Tag Archives: La Flor Dominicana

by CigarCraig | June 25, 2017 · 9:57 am

A Visit to A Little Taste of Cuba in New Hope PA to Meet the Cigar Prop Man!

I’ve made mention of the Cigar Prop, and it features prominently in many of my Instagram photos and occasionally here. The Cigar Prop is a machined aluminum cigar stand that I use quite frequently, and the creator of this item is a long time reader, Kevin Shahan. Kevin resides in Florida and in addition to being the Cigar Prop guy, is also quite well-known in the bearding community (is that a thing? apparently it is!) as the creator of Irish Beard Balm. Kevin dropped me a note a few weeks back saying he was going to be in New Jersey this weekend so we made plans to meet. The little riverside village of New Hope, PA seemed to be just about in the middle of where he and his girlfriend, Jessica, were staying and where I live, and it just so happened there’s a cigar store there! So we made plans to meet up yesterday. Over the last twenty years of interacting electronically with people I’ve gotten used to meeting folks in the flesh that I’ve only exchanged text with, and nine times out of ten it works out, like meeting an old friend you never met before. Such was the case with Kevin. I spotted him on the street, we met, and made our way to the cigar shop.

A Little Taste of Cuba is one of two stores (the other in Princeton, NJ) owned by Jorge Armenteros, who is the guy behind Tobacconist University, which is a course that teaches about everything cigar, pipe and tobacco. The shop is right on Main Street in New Hope, ironically in close proximity to a bar called Mojito and a restaurant called Havana. The shop is cozy, there’s a small walk in humidor that features mostly top shelf cigars, Padron Anniversary, Liga Privada, Sobremesa, et cetera. The staff was very friendly and helpful, as one would expect in an establishment who trains other tobacconists. Certainly the focus was on quality over quantity here. I selected a La Flor Dominicana Reserva Especial El Jocko Maduro that has the white Reserva Especial bands that I’m not used to seeing on this cigar. It’s been forever since I had this cigar, and it was delicious. Perhaps a bit much for noon, before lunch, but I was sitting on a comfy leather couch, talking cigars and stuff with Kevin while the girls checked out some of the surrounding shops. We eventually finished up and went to an Irish pub for lunch. Many thinks to Kevin and Jessica for taking the time to meet with us! Vegas, next time, eh?

I can’t tell you how cool it is to meet up with a relative stranger, and it’s like you’re long-lost brothers. I have had the great pleasure of meeting several of my readers, and, so far, none of them have been homicidal lunatics that I could tell. Dave W. is reasonably local and won the last contest, and I would like to meet him for a smoke one of these days (I shipped his goodies as I don’t know when we will be able to meet up), and I’d be pleased to meet any one of you who wastes their valuable time reading my nonsense!. I’ve made great friends through simply loving rolled up leaves, and it’s great any time I get to meet someone I’ve interacted with on-line. By the way, go buy a Cigar Prop or two, I use mine all the time!

That’s all for now! I’ve got a Prime Living article to finish writing, and the cigars aren’t going to smoke themselves! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as A Little Taste of Cuba, cigar, cigar store, CigarProp, cigars, La Flor Dominicana

by CigarCraig | February 26, 2017 · 10:02 am

An Enclave and Cigars on a Friend’s Deck in February: Kristoff and La Flor Dominicana

The weather has been unseasonably warm here in SE PA, 70s in February? I love not having to bundle up for my evening walks, or thaw my fingers with the propane heaters when I get home. I can’t help to think we are going to pay for what has been a mild winter with little snow in March, but I’ve enjoyed this great weather! Any way you look at it, Spring is on its way, and that’s a great thing. So Friday evening’s cigar was an AJ Fernandez Enclave Toro, a 6″ x 52 covered foot beauty (the covered foot was this weeks trend as it turns out). I’ve been abusing myself lately, last week I tripped and fell, and Friday I burned the crap out of my mouth biting into a pizza roll. Pizza Rolls, when microwaved according to the directions, attains internal temperatures approaching that of the sun. Not exactly a high-brow menu choice, granted, but a guilty pleasure that just needs to be handled a little more carefully. So, I didn’t want to smoke something unfamiliar and miss something with a compromised palate ( not that my palate is anything to write home about). The Enclave is a familiar cigar, known to have excellent flavor, burn and be strong enough to taste, but not so strong as to do further damage. Did I know this came in a broadleaf wrapper too? One more cigar for my shopping list, I suppose, because the Habano wrapped version is a great smoke, an easy choice for a “go-to” list.

