Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana, DL-452 Maduro

4" x 52 ring gauge, $6.00
Fun week for me here at the Tiki Bar: I got to try both the Natural and Maduro versions of the LFD DL-452 and review them for the blog. I did not smoke them back-to-back...and I'm glad because that would be a singular vomit-inducing experience. Not that either of these cigars is bad, but they are quite powerful and smoking two of them in succession would almost definitely cause a nicotine overload. So, anyway...

This is the maduro version of the surprisingly powerful and wonderful cigar that I reviewed earlier--a cigar that positively answer the question of whether anyone else could capture the magic found in the Nub. I was pleased to be able to recommend the LFD as a worthy "Nub substitute" (especially important as my local shop does not carry Nub because of a pricing dispute). This version is dark and has a couple of prominent veins. The prelight aroma from the body is, again, barnyard, this time with some coffee mixed in. On the foot the aroma is more of chocolate. The wrapper is slightly oily and the prelight draw is easy and tastes like chocolate and coffee. So far, quite similar to the natural version.

Getting this one to light was actually harder than the natural, though, and the natural was not easy. I have to put most of that up to the maduro wrapper which would not fully light at first and had to be touched up several times during the smoking process. Once going, the smoke started out smooth and full-bodied, but with very little of the characteristic ligero spice. It did show up after a few minutes...and so did the strength! This is a full-on powerful smoke, especially when you consider that I had just started.

The draw unfortunately tightened up during the first third and had to be opened with some help with my pipe tool. After a little "draw poker" surgery, all was well with the world again, although it would not stay that way throughout. I did not have to huff and puff like crazy to keep the cigar lit, but I was not too far away from that, either.

Into the second half of the DL-452, the body and strength remained on the high side. When the cigar started plugging, the smoke had gotten a little harsh and raspy, but as it cooled down, it smoothed out nicely again. The flavor seemed to be muted by the fullness, but what there was tended to be on the leathery side with some notes of strong black coffee and some spice on the finish.

I love maduros and will almost always opt for the maduro version of a cigar over the natural (or colorado or corojo or what-have-you), but I did not enjoy this maduro nearly as much as I did the natural version. The natural just had a better balance of flavors with strength and body. This was not a bad smoke...just not as good as the natural. Again, this is not a smoke for beginners or sissies! Be forewarned!

Strength: 10/10
Body: 10/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 7/10