La Flor Dominicana:Double Press:Habano Review

[bxcarracer]

I hate being sick. It has been maybe four days since I smoked a cigar and boy do I miss it. The terrible thing about having cigars and being sick is that you're very tempted to smoke but you know you won't get the cigar true experience, but after my long awaited adieu I was ready to get back on the sattle. So to wake up my taste buds from their dormant state I choose something more stout, more vigorous, I choose more Ligero. If you don't know much about Ligero shame on you. Ligero is the upper most part of the tobacco plant also with the leaf being the most exposed to the sun it produces stronger and spicier flavors. What better way to get off a cold with a nice spice punch right to the chest?

SPECS-
Size- 6x52
Wrapper-Equador
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Cut-Guilattine
Cost-$8.00
Smoke Time-1 hour
Drink-Water

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-The box these cigar come in are very pretty, all the cigars on there are in their own slots with a nice piece of red lace so you can pry em' out of their environment. All the cigars look shiny and this stick was no exception. The wrapper just glistens with oil and the box press is very square with very sharp lines. At closer inspections you can see all the very fine veins on the leaf and its very pretty to look at. The wrapper was slightly sweet smelling and with a foot heavy with earth. The cold draw produced a perfect draw that had a herbal tea flavor to it, very delicate aromas and a delicate cigar.

FIRST THIRD-This vitola is new to LFD (La Flor Dominicana) and I think they need to iron out some kinks on these cigars. The first one I tried did not burn well after an inch or so the wrapper would not ash, just char and the filler would burn, slowly hollowing out the stick. But after another try I was very surprised. The cigar properly opened up with thick smoke that has a good punch of red pepper flakes behind it, its very well rounded and smooth. The burn though is still tricky, the burn line is wavy and sometimes canoes, and this really takes away from the experience. After the red pepper dissipates a subtle but stout flavor of nuts is present, it leaves a thick finish on your palate and its very enjoyable.


SECOND THIRD-I've heard that LFD goes through a very complex process in making these sticks. Since the cigars are pressed so much the oils on the ligero are extracted from the pores and are risen to the surface. I think this might be a problem here. The cigar burn suffers very much from the procedure. Although the flavors are good they are all over the place and never in harmony with each other, a cacophony if you will. For example; The cigar has a very nice clove like bite to it but it has a licorice roundness and after taste to it, after that some grassy tones are introduced and then the nuts as the finish, this somehow is all over the place for me. There is no smooth progression in flavors they are just all over the place with no under or overtones. Apart from the burn issues the cigar is quite tasty in itself.


LAST THIRD-The burn is still iffy but it subdues itself some. The flavors mellow out, now the cigar displays a good bit a leather andmocha with a cedar undertone. A very nice finish to a hectic cigar. After the flavors a herbal tea flavor coats your mouth and its really a flavor to savor. As the cigar slowly works its way to its finish the burn gets more regular and you truly get to enjoy the flavors, it was very hard put down.



LAST IMPRESSIONS-This was a good cigar and the price point is pretty damn perfect. The only big obvious flaw is the construction, maybe in another batch of cigars they'll smoke better but LFD might of released these too early. This cigar would of gotten a great 95 rating but it just lacked the construction in the end. It was a great cigar to brighten up my taste buds again so all in all I can't complain.

RATING-85
Buy It Again? When I hear they changed something in this cigar or pick it up for when I'm no longer sick.
Recommend It? Sure, I mean maybe my B&M got a bad batch and if you do happen to get one that smokes just fine I'm sure you're in for a great smoke.

[bdw1984]

looks like they need to be stored at a lower rh and dryboxed for a few days... looking forward to trying these as i love LFD so i appreciate the review! thanks
ben

[Cigary]

I have had these and they are a good cigar that pack a punch. I didn't smoke it until it had some time in the humidor for about 6 months and I keep mine at 68%. After dryboxing it for a couple of days it smoked great with no issues. Just smoke after a meal so you don't get hammered with a nicotine buzz.

[smokin nightly]

Thanks Alex! That was a great review of a cigar that I have to try.

[bxcarracer]

Originally Posted by Cigary

I have had these and they are a good cigar that pack a punch. I didn't smoke it until it had some time in the humidor for about 6 months and I keep mine at 68%. After dryboxing it for a couple of days it smoked great with no issues. Just smoke after a meal so you don't get hammered with a nicotine buzz.

Thanks man, I'll pass that on to my tabacconists and I'll dry box one more and give it a better try, I really liked the flavors on this stick and was upset at the burn, maybe someday. Ha Thanks!

[hsvtoolfool]

I'll second the asessment that the flavors were
extremely varied. My smoke went from pepper-spice
the first minute, to a bland creamy-smooth leather
the next quarter-inch, then a fierce, back-of-throat
fire appeared for a while (which I don't enjoy), finally
to return to the pepper-spice again. This pattern
repeated several times during the smoke.

Overall, the DoublePress strongly reminded me of a
fresh OpusX. For that reason, I see great potential in
this cigar once it's aged for two or three years and had
a chance to balance and mellow. I'm putting a few away
to enjoy about this time in 2011.

On a related tangent, La Flor's Factory Press II is the
same razor-edge, box-press vitola. This superb stogie
does NOT present such extreme flavor changes and is
one of my all-time favorites. These are awesome right
off the shelf if you can find them.