Grand Maduro #5, 6.25" x 52 ring gauge, approx. $8The Grand Maduro is a subset of La Flor Dominicana's original "Premium Line." There are several sizes available and this is the only cigar in LFD's lineup that I can remember being a boxpress (the Factory Press is a different kind of square-press method).The filler and binder are Dominican and the wrappers for all Premium Line cigars are listed by CigarCyclopedia as USA/Connecticut, so I would assume this is a Broadleaf Maduro.
To the eye, this is an attractive, although unremarkable stick. The wrapper is dark brown and somewhat oily; it is mostly smooth and somewhat rustic with a few wrinkles and large veins. Viewed from the side, the top and bottom seem to bulge slightly. The aroma from the wrapper is classic humidor and a little barnyard; from the foot there is some coffee and hints of chocolate.
The prelight draw seemed fine; the flavors were full of sweet chocolate with supporting hints of coffee and pepper. After lighting, the immediate flavors were of espresso bean. Through the first third the main flavor was of strong black coffee, along some muted and mellow chocolate sweetness. The cigar started off with a smooth, medium-bodied smoke that was fairly oily, coating the mouth, but oddly still having a rather short finish.
The second third continued in a very similar way--mostly dark coffee and just a little maduro-influenced sweetness. The filler bunch was off-center so the cigar started burning crooked. I touched it up once near the beginning of the second third, but it insisted on burning unevenly--although pretty consistently uneven.
The last third of the Grand Maduro was very nutty while still giving plenty of coffee flavor and just that little bit of sweet chocolate. In summation, a very nice cigar, although not what yo might expect from a dark LFD stick. It was medium in body all the way to the end. The burn eventually went straight again and the ash held on for an extraordinarily long time. If they were a little cheaper I would probably add them to the regular rotation but this one just seems to be in a hard place on the price point. I am not opposed to paying $8 or 9 for a full-flavored, full-bodied smoke, but it's just a little too much for this "good" flavored, medium-bodied smoke when there are other medium-bodied smokes with more flavor for a buck or two less. I wouldn't turn one down, but I have a hard time seeing myself specifically looking for one of these in a shop.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8/10
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