La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Lancero review

[moki]

La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Lancero (7 1/2" x 39)

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One of my favorite things about smoking cigars is the constant influx of new vitolas and blends from cigar makers who are always pushing the envelope and experimenting. It's all well and good to find cigars that are to your liking, and smoke them, but to do so at the exclusion of sampling with new arrivals would be dreadfully boring to me. One cigar maker that I've wanted to love for some time is La Flor Dominicana.

Based out of the Dominican Republic, Litto Gomez's La Flor Dominicana has come up with some interesting cigars over the years, but none have hit the sweet spot for my palate. The Double Ligero Chisel is an innovative vitola, but is more about strength than flavor. The LG Diez is a nice Dominican puro, but currently tastes a bit unrefined to me. The Double Ligero Churchill Especiales Oscuros, which served as a testbed for Litto's specially processed natural oscuro wrapper, were to date the best La Flor Dominicana's I've had. Until now.

After already having several cigars watching football at the local club, I decided to give a LFD Double Ligero Lancero a try. These cigars are not yet a regular production LFD cigar (though boxes can be had), and I'm not sure if they will be. I sincerely hope they will reach regular production.

This beautifully rolled lancero boasts a neat pig tail, and the same wonderful natural oscuro wrapper that Litto uses on the Churchill Especiales, and Limitado II. What was remarkable to me about this cigar was how complex it was, with a wonderful roller coaster ride of tastes, despite the relatively thin vitola and youth of the cigar.

The LFD Double Ligero Lancero started off with the typical spice-bomb "oh my god, hold on for dear life" profile you may have experienced with other cigars in the Double Ligero line. A bit into the cigar, the spice eased up, and transitioned into a wonderful spiced cocoa flavor that lasted to about the halfway point of the cigar.

Then the cigar once again changed pace, and mellowed into really enjoyable medium bodied smoke, with hints of roasted chestnuts, and a molasses-sweet cedary profile that was both enjoyable and surprising. The finish was the only part of the experience that belied the relative youth of these cigars, exhibiting the pleasant bitterness of a slightly over-brewed Sencha tea.

I gave this cigar to two buddies of mine who were watching the game, and despite having very different tastes in cigars, all three of us were impressed. All three of us also experienced the aforementioned complexity in taste changes, which leads me to believe that the cigars are intentionally blended this way.

The cigar burned straight and true to the end, with nary a touchup needed, and a draw that was neither too tight, nor too loose. Recommended!