my preferences. My highest rated cigars tend to be full bodied ones, with a dark wrapper, over a 48 ring gauge, and I definitely have a thing for box pressed cigars e.g CAO Flathead, Davidoff: Winston Churchill The Late Hour Churchill Cigar.
After looking around for similar cigars on Google, I came across the My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo… with the above in mind, this cigar looks like it’ll be perfect for me.
Right I’ll be the first to admit, that I really struggle to pronounce some of these cigar names… add that along with my Essex accent (where I’m originally from) – I sound bloody stupid when I try to pronounce them π€¦ββοΈπ This one is the Bijou (bee-zhoo) or howtopronounce.com/bijou.
The stats:
Length: 6 1/8″
Ring Gauge: 52
Strength: Full
Country of origin: Niguragia
Cost: Β£27.49 CGars
Background:
Jose Pepin Garcia is the chief, mentor and founder of the My Father Cigars brand. If you follow this blog, you’ll be familiar with Jose from my reviews of the Don Diego Torpedo and Fonseca Delicias cigars.
This guy has many talents – an interesting fact about Jose is that he started working in a Cuban cigar factory from the age of 11 years old!
Having opened a tiny cigar factory in Little Havana, Florida in 2003, Jose Pepin Garcia, has grown to become well-known by cigar aficionados across the globe. His love and passion for cigars have been the catalyst for being able to build large, successful cigar brands that are recognised for their high quality.
In 2009, Garcia opened My Father Cigars in EstelΓ, Nicaragua, otherwise known as the Garcia family industrial park, which is a seven-acre establishment complete with a production facility allowing for the harvest, processing, production and shipping of the cigars.
The My Father Le Bijou 1922 cigar was created by Jaime Garcia to honour his father, Pepin. The date 1922 denotes the birth year of JosΓ© Garcia. Le Bijou means “the jewel” in French.
This cigar was voted Cigar of the Year 2015 by Cigar Aficionado magazine.
My experience:
The cigar itself is a lovely looking box pressed torpedo, with a dark oscuro wrapper. The cigar bands are incredibly detailed, the smell is incredible, like a strong coffee and cocoa.
Upon lighting and after the first couple of draws, the power and strength of this full bodied cigar blows me away. The cigar feels smooth and sweet to smoke, but strong.
Immediately I am a fan and for me it feels like these are the types of strength I want to explore further.
The only downside is that there is a slight uneven burn but this isnt impacting my experience.
Towards the last part of the cigar there are some pepper flavour notes which I can feel on my tongue. I’m wondering whether this may he because I am smoking this a little too fast as I’m enjoying it too much.
My rating: 9 out of 10 πππ
Yes! This is a cigar I love and has the wow factor for me – up there with my favourite smokes. This isbnot for the faint hearted and if you are a new smoker this cigar may blow the roof off – so be wary. I absolutely want to get a box of these cigars now.
Next up… Iβll be getting back on track with my cigar challenge and trying a cigar from The Griffin brand.
London Cigar Smoker 