Saturday I decided I wanted to get out for a smoke, so I dropped my amigo Mike a note and he invited me over to have cigars on his deck. He told me the cigars would be on him, which is weird for me because I’m accustomed to being the one to provide the smokes. Mike only lives a few miles away, and we met when he won one of the presents in a 12 Days of Spectacular Giveaways a couple of years ago and got together at a local shop. We’ve become good friends since. So I selected a cigar from Mike that I hadn’t had before, a Kristoff Connecticut Robusto. Kristoff is a brand that I hear about all the time, but I haven’t smoked a great many of their offerings. I don’t know why that is really, they look great, I love the Epic line of cigars that is made in the same factory as the Kristoff, and they have a huge portfolio of cigars with yummy sounding names, like San Andrés and Cameroon and Habano. Also, a lot of them have a pigtail cap and a closed foot, both features I like. It doesn’t get much better than sitting outside on an unexpectedly warm, sunny day enjoying a great cigar with a friend. This Connecticut was a medium bodied smoke with nice flavors, not really heavy on the typical grassy Connecticut shade flavor, but a nice, mellow smoke. As the wind kicked up a bit with a front coming in, the burn stayed even and this was a very satisfying cigar.

Mike generously offered me a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Firecracker, from 2 Guy’s Smoke Shop‘s Firecracker series. Last fall I had the opportunity to smoke the Cro-Magnon version in this series, with was quite awesome (read about it here, ironically, I also featured the Cigar Prop in the same post, and look forward to hearing Kevin talk about that on Kiss My Ash Radio that aired yesterday). The Firecracker is a 3¼” x 50 with a long tail that makes it resemble an M80 firecracker, and the blends are generally on the stronger side to go along with the theme. 2 Guy’s usually has these in time for the 4th Of July, and this year’s iteration is made by Fratello Cigars. I think Mike was willing to part with this cigar because he was a little intimidated by it, having heard that it was unbearably strong. This one also had a covered foot, making it the third cigar in a row for me with that particular feature. The cigar started off with a burst of strength, and some extra flavor from the wrapper. I kinda feel bad for smoking this cigar, because while it was strong, I don’t think it was too strong that Mike wouldn’t have enjoyed it. I do greatly appreciate the chance to smoke this great little cigar, which timed out perfectly as a front rolled in dropping the temperatures and bring a thunderstorm. Again, thanks to Mike for his generosity and hospitality (don’t forget to check out Mike and his daughter’s site, WineadorArt.com, to customize the glass on your humidor, cabinet or wineador. I’m thinking of commissioning a piece for my cabinet…).

I guess I’m going to have to reach out to John Budka, the winner of last week’s contest, as I haven’t heard from him yet and want to get the goodies mailed out. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2 Guys, aj fernandez, cigar, CigarProp, cigars, Enclave, Firecracker, Kristoff, La Flor Dominicana, WineadorArt

by CigarCraig | September 21, 2016 · 9:23 pm

La Flor Dominicana Event at CigarCigars in Frazer, PA

Monday evening I stopped by my local CigarCigars shop which is only about two miles from home. This shop usually has early events, typically from noon to three on a weekday, making it hard for those of us with day jobs to attend. Steve does a fine job of running this shop, which is a free-standing former convenience store. They were having a La Flor Dominicana event and were staying open later than usual for the Eagles NFL game. I picked up a handful of LFDs, which I typically enjoy. I opted for some cigars I hadn’t smoked yet, a few of the 6″ x 64 LFD Ligero L- Granú, and some of the 4½” x 60 Double Ligero DL660. Since free samples is a thing of the past, I did receive one of LFDs event only toros with the $10 I paid to attend the event, which also took $10 off my purchase. It worked out to be a good deal. Kyle, the local LFD rep was there and gave an excellent video presentation in the lounge, which is a Montecristo lounge and is quite comfortable. The video, and Kyle’s talk along with it, told the story of how cigars are made, and the care and dedication that goes into them. I’m a little jaded, of course, but it’s always fun seeing others who haven’t had the privileges I’ve enjoyed learning about all the work and time that goes into these tubes of tobacco we love so much. I’ll admit to being critical of some of the stores in the CigarCigars chain, which has 10 or 12 stores in the area, with six within about 10 miles of home, but the Frazer store ain’t bad, I just wish they’d have more evening events!

While there I smoked one of the L- Granús, and I smoked another one tonight. This is a big cigar, as I mentioned, it’s 6″ x 64 and comes in a huge box of 100 cigars. While I don’t see dropping $800 on a box, these are a tasty smoke with a lot of strength. I thought the larger ring gauge would temper the blend, but on both occasions I had to put the cigar down with an inch and a half to go (a reasonable time to put a cigar down, but I tend to go a little farther) because it was starting to get to me! Not a lot of cigars do that to me anymore. The draw was fairly open, but the smoke production could have been better. Still, a tasty treat that smoked for a good two hours on both occasions. Last night I smoked the 4½x 60 Double Ligero DL660 (shouldnt it be a 460?), which was also a heavy smoke, although it didn’t get to me like the L-Granu. Perhaps the shorter format was a little more nicotine friendly, despite it being the heavier Double Ligero blend. It can’t be a bad week when it starts off smoking La Flor Dominicanas, I’ve been a fan of these for twenty years, they are almost always a special occasion.

