A Brief History of Don Pepin Cigars
It all starts in 1950 when Jose Pepin Garcia is born into a famous cigar rolling family in Cuba. Just a few years later, when most 11-year old kids are outside playing with their friends after school, young Jose was sitting at a rolling table learning his trade. Inspired by generations of tobacco growing, his passion for the industry would continue to evolve throughout his adult life.
Jose Pepin Garcia finally decided to create his own legacy by opening up his first cigar factory in Little Havana in 2003. Garcia along with a few of his best Cuban trained torcedors, who were willing to take this exciting new journey, began selling his first premium creations to the neighborhood locals.
With a strong Cuban population in this section of Miami, the demand for cigars is overwhelming, so it is very easy to find a shop on virtually every corner. Though, unlike many other shops willing remain small and local; Garcia had much bigger plans in mind. By creating top-quality sticks that were uncompromisingly robust, flawlessly constructed, and aromatic, he quickly became one of a handful of manufacturers that began gathering nationwide fame. So much so, that his devout fans would make a special pilgrimage to the Sunshine State just to visit his store!
After producing the original Don Pepin Garcia Classico, this small boutique business really took off, and today Jose Pepin along with his family proudly own two factories, the headquarters in Doral, which is a boutique factory with a team of twelve expert cigar rollers trained by Don Pepin himself. The other is the Garcia Family Industrial Park in Estelí, Nicaragua with more than three hundred cigar rollers flawlessly creating Don Pepin products daily.
With just about every new blend receiving top ratings, the company reached the pinnacle of success in 2012 when Cigar Aficionado Magazine awarded the My Father Flor de Las Antillas Toro the Cigar of the Year.
The Garcia Family continues to follow the tradition of excellence they lived and learned in Cuba, and Jose along with his daughter, and his talented son Jaime, are poised to keep the brand flourishing for many more years to come.
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