La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero

Advertised as one of the most full bodied cigars on the market, I was excited to try this one. Ligero is the name of a priming from the tobacco plant that provides a leaf that is dark, full bodied, and spicy. It is used in many of the famous full bodied cigars to give them their distinctive full flavor. The guy at the store also claimed that the smoke was very complex and I would need to take some time to enjoy it.

The wrapper for this cigar is Ecuadorian and as the name suggest, the filler is made of Dominican tobaccos. I bought a DL600 for $7.00 which is 5 1/5 inches long with a 52 size ring. As I have said before, this is usually a little large for my liking but I decided to give it a try because sometimes the bigger sticks serve as a better presentation for full bodied flavors in terms of burning.

The appearance is a little worrisome once I remove the cigar from it's plastic wrap. The color is a robust brown and there doesn't seem to be many imperfections. However, It seems a little too pliable and the wrapper feels somewhat dry.

The cut is also a little disappointing. I was hoping I wouldn't have to get into this, but it seems like the time to bring up my single biggest pet peeve of cigars. When the wrapper begins to unravel.

Sometimes when the wrapper is too dry or it was rolled poorly, it simply flakes off or sometimes completely unravels from the cigar. This drives me absolutely crazy. When parts of the wrapper are coming off, not only does it prevent the cigar from burning properly, but I can't even enjoy the smoke because I'm dwelling on it. It actually infuriates me. It just does. I have often returned to cigar stores after making the cut to demand a refund for a lousy wrapped and poorly kept cigar. But it's late right now and the stores are closed. So it looks like I'll have to deal with it.

The cigar lights just fine and the burn starts evenly. The ash is a light gray, almost white, and stays on for a good amount during the first part of the smoke.

One thing is for sure, La Flor Dominicana is definitely the full bodied cigar it claims to be. The taste starts out with a wallop. Bold and overwhelming spicy flavors immediately come out within the first few puffs. Some people don't like to have their taste buds dominated like that but I actually quite enjoy this type of smoke. Also, while the taste is quite bold, the smoke is still smooth if that makes any sense. There is no unpleasant bite that sometimes accompanies spicy cigars. Along with the spiciness are very strong tobacco flavors and a pleasing aroma of cedar.

The draw is a little tight which surprised me, after feeling how spongy the cigar was, I was expecting the smoke to actually be too loose. To be fair, as the cigar burns, the draw does get a little better, but it remains to be one of the less impressive characteristics of the cigar.

As the smoke continues, the spicy peppery flavors back off a little. What comes through now is a red wine taste. This is pretty interesting because usually a glass of wine is the last thing on my list of drinks to pair with cigars as the flavors do not typically go together. However, in this case, some Cabernet may actually complement La Flor Dominicana as there would be an overlapping of flavors.

After a few minutes, I miss the bolder tastes. The wine flavor isn't bad, but I think it's something that should serve as a faint background presence rather than the primary flavor it is now.

Unfortunately, the cigar doesn't last much longer past the halfway mark. The wrapper almost completely unravels causing the cigar to burn horribly. This completely ruins the taste and I end up throwing out the rest of it. As a result, I obviously can't comment on the final part of the cigar.

Overall, I'm disappointed in the way the smoke went. I try not to deduct too many points for things like unraveling wrappers because sometimes you just pick up a dud. But I certainly take away a few. The boldness in the beginning was enjoyable, but the wine flavor didn't do it for me. Also apart from those two flavors, there isn't really anything complex about this cigar. It starts out full bodied and stays full bodied. There aren't many transitions of tastes and the flavors do not improve as the cigar burns which was what I was hoping for. Like I said, I never got the opportunity to experience the final part of the smoke, so I might consider trying it again and carefully selecting a better kept stick. However, given that I wasn't really wowed on this one, I don't think it will be any time soon.

Overall Rating: 67