Litto Gomez started in the cigar business 25 years ago this year following a robbery of his jewelry store. At first, the brand was balled Los Libertadores, which in 1996 was changed to La Flor Dominicana. This is one of the most successful cigar brands from the 90’s cigar boom. To celebrate this anniversary comes this new cigar for 2019, La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary comes in one vitola, a 7 x 52 churchill. The blend uses a corojo wrapper grown in Ecuador, and binder and filller from Gomez farms in Dominican Republic. The price is $18 per cigar and comes in boxes of 25 that have been painted with a glossy black, piano-lacquer finish. The cigar is rolled like all other LFD releases at Tabacalera La Flor S.A. cigar factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Churchill Extra Length: 7″ Ring Gauge: 52 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo Binder: Dominican Republic Filler: Dominican Republic Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A. Blender: Litto Gomez Number of reviewers: 4 – Alan(Eulogy) James H.(Keikan Jim) John I. (John I.) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Price: $18.00 Age: 4 Months Release Date: July 2019 Contributed by: La Flor Dominicana
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 93
“Ginormous log of a Churchill. Much larger format than I generally prefer, so I’m looking forward to the change of pace. Nice veiny bastard in a rich dark brown. ” –John I. (John I.)
Aroma: 93
“There’s a nice spice and woodiness to the foot that almost tickles the nose. The predraw has an almost honey like consistency on the mouth feel along with nuts, cedar, spice, and earth. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
First Third
Blind Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary
Flavor: 93 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Took quite a bit of toasting to get this fired up, but it was worth it. Opens with big yeasty flavors with sweetness and spice apparent. Roars to a start like some serious and refined baked goods. Twenty minutes in I’m really enjoying this. Still lots of big bakery inspired flavor and well constructed so far. Toward the finish of this third there is a transition to darker, rounded woody flavors hinting at a coming increase of potency. Really enjoying this thus far. ” –John I. (John I.)
“Right away I’m met with lots of baking spices and caramel notes. These prevail throughout the first third. Draw is a bit snug but still able to get a fair amount of smoke from it. Enjoyable so far. Very satisfying flavors.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Second Third
Blind Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary
“There’s a sweet grain note that’s the biggest change from the first third. Exotic spice, leather, tobacco, and a mild pepper create a very nice second third. The draw has loosened just a bit and is much closer to the sweet spot that I personally look for and the smoke output is very good. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Burns off a bit, and looks like it will require a touch up. Other than that this cigar continues to impress. The flavor profile in the first third, baking spice, and nice pastry notes with sweet wood is continuing, and is really enjoyable. The mid point is a bit of a chore to smoke through. Burn is definitely tending to one side. It’s a bummer, but this thing still tastes good enough to make some allowances for poor performance.” –John I. (John I.)
Final Third
Blind Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary
“Almost an entirely different cigar from the first two thirds. The profile has swung to a hay, bready toast, and mild tobacco with a hint of citrus and white pepper finish. The seams at the end have started to loosen a bit pulling away from the wrapper but other than slightly throwing the burn off just a bit isn’t affecting the smoking experience at all. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Going into the final third, the cigar mellowed out and became the shining star. When I say mellowed, I’m not talking about strength, however it seemed the flavors blended together better. The wood notes could now be defined as cedar and the spices blended together seamlessly. Strength was still in the medium full range and the complexities heightened. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 93
“This stick had a great draw from start to finish. You’ll hear no complaints from me. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Burn: 91
“Burned razor sharp through the first two thirds till it got very wavy at the end. Still, I never needed to touch up or relight it. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Construction: 91
“The wrapper started to pull apart at the seams near the end causing it to burn a little off. Other than that, there were no soft spots and a nice large triple cap. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“For the size of this I was very glad that there were big profile changes. I think when you hit the three plus hours of smoking one cigar with a mono-profile it would become unbearably monotonous. It did manage to keep me engaged the entire time but it’s not something that I would reach for unless I had ample time to smoke and possibly an activity while I was doing it. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“I’m generally not drawn to a cigar this size and would love to try this in a robusto or true toro size. The flavors of this stick fit right into my zone. Not to strong or to mild…….. just right. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
“I enjoyed this quite a lot. Nice change from my usual flavor preferences as well as being out of my comfort zone in terms of vitola. Served as a nice reminder to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. There’s a great big world of cigar opportunities out there and it’s nice to step out of your normal routine from time to time. This cigar stayed pretty much in the medium realm throughout in terms of strength and complexity. The display of really nicely refined baked good flavor, floral qualities, finishing with rich dark woody notes offered a nice range of experiences. Aside from some mid-smoke missteps in construction this was a real joy of a cigar. ” –John I. (John I.)
“The flavors present were good and made it enjoyable but more transitions were needed to keep interest. I’d give it a solid 89. Perhaps a smaller vitola would be a better option. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary
Overall Score – 92 – Great
Blind Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana | 25th Anniversary
Summary
"I enjoyed this quite a lot. Nice change from my usual flavor preferences as well as being out of my comfort zone in terms of vitola. Served as a nice reminder to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. There's a great big world of cigar opportunities out there and it's nice to step out of your normal routine from time to time. This cigar stayed pretty much in the medium realm throughout in terms of strength and complexity. The display of really nicely refined baked good flavor, floral qualities, finishing with rich dark woody notes offered a nice range of experiences. Aside from some mid-smoke missteps in construction this was a real joy of a cigar. " -John I. (John I.)
