La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

La Flor Dominican TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

 

The year 2019 would mark the eighth consecutive year that La Flor Dominicana would be a part of the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) Exclusive Series. In 2019, La Flor Dominicana would release not one, but two cigars to the TAA. These cigars have been branded the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición. This is a cigar that would come in both a natural and maduro blend. While it’s branded as an extension of the La Flor Dominicana Oro line, both are different blends. For the TAA 50th Segunda Edición Natural, the blend would be based on the 2018 release done for the 50th anniversary of the TAA – the La Flor Dominicana TAA 2018 – The Golden Anniversary. The blend for the Maduro would have similar components, but the big difference would be the use of the San Andres leaf for the Maduro. Today we take a closer look at that cigar, the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro.

La Flor Dominica TAA 50 Seguna Edición Maduro and Natural

La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro (Top) and Natural (Bottom)

 

TAA Exclusive Series consists of cigars made by leading manufacturers that are exclusively sold at TAA member retailers. The TAA is a small group of retailers. At press time the number of retailers is approximately 80. The TAA has defined itself 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.

There are 14 cigars released for 2019 as a part of the TAA Exclusive Series:

The 2019 TAA Exclusive Series

The following have been the La Flor Dominicana TAA Exclusive Series offerings:

Without further ado, let’s break down the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Closed box of the La Flor Dominican TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro consists of a San Andres Maduro wrapper over Dominican tobaccos for the binder and filler. The filler includes the Dominican Criollo ’99 tobacco.

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, including Criollo ’98
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Flor

Vitolas Offered

Both the Natural and Maduro blends of the TAA 50th Segunda Edición comes in one size – a 6 1/2 x 54 box-pressed toro. The cigars are presented in 20-count boxes.

La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro -Open Box

Open box of the La Flor Dominican TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Sun Grown wrapper of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición had a dark roasted espresso bean-colored wrapper. The wrapper had a slight amount of mottling on it. There wasn’t much oil on the wrapper. Any visible wrapper seams and any visible veins were minimal. The box-press itself had a slight soft Cuban press style to it.

Close Up of the La Flor Dominican TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

There are two bands on the TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro. These are identical bands to the Natural. The primary band is basically a gold-colored version of a basic La Flor Dominicana background. It features “LFD” in gold scripted font surrounded by gold adornments on a gold foil background. Below the LFD logo, it says “La Flor Dominicana” in white script.  Below the white script, it says “Oro” in white font. The remainder of the band has black and gold design elements.

The secondary band has a gold foil textured background with black trim. On the secondary band is the 50th-anniversary logo for the TAA.

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro. Once the cap was removed with the cut, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw delivered a combination of espresso coffee, cedar, and classic wood. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro kicked off with notes of espresso, chocolate, cedar, earth, and black pepper. Sometimes when I get a coffee and chocolate note on a cigar, there is almost a natural fusion present on the cigar that I call “mocha.” In this case, the espresso and chocolate were separate and distinct. The espresso and chocolate notes moved to the forefront early on. During the first third, the espresso had a slight edge. The cedar, earth, and black pepper notes were close secondary notes. In fact, this was a case where the line between primary and secondary notes was thin throughout the smoking experience. Meanwhile, on the retro-hale, I noticed an additional layer of black pepper and cocoa.

The second third of the TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro saw the espresso and chocolate notes remain in the forefront. As the cigar progressed, the espresso notes became more dominant. At the same time, there was a slight increase in the intensity of the notes in the background closing the gap even further between primary and secondary notes.

By the last third, the earth notes made their way into the forefront, joining the espresso notes. The chocolate receded into the background with the pepper and cedar notes. This is the way the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro scored quite nicely. This was a burn that had little trouble maintaining a straight burn path and for the most part had a straight burn line. The resulting ash was firm with a near-white color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the La Flor Dominican TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro

Draw

The draw to the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro also scored nicely. This draw had a touch of resistance to it – which I enjoy. At the same time, this was a cigar that produced an ample amount of smoke.

Strength and Body

The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro started out as a medium strength, medium-bodied cigar. During the second third, both attributes increased in intensity, and around the 3/5 point of the cigar, both attributes progressed to medium to full territory.

In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One thing that will go down about the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición releases is the battle of which is the better cigar – the Natural or the Maduro? Both are almost completely different cigars as the Natural is going to get the edge in complexity while the Maduro is going to get the edge in flavor. While at times I did find the TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro produced a pungency that I often get with a San Andres wrapper, there still was enough going on with this cigar to prevent it from being a one-dimensional cigar. This is a cigar I would probably still steer to a more experienced cigar enthusiast. At $20.00 it’s not an inexpensive cigar, but it is still one worth buying and smoking again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Espresso, Chocolate, Earth, Cedar, Black pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium (1st 3/5), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium (1st 3/5), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Buy One
Score: 90

References

News: La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Debuts at Convention
Price: $20.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: La Flor Dominicana
TAA Exclusive Series 2019 Reference: 2019 TAA Exclusive Series

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop