La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013

Late in 2013, La Flor Dominicana unveiled its latest release in its Mysterioso line – the  La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013.  While the Mysterioso has become known for elongated perfecto cigars featuring two wrappers, the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 added another “twist” as it would feature a very unique barberpole design.  The cigar is a limited production cigar that was made in time for the end of year holidays.  I have recently had the opportunity to smoke this cigar.  As visually appealing as this cigar is, the dividends are even higher on the overall smoking experience.  This is one excellent cigar.

The Mysterioso joins the two other cigars in the series.  The Mysterio Natural is a Nicaraguan Natural that features an oscuro wrapper at each end of the perfecto.  The Mysterio Oscuro has an Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper with natural wrapper at each end of the perfecto.  While the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 is a barber pole, it is not La Flor Domincana’s first barber pole. Late in 2012, the company released the La Flor Dominicana Doomsday 2012 Meaner Digger – a monstrous 10 x 60, but yet more traditional barberpole.  This was an retail exclusive done for Tobacco Haven in New Hampshire.

Let’s turn our attention back to the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 has a four country blend.  There is a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade used for the barber pole.  We will discuss more about this in the Appearance section.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro / Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade (Barber pole)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

The La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 is a perfecto measuring 7 x 55.  This is slightly wider than the 7 x 54 Mysterioso Natural and Mysterioso Oscuro. The cigar will be packaged in boxes of five.

Appearance

The underlying wrapper of the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 is the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.  It has a rich coffee bean color with a moderate amount of oil on that.  Draped over the Broadleaf is a thin light brown Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper.  The way this Connecticut Shade wrapper is arranged is what makes this barberpole most unique.  By the cap it is a very tight spiral wind.  As it reaches the wider parts of the perfecto, it is arranged more more like a winding pinstripe.  The foot of the perfecto is all Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade and looks almost like a pencil point, but with an open foot (this part is consistent with the other Mysterioso cigars).  The cap is also unique as it has almost a “ball-like” shape.

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.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013, I went with a straight cut.  I cut a little past the ball cap to get a little more diameter on the draw.  Once the cap was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The dry draw gave me mostly coffee and earth notes.  I didn’t get much in the way of spice, but it still provided a satisfactory pre-light draw.  At this point, I was ready to light up my La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 and see what the overall cigar experience would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 provided a mix of light pepper, natural tobacco, and bready notes.  This held until the cigar progressed into the Connecticut Broadleaf section.  By this point some coffee and light citrus note emerged in the forefront.  The pepper and bread notes moved to the background – and the natural tobacco was a very distant note.

Later in the first third the coffee notes became the sole primary note.  The citrus notes joined the pepper and bread notes.  By this point I was now picking up a (milder) pepper note on the retro-hale.

Throughout the second third, the coffee and citrus notes alternated between the forefront and the background, but it still seemed like the coffee notes had the advantage.  The bread notes diminished and the pepper notes remained secondary.

The second half saw the pepper spice increase – joining the coffee and pepper notes.  I found there was no real dominant flavor.  This is the way the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 remained until the end. The resulting nub was slightly soft and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

If you have read a lot of assessments I have written, you know my criticism of perfectos when it comes to burn and draw.  You also have read many times, I can be proven wrong on how well a perfecto can perform – and the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 falls into the later category.  This cigar performed flawlessly when it comes to burn and draw.

The burn line remained relatively straight from start to finish.  The Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 needed a few touch-ups, but a lot less than I anticipated.  The resulting ash was firm – with a salt and pepper color.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013

The draw was outstanding.  It had a touch of resistance – something I think is essential on a perfecto.  It worked positively as I believe it prevented this cigar from getting warm during the wider section.  I was almost amazed how much smoke this cigar produced for a draw with some resistance.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 had a decent amount of strength – but this was not an LFD ligero bomb.  I assessed this cigar as being medium strength from start to finish.  As for the flavors, they had a decent amount of weight on the pallet.  I assessed the Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 as having enough depth to be medium to full-bodied. In my book, the cigar never quite got to full-bodied.  As for strength versus body, I gave the edge to the body with this cigar.

Final Thoughts

Overall the La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 is one of those cigars that I term delivers a “complete cigar experience”.  I enjoyed the flavor and this cigar was backed up by some excellent construction.  There isn’t a lot I can critique about this cigar as it scores very well on merit.  This is not an inexpensive cigar.  It is $19.00 – and while this doesn’t factor into our numerical score, we do mention this to for awareness.  The price point and the limited production are probably going to relegate this to more of a special occasion cigar, but this cigar fits that role just fine.  This is a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast – and even a novice looking for something special.  As for myself, this is easily a box worthy cigar to keep around for those special occasions.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92

References