6.25" x 52 ring gauge, $10.25The Limitado IV is the latest in a line of special edition cigars from Litto Gomez and La Flor Dominicana. They seem to be released on a fairly irregular basis (when they're ready, basically) and each successive version is unique. There are only a few thousand boxes of 48 out there, so if you find you really like these beauties, you should buy a bunch quickly. Typical for LFD, the Limitado IV has Dominican filler and binder, but the wrapper is a Nicaraguan oscuro.
The craftsmanship on this cigar was superb--a very clean wrapper with light veining, no wrinkles, and a perfect cap. The wrapper was quite oily and had aromas of leather and barnyard; the foot smelled of sweet hay, compost, and a little cocoa. Descriptions of this cigar say the wrapper is an oscuro, but it should not be mistaken for the oscuro wrappers used in the LFD Ligero Cabinet line--while those tend to be mottled with areas that are almost black, this wrapper was barely darker than a maduro and was very even in color.
The prelight draw was easy and the flavors were rich, sweet mocha and a little bit of chili pepper. Initials puffs of the L-IV revealed notes of leather; a medium chili spice came through especially well on the retrohale. The smoke was oily but not particularly thick. The draw was excellent at this early stage and the smoke was cool with just a little edge to it, keeping it from being too smooth--possibly a preview of coming attractions.
The first third was a complex cigar all by itself. Besides the leather previously mentioned, there was both chili and black pepper spice, there was black coffee, there was both some citrus and some dried fruit, and there was cocoa. The cigar smoked slowly and evenly the entire time leaving a nice, light gray ash.
The second third did not show the number of differing flavors that cam through in the first. Instead the L-IV became a smooth smoking, strong, coffee and cocoa flavored stick. It still smoked quite slowly and the burn line was razor straight without any need to touch it up.
During the final third, the L-IV finally showed its estimable strength with a nicotine kick that started out at the beginning of that third and was a full-on head-butt by the end of the stick. The flavors of chocolate and coffee dominated to the end, with occasional hits of citrus and spice. In all, a very fine cigar that is quite suitable as a special occasion smoke without breaking the bank. This is one for beginning smokers to stay far away from: I ate 8(!) tacos before stepping outside to smoke this bad-boy; by the time I was finished, I was close to seeing those tacos come back up again. Lots of nicotine--very strong cigar! Also a very good cigar...smoke 'em if you got 'em!
Body: 8/10
Strength: 10/10
Complexity: 10/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10
P.S. This is my second "10" in a row, which must be some kind of record. Since I love LFD's cigars, the question may have crossed your mind, "Is he just going to give great ratings to all the sticks this month?" The answer is "No." I've reviewed at least 4 more sticks for this month at this point and only one of those got a 10. That still leaves about 12 or so more sticks to rate, though...how many 10's will there be?
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