Review: La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel

A very interesting cigar for review today, I have had some La Flor Dominicana cigars before, an I really enjoyed the Airbender, so I was hoping this would be another good stick. What’s really interesting about this cigar is the cap, or the “chisel” I have never had a cigar like this and I was really worried about the draw as the chisel cap is very thin. But lets see how it smoked.

Appearance 9.0/10

This is a great if “odd” looking stick, the wrapper is a lovely brown colour with some tooth, and some small veins. The band is quite big for the cigar but is nice looking and well printed. What makes this cigar look “interesting” is the chisel, it just looks quite odd for a cigar, but you have to admire the effort and attention to detail that was put in to the rolling to get the cap shape. All in all an excellent and interesting looking cigar.

Construction & Draw 9.5/10

I have to say the construction of this cigar was almost perfect, indeed all that stopped it getting a rating of 10 was a tiny spot of glue on the band that stuck to the cigar and slightly damaged the wrapper (but not too badly). Other than that its well packed with tobacco, there are no soft spots, the wrapped has some tooth as mentioned, but is very well constructed with only small veins.

What really sets this cigar apart is the chisel, I cant image how much attention to detail you need to get that shape and not impact the draw, so hats of to the people producing these sticks.

I will pass on the piece of advice that was given to me with the cigar, cut as close to the end of the cap as you can, if its not enough you can cut more but too much would be a disaster. I just clipped about 3-5 mm off the end and that was enough to get a perfect draw, and when I say perfect I mean perfect. The draw was a real surprise with this cigar, because of how narrow the cap is I expected it to be, if not very tight, then tight, but it was spot on amazing.

Flavour 8.5/10

First a word of warning, don’t let this cigar fool you it is medium – full strength, I found this cigar to be extremely smooth, more so than other LFD cigars, so I didn’t think about its strength until about 2/3rd’s of the way though when it suddenly hit me and reminded me it packs a punch.

The cigar starts off with a good white pepper kick which quickly settles down, but remains throughout the cigar to balance the other flavours. The cigar also starts off with a slight sweetness, and a hint of woodiness, these coupled with the back note of white pepper create quite a complex taste and one that plays on the palate. About half way through there was a note of leather and a stronger note of coffee mixed in with the other flavours. In the last third the pepper picked up and the sweetness came to the fore.

What was very interesting and unexpected about this cigar is that all the way through it was smooth, and cool, I know that sounds odd but the draw was cool, I had expected it to be hot as the cap is so thin.

Value 9.0/10

These cigars are around £10 in the UK, so slightly cheaper than a good robusto, and I think excellent value for money, for a cool, smooth, complex cigar with a kick !

Summary 9.0/10

This cigar is available at a large number of cigar merchants in the UK, so you should be able to get hold of them quite easily. I am certainly thinking about getting some for my humidor as the chisel cap gives a unique cigar experience, and the flavours are really good. Just dont fall into the trap I did of not appreciating how strong a cigar this is because it is so smooth, one for after a meal or with a drink, and probably not for cigar newbies!

Review: La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Matalan

Tonight for review we have another cigar that was sent to me by my friend from the United States, I have had a look and I do not believe this cigar is available in the UK at the moment, unless you order on-line from Europe and chance it.

Its a robusto sized cigar (one of my favourite cigar sizes), and I spend a very pleasant hour and a half with it, I just wish it was available in the UK.

Appearance 8/10

This is a very nice looking cigar, and for once the picture I took does a cigar justice. The wrapper is a dark chocolate brown, with nice small veins, it also has a lovely oily sheen to the wrapper. The band is very good looking, and extremely well printed.

Construction & Draw 9/10

The construction of this cigar is excellent, the wrapper is tight with no marks or spots, the cap construction is excellent, and I got a very clean cut. The cigar was very firm to the touch, perhaps a little to firm and I was a little concerned that the tobacco might be too tightly pack resulting in a difficult draw. I need not have worried, although the cigar was tightly packed the draw was excellent. The burn line on the cigar was excellent, no touch ups were required, the stick supported about an inch of ash before it fell.

Flavour 9/10

Firstly I would not suggest that you try this cigar on an empty stomach, it is a strong cigar and packs quite a punch. Pre-light draw suggested quite a bit of spice, and left a little tang on the tongue for a few seconds, I could also detect a slight taste of wood, toasting the foot of the cigar produced a slightly sweet note.

The first inch or so of this cigar was very spicy, not overpowering but just like the pre-light draw you could taste a zing on the tongue. The cigar defiantly started out at full strength, and I was a little concerned that this stick would be to strong and peppery for my tastes, but after the first inch or so the pepper backed off and the strength dropped to medium-full. About half way through the cigar the flavour profile changed and I could taste some chocolate/cocoa and leather, the last third became a little stronger, there was a hint of coffee and a floral note, towards the very end of the cigar the peppery taste picked up.

Value 9.0/10

At around 8 USD per stick I think this cigar represents excellent value for money, the construction is excellent, but what impressed me most were the flavour transitions, this cigar really evolves as you smoke it, which makes for a very rewarding experience.

Summary 9.0/10

I really did like this cigar, I was initially worried that this cigar would be too spicy for me, and that the strength would be a little overpowering. In the end the balance was just about correct, and the different flavours made the time I spent with this cigar very enjoyable, I really enjoy cigars that change and evolve as you smoke them.

This is a cigar that deserves a place in your humidor, I just wish you could get these easily in the UK, until then getting more is going to be difficult.