Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3

The Litto Gomez Diez series is a line of cigars that was introduced by La Flor Dominicana several years ago.  It is a line Dominican puros that take all of its tobacco’s from Gomez’s La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic from a single crop year.   In 2006, La Flor Dominicana introduced its first Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch cigar.   This was a limited release cigar that took the single vintage concept a step further by using some of the best tobaccos from the La Canela farm.  Since then, there have been four releases of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch series.  In this assessment, we will explore the 2010 release – the Litto Gomez Small Batch No. 3.  At the time of this writing, this is a hard cigar to get your hands on, but if you are able to get your hands on it, this will prove to be one of the best Dominican puro cigars out there.

The idea of blending a wine taking a single year’s crop from a single vineyard/farm has always intrigued wine enthusiasts.  For cigar enthusiasts, this concept can also be easily applied – namely harvesting the tobaccos from a single farm from a single year to produce a cigar blend.  There are other cigar companies that have done this – most notably Tatuaje with the La Verite series and Torano’s Single Region cigar.  La Flor Dominicana had the jump on these folks – originated the concept in 1999 and releasing the first LG Diez Small Batch in 2006.

Let’s break down the Litto Gomez Small Batch No. 3 and see what this cigar delivers:

Blend Profile and Vitolas Available

Normally these are separate components to the assessments done on this web-site, but in this case they will be combined as it will be easier to contrast the  Small Batch No. 3 with the other releases.  As with all of  LG Diez Small Batch releases, they are shipped in cabinets of 105 cigars

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3
Wrapper: Dominican Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: 7 x 52
Release Year: 2010
Production: Approximately 30,000 cigars
 
For historical purposes, here are the other releases of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch series:

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 1
Wrapper: Dominican Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: 7 x 52
Release Year: 2006
Production: Approximately 20,000 cigars.

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 2
Wrapper: Dominican Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: 6.5 x 54
Release Year: 2007
Production: Approximately 30,000 cigars.

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 4
Wrapper: Dominican Pelo de Oro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: 7 x 52
Release Year: 2011
Production: Approximately 26,250 cigars (250 boxes)

Appearance

The wrapper to the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3 has a rosado/colorado color to it, but it also has some black marbling – making for a very interesting look.  The wrapper has a oily look to it, but it actually feels a little rough when you touch it.  The wrapper itself is slightly toothy and has some veins to it.

Tha band is the classic “Litto Gomez Diez” red background with gold font band.  It is highlighted with “LG” in the center – with “Diez” above the “LG” and “Litto Gomez on it”.  It is adorned with leaves on each side of the “LG”.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For my Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3, I placed a straight cut into the cap.  I immediately commenced with the pre-light draw.   The dry draw notes provided a flavor profile of cedar with some pepper toward back of the tongue (note: bitter notes tend to be at the back of the tongue, but I still detected the pepper here).  I never could put my finger on what type of pepper, but it was not your classic black pepper.  Overall it was a decent pre-light experience.   At this point, it was on to firing up the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3 and seeing what would come to the table.

Flavor Profile

At the beginning of the smoke of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3, there were primarily notes of oak. At the same time, I was still detecting the pepper notes toward the back of the tongue.  It was in the early stages of the smoke where I was detecting some sweet notes.   These sweet notes tended to go in and out with the oak notes early on – meaning there were times the flavors were sweeter than others.  The pepper notes played more of a secondary role.

Around the 15 percent, the sweet notes were finally recognizable to me – namely, they took on a flavor of graham cracker and caramel.  These sweet notes continued to go in and out with the oak notes.  Toward the second half of the smoke, the pepper notes started to slowly emerge.  They would eventually overtake the graham cracker/caramel notes and move to the forefront.  Toward the end of the smoking experience of the Small Batch No. 3, it got more peppery.  While the finish was spicy, it was not harsh.  The nub was a bit soft, but it was cool.

Burn and Draw

While a lot has been made of the quality tobaccos that go into this cigar, it is worth noting that the Small Batch No. 3 scored high in the construction attributes of burn and draw.  The burn of the Small Batch No. 3 required minimal touch-ups and for the most part burned sharp.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.  The ash was a little flaky at times, but this didn’t prove to be much of an issue.  As for the draw, it was flawless – making the Small Batch No. 3 a very enjoyable smoke.

Strength and Body

This cigar was advertised as a pretty strong cigar from a nicotine standpoint.  From my point of view, this cigar has some pop, but it just fell a little short of being full-strength.  I assessed the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 3 to be on the upper end of medium to full in terms of strength.  From a body standpoint, the flavors are deep and robust.   This definitely qualifies as a full-bodied smoke.  The strength and body balance each other very well.  The Small Batch No. 3 delivers a nice dose of strength without coming at the expense of the flavors.

Final Thoughts

There are only a hand full of Dominican puros that have really wowed me.  The Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No.3 qualifies as one that falls into this classification.  This is a well-made cigar with lots of flavor.  It is a pricey cigar with a price point around $17.50.  I don’t factor price into a final assessment rating, but it is still worth noting.  If you can still find one of these around, it is definitely worth the price.  I’d probably advise this to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast to try as this does have some strength to it.  As for myself, I’d pick up some of these at any chance I can find them.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 93

Source: This cigar for this assessment was given to me as a gift.