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| La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 |
The La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 is one of eight releases done by various cigar manufacturers as exclusive releases for the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) for 2014. This marks the third consecutive year La Flor Dominicana has made a cigar for the TAA (following up 2012’s La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Maduro TAA Exclusive and 2013’s La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro). With the case of the 707, this marks new ground for Litto Gomez’s company as they have produced their first 70 ring gauge cigar (a 7 x 70). The 707 is said to be based on La Flor Dominicana’s Ligero blend. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the 707. 70 ring cigars are a polarizing trend in the cigar industry. Some love them, and some do not. However, I found the 707 to prove that La Flor Dominicana can deliver a very good cigar by going large.
The TAA is a small group of retailers (at press time the TAA web-site lists a total of 77 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 take a closer look at the La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
La Flor Dominicana said this is based on the Ligero blend – and it does share a similar profile. The Dominican tobaccos come from La Flor Dominicana’s La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Seed
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitolas Available
The La Flor Dominicana TAA Exclusive – The 707 will only be available in one size – a 7 x 70.
Appearance
Not only is this one of the nicest wrappers I have seen on a 70 ring gauge, but it ranks as one of the nicest La Flor Dominicana wrappers I have ever seen. I categorize this Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper as a “medium plus brown” with almost a dark caramel look to it. The wrapper has a light oily sheen which gives it some smoothness. The wrapper seams are well hidden and any visible veins are thin.
There are two bands on this cigar. The first is the classic LFD gold script logo with the burnt red and black background. There is a gold medallion and leaf on the left and right side of the band. The band features many gold adornments. Just under the LFD logo is the text “La Flor Dominicana” in white cursive font. Toward the bottom is the text “LIGERO” in white font.
This year’s TAA release features a footer band. It has a burnt red color and features the text “TAA” in gold. It also has gold trim on the top and bottom.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to lighting up my 707, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut. I was able to use a cutter that will cut a 70 ring gauge, so I was able to get a clean cut. Once I removed the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw provided notes of cocoa and a cedar sweet-spice. The spice did provide a slight tingle on the tongue. Overall I was pleased with the pre-light draw of the 707. At this point I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the smoking phase would have in store.
Flavor Profile
The start to the La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 provided a mix of earth, cocoa, natural tobacco, grass and black pepper. The 707 had some decent complexity up front. The draw gave me a mix of cocoa and earth. The background notes provided the natural tobacco sweetness mixed with some grass notes. The pepper notes were prominent on the finish and retro-hale.
Later in the first third, the earth notes were joined by notes of the natural tobacco sweetness and grass. The cocoa notes receded to the background. There was a slight increase in the pepper and it became more prominent on the draw.
By the midway point, the grass notes were much more prominent. These notes were balanced by the natural tobacco sweetness and pepper notes which were close secondary notes. The cocoa notes would appear from time to time. This flavor profile held until the end. The end of the cigar had spicy, but not harsh taste. The resulting nub was soft to the touch, but cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
The burn to the 707 started off on the straight side, but toward the middle of the cigar, it became a chore to keep the burn line going straight. While the cigar never was in danger of canoeing or tunneling, this was a cigar that provided more touch-ups than I prefer. The ash was slightly loose with some minor flaking along the way. It had a silvery color with some dark speckling mixed it. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.
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| Burn of La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 |
The draw to the 707 was very good for a 70 ring gauge. It was not too tight and not too loose. This draw isn’t going to win over 70 ring detractors, but it was not a bad one either.
Strength and Body
This cigar has some kick to it. I assessed this as being full strength cigar. This isn’t going to be “in your face” strength, but it will be the kind of strength that sneaks up on you. The flavors have some nice depth to them. It had just enough weight on the pallet for me to considered this a full-bodied some. Overall I was quite pleased with the way strength and body balanced each other.
Final Thoughts
In terms of the quality of the smoking experience; with the exception of some of this shortcomings of the burn, this cigar is going to deliver a solid smoking experience. As I mentioned up front, the 70 ring gauge cigars have a polarizing effect. If you do not like a 70 ring gauge cigar, the La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707 isn’t going to win you over. If you are open to a large ring gauge smoke (like myself), the 707 will satisfy you. Given this is a fuller smoke, this is not something I’d recommend to a novice cigar enthusiast. Certainly if an experienced cigar enthusiast likes or is open to smoking a 70 ring gauge, I’d recommend it. As for myself, I put myself into the category of being open. This is a cigar I’d put 5 in my humidor. While not a regular rotation smoke in my book, it’s one I’d go to from time to time.
Summary
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 89
References
News: La Flor Dominicana TAA Exclusive – The 707 to be 2014 TAA Release (Cigar Preview)
Price: $10.50
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
