La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro (TAA Edition)

The La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro was introduced in 2013 by La Flor Dominicana.  This cigar is a special Connecticut Broadleaf version of La Flor Dominicana’s Double Press.  The original Double Press was introduced back in 2009 and featured an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and Dominican filler and binder from LFD owner Litto Gomez’s La Canela farm.  For the Double Press Maduro, this cigar has only been released only to the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA).  Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke this cigar and I have found this to be an excellent smoking experience – and one that will deliver some different flavors when it comes to a maduro.

The TAA is a small group of retailers (at press time the TAA web-site lists a total of 70 members).  For the past several years many manufacturers have made available cigars that are exclusive to TAA member retail shops.  As per their web-site, the TAA is defined as:

“The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.”


At this time, let’s break down the La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

As mentioned this will be similar to the original La Flor Dominicana Double Press, but will use a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican

Vitolas Available

There will be one size – 6 x 52 box-press toro.  This is the same size as the original Double Press cigar.  The cigars will be shipped in boxes of 20.

Appearance

The La Flor Dominicana Double Press has a dark roasted coffee bean color wrapper. There is some oil on the surface of the wrapper.  There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams. The Double Press itself is a very square press  It isn’t as sharp a box-press as the La Flor Dominicana Factory Press shape, but it is as firm.

The cigar has a single band on it. It is a classic LFD gold script logo with the burnt red and black background. It also has the standard LFD gold adornment for trim. There is a gold medallion and leaf on the left and right side of the band.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my experience with the Double Press Maduro, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap.  After clipping the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The dry draw notes provided flavors that had a leather and chewy feel to it.  There also was some mild coffee and some pepper notes.  Overall I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw.  At this point I was ready to light up the La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro and see what this would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Double Press Maduro started with a shot of white pepper.  As the pepper subsided, it was joined by a potpourri of leather, floral, and mocha notes.  The mocha notes quickly moved to the forefront.  The leather pepper notes settled in the background.  I also found a mild metallic note that emerged in the background.  The retro-hale was multi-dimensional – providing a mix of coffee and pepper notes through the nasal passages.

As the cigar moved through the first third, the metallic note faded.  Meanwhile, vanilla and cream notes emerged in the background.  The vanilla notes had a nice sweetness to it. The mocha notes in the forefront began to take on more of a cocoa quality.  By the end of the first third, the vanilla notes moved into the forefront.  The pepper and cocoa notes were secondary.  Meanwhile the cream notes were tertiary.

In the second half, much of the sweetness diminished that was present on the first half.  The flavor profile transitioned to more of a leathery profile.  The pepper notes slowly increased.  Toward the end of the smoke, the pepper took over as the primary flavor.  There was a little bit of harshness toward the end of the smoke.  The resulting nub was soft to touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

From a burn perspective, I did find the La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro did require several touch-ups to keep it burning straight.  While the touch-ups did the trick, I did find that the Double Press Maduro required more touch-ups than I preferred.  The resulting ash was a salt and pepper color with a few points where it was prone to flaking.  The burn rate and the burn temperature were ideal.

The draw was excellent.  It had a touch of resistance to it – something that I consider a positive when it comes to draw.  This made the Double Press Maduro an easy cigar to puff on.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I did not find the Double Press Maduro to be an overpowering cigar.  I assessed the strength to be in the medium to full range of the spectrum. From a depth of flavors perspective, I assessed the body of the Double Press Maduro to be medium to full.  Overall the strength and body balanced each other very nicely – providing equal contributions from both the strength and body.

Final Thoughts

I found La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro to be two part story when it came to its flavor profile.  The Double Press Maduro had some incredible flavors in the first half.  The flavors of the second half didn’t quite wow me like the first.  In terms of the overall flavor profile,  the pluses outweighed the minuses here as the cigar had some unique flavors and a nice balance.  This cigar is also going to deliver a lot in terms of complexity.  This is probably a cigar I would recommend to a more experienced cigar enthusiast as opposed to a novice enthusiast.  As for myself, this is a cigar I’d keep in my humidor and smoke from time to time.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 91

Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, Tennessee.