That’s enough for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigar store, cigars, La Flor Dominicana

by CigarCraig | July 10, 2016 · 10:41 am

Fourth of July Cigars, a La Flor Dominicana and a Caldwell

Monday was the Independence Day Holiday, and my wife and my 29th wedding anniversary. I know, Independence Day, getting married….it’s a bit ironic, but we figured at least we’d always have the day off, and there would always be something somewhere to do. over the last 15 or so years I have made a point to smoke a Havana cigar as a form of celebration and of civil disobedience. I like to think the founding fathers would be pleased if they stopped rolling in their graves long enough to notice. Sometimes this works out great, other times it’s a disaster, and this time was somewhere in the middle. I’ve smoked some fantastic Montecristo No.2s over the last 20 years, and I’ve smoked some sucky ones. This one fell in the middle somewhere, as it was just a good cigar. I had been given this cigar last year, and I don’t know what the vintage was, so maybe I should have left it in the humidor for another four or five years. Most of the problem was with the draw, the flavor was good, although milder than I recall. It had the classic “twang” and a hint of citrus I expect from a Montecristo I could have dug a little further and found a Havana or two with sufficient age, but I was lazy, and the classic Monte 2 called out to me. After a great dinner out with my bride, I enjoyed the heck out of a Padron Anniversary Exclusivo Maduro that is the quintessential dessert cigar!

Later in the week I was moving humidors around and spied a La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Maduro Chisel. I assumed it was the maduro because I think by this point I know the difference, and the natural Air Bender is quite a bit lighter. This is a 6½” x 54 cigar with their patented (or is it trademarked, I’m not certain) Chisel shape, like a torpedo, but with a flattened head, not unlike a pipe mouthpiece. I’ve had success squeezing these to open them, but this time I tried a V-cut across the head. It looked pretty cool, but wasn’t giving me the draw I wanted, so I ended up lopping an eighth of an inch off to open it up a little. While the Air Bender isn’t quite as full-bodied as the Double Ligero line, it’s still a reasonable strong cigar, with rich flavor and a bit of a kick. La Flor Dominicana makes some awesome cigars, and this is one of them. They are almost always satisfying. the Air Bender uses a binder and fillers grown on their own farms in the Dominican Republic, and a very pretty, dark Habano wrapper. These are a treat every time I light one up.

Friday I wrapped up another week with a cigar I had some trepidation about. Las year I caught up with Robert Caldwell at a local shop and bought a handful of his cigars to try. I’ve enjoyed his Blind Man’s Bluff line, but I had so much trouble with the Long Live the King cigars that I was worried I’d have similar problems with The King is Dead. the Long Live the Kings I smoked had such construction problems that they just pissed me off, both because I hate it when a pricey cigar doesn’t work right, and I hate wasting my valuable smoking time fighting with a cigar. It’s just not relaxing for me to have a cigar that doesn’t work right. So I decided to try this the Caldwell King is Dead Diamond Girl, a 6 ½” x 42 pigtail cigar. The blend information provided on the website is exceptional, it’s listed as: Capa (that’s the wrapper): Negrito Dominicano – 2008, Banda (that would be the binder, sometimes called “capote”): Corojo Dominicano – 2006, Tripa (filler…think tripe, yuck): Corojo Ligero Dominicano 30% – 2006, Tripa: Negrito Viso Dominicano 20% – 2008 and Tripa: HVA 20/20 50% – 2010. I think Steve Saka is the only cigar maker who is more specific in his blend information. This cigar smoked great, with some wood and cocoa flavors and solidly medium bodied to me. I’m glad I finally smoked this one.

That’s it for now. As you can see, I still seem to be grabbing shaped cigars here and there, not sure what that’s all about, but I like torpedos and perfectos. Sunday I stopped by Holt’s in Center City Philadelphia and enjoyed a Fuente Hemingway Classic Sungrown, another pefecto. It was a fantastic cigar, and while I was there I had the pleasure of meeting and smoking with former Phillies player and broadcaster Gary Matthews, who I saw play countless times in my youth. He was a super nice guy, and apparently a regular visitor to the store. I would have figured him for just a regular patron if he hadn’t been wearing his huge World Series ring, with was hard to miss. I guess I should have gotten a picture with him, but he was such a “regular guy” it didn’t occur to me. Anyway, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Air Bender, Caldwell, Chisel, cigar, cigars, fuente, holt's, King is Dead, La Flor Dominicana, Montecristo, padron

