Brand: La Flor Dominicana
Vitola: Cheroot
Ring Gauge: 38
Length: 5.50
Wrapper: Unknown
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown
Origin: Dominican Republic
Cost: $7.00

Brand:
The La Flor Dominicana Cheroot is a cigar that is sold exclusively through Empire Cigars in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is unsure what the cigar is actually made up of, although people believe it to be 100% ligero tobacco.

Before becoming an exclusive to Empire Cigars, this stick was only available through Litto Gomez. The story goes, Litto used to carry these around in a coat pocket while visiting cigar shops. In order to receive one of these cigars, one had to personally receive it from Litto himself.

For more information on the cigar, take a listen to the interview I recently conducted with Hal Rubin of Empire Cigars.

Pre-Light:

To be completely honest, this cigar has a striking appearance. At first glance you wonder if you even want to smoke something that looks so ugly. The wrapper is lumpy and contains several medium sized veins. The stick itself is not straight and has a considerable bend towards the head.

The color of the wrapper leaf was sort of a dusty brown riddled with pale sun spots. When pinched, the cheroot felt firm and well packed with tobacco. The wrapper and exposed foot produced a mild pepper and earth aroma.

First Third:

Not being completely sure about how to properly smoke a cheroot, I clipped the already opened head to allow for a better flow of smoke. Once this was complete, the pre light draw was free with little resistance. I began the lighting process and before long I had my cigar evenly lit and producing loads of thick smoke.

Right from the start this cigar is a full blown powerhouse. Flavors of pepper overwhelm the sinus cavity as I retro-hale. The finish is heavy and leaves the feeling of a thin film being applied across the palate and tongue. Even a small amount of residual smoke lingering in the mouth is enough to take ones breath away if accidentally inhaled.

As I work my way through the first third, I am picking up a range of enjoyable flavors. Aside from the very powerful peppery flavor, I am noticing a subtle nuttiness that makes for an interesting secondary flavor. In addition to the nuttiness, I can taste a subtle leather flavor that I am finding enjoyable as well.

Second Third:

After a short period of time, I was into the second third of my La Flor Dominicana Cheroot. The fast smoke time is due to the way the cigar burns. I’m assuming that the ligero content is through the roof, as a result I am struggling to keep it lit while smoking at my normal pace.

The body doesn’t skip a beat and steadily increases deeper into the full spectrum as I smoke along. The finish remains thick on the palate and lingers for several minutes after expelling the smoke. As the smoke is passed through the sinuses, I am presented with a powerful, peppery blast of aroma. This blast acts sort of the same way that horseradish or Chinese mustard does in the sense that it gives the feeling of heat passing through the nasal cavity.

For a cigar as powerful as it is, I’m finding it loaded with delicate flavors. The pepper is first and foremost the most apparent flavor. Next is a salty sort of nuttiness, followed by leather and wood. These additional flavors are what is making the cigar a winner at this point. I am finding them extremely pleasant as an aftertaste to the pepper blast.

As the cigar burns, it produced a fairly light colored ash which is firm and compacted. From time to time there is a little flaking which has a very powdery texture. The burn line is thin and even while producing a pungent room aroma and moderate amount of resting smoke. The draw remains free, with little resistance, and provides gobs of smoke with each puff.

Final Third:

As I neared an hour of smoking, it was about time to prepare to put the La Flor Domonicana Cheroot down for good. Just as in the previous two-thirds, the body continued to climb and become fuller as I burned along. The finish remained heavy on the palate and left me with the feeling of a thin film coating the inside of my mouth.

The flavors were my favorite part of this cigar. It amazes me how flavorful this cigar can be while being so powerful. I kept assuming that the subtle flavors would become washed away by the increasing body of the smoke. To my surprise, they remained crisp and easily noticed. The primary flavor remained that of pepper and spice while flavors of leather, wood, and earth lingered in the background.

The burn line remained thin and as even as I could hope for. The burn rate was elevated due to the constant puffing required to keep this stick burning properly. The smoke volume was abundant while the draw was free with little resistance. The room aroma was on the pungent side and would probably easily offend a non smoker in the remote area.

Final Thoughts:
When it was all said and done, I really enjoyed the La Flor Dominicana Cheroot. The flavors were excellent and the body started off full tilt and never let up. The amount of ligero in this stick forces you to pay more attention to it than you would with the average cigar, as it goes out easily.

The price is the one and only downside to this cigar. Being a cheroot, I excepted this cigar to be in the basement of budget pricing. This type of cigar is meant to be down and dirty production wise. The final price is a direct result of the rarity of this cigar. Being sort of a novelty cigar that is delivered at a rate of twenty-five boxes per month, you have to be prepared to pay a hefty $7.00 per single. ($140.00 per box of 20).

While I think this cigar is fantastic and would recommend it to the full bodied smoker, without hesitation, I can’t see myself smoking these on any sort of regular basis. The price of the cigar is simply too cost prohibitive for my liking. I would suggest that you try at least one if you enjoy a rocket ship of a cigar, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Links to sites mentioned in the video:

• Zen & The Art Of The Cigar
• Interview with Hal Rubin of Empire Cigars
• Walt in PA

If you are interested in trying this cigar, contact Empire Cigars:

• Email: Capital City Cigars at Gmail dot com
• Phone: (919) 870-0081

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