One of my favorite people in the industry isn’t a cigar maker or a brad owner. We first met when he was a cigar rep for another brand. He moved to La Flor Dominicana handling the Northeast before taking on the position of VP of Sales for the company owned by Litto and Ines Gomez. I ran into him a few times this week and had to reach for the winner of the 2014 Blind Taste Test.
Cigar: La Flor Dominicana 1994
Size: Mamba (7 x 52)
Wrapper: San Andreas
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Distributed By: La Flor Dominicana
The Look: The cigar represents the 20th Anniversary of this company which has farms in the Dominican Republic and offices in Coral Gables a section of Miami, Florida. In the hand the cigar has a nice feel to it, and the foot is well packed with a nice swirl of ligero tobacco in the center. It comes packaged in cabinet style boxes.
The Notes: The cold draw of the La Flor Dominican 1994 has a mineral taste to it, with some earthy notes. An interesting combination once you take into consideration that the foot has a nice heavy molasses to it. On the initial draw of the cigar there are some incredibly tasty notes of citrus with some faint sweetness in the background.
As we smoke the first third the cigar there are some delicious notes of citrus, chocolate and some molasses as an afterthought on the finish of the smoke. The one thing that I am really noting how medium bodied this cigar is the in comparison to other cigars such as the Ligero and Double Ligero. As the first third of the cigar comes to a close the molasses really begins to stand out and a sweetness becomes the focal point with some citrus remaining on the finish.
As we breach the second of the cigar the orange peel notes really pull you into the elegance of this cigar that takes, in my opinion La Flor Dominicana to the next level. As the La Flor Dominicana 1994 enters the half way point a chocolate note begins to develop on the front end and the citrus experienced earlier fades away.
The last third of the cigar has some growing spice through the nose and there is a growing profile of a heavy earth note. Different from the sweetness experience in the first third, but there is just enough remaining in the background that makes the transition a smooth enjoyable one. On the finish is a nice lingering dark chocolate note that really brings this cigar home.
The Finish: The La Flor Dominicana 1994 stands out against all the other lines currently in the La Flor Dominicana portfolio. While the cigar is on the fuller side of medium, it is so smooth and refined that it is easy to get lost in the moment that is the La Flor Dominicana 1994. The cigar slowly progresses in strength in body and flavor taking you on a journey that every cigar smoker should take in my opinion.
Price: $8.99 / $158.99
Score: 93
