The name El Rey de los Habanos, or The King of Havana Cigars, carries particular significance for José “Don Pepín” Garcia. It was the name of the small factory he established in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood in 2002, after leaving behind a decades-long career in Cuba's cigar industry. Working alongside his family in a modest space on Calle Ocho, Garcia began producing cigars that would eventually establish his reputation in the United States. Among the earliest were Tatuaje, Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label, and El Rey de los Habanos, introduced as its own line in 2005. The factory would eventually grow into the much larger My Father Cigars operation, but the original Miami workshop remained an important part of the family's history.
The El Rey de los Habanos line was discontinued around 2011 before returning in late 2024 under the abbreviated name Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H., receiving a broader release in early 2025. This latest version uses a Sumatra Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan tobacco from Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa. The name is more than a nostalgic reference. It recalls the tiny Miami factory where the Garcia family first began building what would become one of Nicaragua's most influential cigar companies.