by CigarCraig | November 22, 2015 · 10:36 am

Avo Syncro, Padilla, La Flor Dominicana, Gurkha and Alec Bradley Cigars

It’s been another busy week, lots of great cigars smoked, and making some progress putting together this year’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways. It should be another good one this year! I’ve smoked about eight cigars since my last post here, and you may notice I am only featuring five here today. If you follow my Instagram account (here) you can get a pretty good idea what cigars I smoke during the week. There are a few reasons I may not feature a cigar here, sometimes it’s one of my favorites that I go to often, other times I either feel like I need to smoke more to get a handle on the cigar, or the cigar just sucks (to me, every cigar is somebody’s baby, who am I to crap on it just because I don’t like it?). Anyway, that’s a little glimpse into some of my process, which is basically just to unwind with a great cigar in the evenings, not much more to it than that!

Last Sunday I capped off the weekend with the new Avo Syncro Nicaraguan in the box pressed toro size. This is a great looking 6″ x 54 cigar, and was in the Davidoff IPCPR sampler. I had previously smoked the Short Robusto, which was featured on The Cigar Authority show, so I was looking forward to a couple of hours of enjoyment from this toro. I received the enjoyment, and I was a little worried because my Avo track record isn’t great. This one is different with the inclusion of tobacco from Ometepe (the volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua), with the darker Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder and other fillers from the DR and Peru. I found this to be a great smoke, although I cant really say that there’s anything that would send me back to the store for more, there are other cigar in that priced range that have something special to offer. Again, I have a record of not “getting” Avo cigars, so there’s that, but it was a very good cigar, just not particularly notable.

Tuesday I took a walk with something new from Padilla, the Reserva San Andrés in the robusto size. I had never met Ernesto Padilla until Victor Vitale introduced me to him at the IPCPR this year. The Reserva also comes in a Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 version, and they are made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, along with some other of my favorite cigars. Of the three cigars, of course I had to smoke the San Andrés first. This was a very well constructed and slow burning robusto. At one point about half way through the cigar I got an interesting exotic spice flavor that I found quite unique. It didn’t have the tastes I expected, but was excellent anyway, this is one I would buy the next time I see it in a store, and they are priced in the $6 range, so they are quite affordable. Maybe one or both of the other others will get smoked today.

Next up was a La Flor Dominicana LG Diez Vintage 2015 Lusitano which was in a bunch of cigars I received a few weeks ago from Jonathan Carney, VP of Sales at LFD. The unique thing about this line is that it’s a Dominican puro, and to take it one step further than that, all the tobaccos are grown on La Flor Dominicana’s own farms. I don’t know what they do at LFD, but their Dominican cigars are unlike any others, in my opinion. I often forget that they are Dominican, they are full-bodied and spicy for the most part, and I really enjoy them. This also comes in a new robusto or Rothschild size that I look forward to sampling. These are pretty awesome cigars that are quite relaxing and satisfying.

Friday I went with the new Gurkha Heritage in the Toro size. This cigar comes in a cedar sleeve, and has a Rosado Ecuador Habano wrapper, does it seem like Connecticut Shade wrapper just because of the green ribbon at the foot of the cedar sleeve? I guess I’m just conditioned to see green ribbon on a cedar sleeve and think Fuente Chateau (or Tortuga Connecticut) and expect a milder cigar. This was a solid medium cigar, and it was loaded with pleasant mellow woody flavors and was a really enjoyable smoke. I expected a mild cigar, and wasn’t in any way let down. Good construction, nice draw and burn, and good flavor. Say what you want about Gurkha, but they do make some great smokes, and this is a winner in my book.

Finally, yesterday I smoked the new Alec Bradley Post Embargo in the Toro size. This is a box pressed toro which measures 6¼” x 54, but the box press makes it seem a little thinner. I smoked the lancero last week and liked it, but wanted to compare it to the larger ring gauge. These have a Honduran wrapper, which in my experience, isn’t the most flavorful of wrappers. I enjoy the flavors in this cigar, it’s a medium bodied, just plain good smoke. I only picked up a handful of these a week ago, so I’ll be revisiting this as well as the lancero and Robusto in the future, but it seems like another solid line from Alec Bradley. They did a complete makeover of the packaging and bands on the line, and the finished product is quite classy. I’ve been a fan of Alec Bradley since the Trilogy line back in the mid 2000’s, they continue to produce good cigars, with all but the Fine and Rare series in what I consider the “reasonably priced” category.

That’s all for now. I also smoked a great CAO Flathead Steel Horse and another Sobremesa, this time in the Corona Grande size, and all I can say about the Sobremesa is that I wished it was longer, great cigars that deserve the accolades they are receiving. I hope all of my US readers have a great Thanksgiving celebration with your families, and pick out some great post turkey smokes! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Avo, cigar, cigars, Gurkha, La Flor Dominicana, LG Diez, Padilla, Post Embargo, Reserva, Syncro