La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero DL600

5.75" X 52, NATURAL

Ah, the LFD Double Ligero. Seems to me there are not many cigars as divisive as this one. Those who love this cigars swear by them. Those who do not, arte completely overwhelmed by their strength to the exclusion of all else. I will reserve my prior opinions on this cigar until the end of my review.

Appearance: This was a very pretty cigar. A nicely wrapped slighty toothy mocha stick with nary a vein or flaw. One of the things that astounded me about this stick is its a rock! It was very firm, and tightly packed and rolled. This initially raised concern that the draw may be flawed.

Pre-Light Draw: Thankfully this was not the case. Upon clipping I found a rather nice, almost loose prelight draw that tasted of cedar and light tangyness. Suprising in a decidedly good way.

Draw/Burn: This cigar burned perfectly. Razor straight, nice and slow and cool, producing volumes of coole blue/grey smoke. The draw was no problem at all.

Flavor: Lets get this out of the way from the get go. These cigars are strong. Also, most of the cigars in this line have robust ring guages that do nothing to temper the strength of this stogie. It does have some nice flavors to it, if you can get past the strength. More of the cedar and spice of the pre-light, along with a sweet pruny note, and a lovely tangy note I really enjoyed. I am not going to lie, the final third of this cigar was almost overwhelming to me, and the pure strength of the stogie drowned out most of the nuance. This isnt necessarily bad, but it turned a nuanced smoke into something rather one dimensional.

Okay this wasnt a bad smoke. Actually it was quite tasty, if very strong at the end. This is not a cigar for n00bs, or to be had on an empty stomach, or to be had with a stiff drink. In these situations you will probably make you sick. That said they are pretty good. I like the line, but prefer the smaller/tapered ring guages (like the Chisel, or especially the Chiselito), that focus the intense flavors of the stogie without overwhelming you. Also I will say though I like the tang in this stogie, I also find the maduro interpretation of this line more refined. I wonder what age would do to these cigars, if age would take the edge off, while leaving the tasty undertones. Overall an intriguing smoke, worthy of your time, just know what you are getting in to.

TomC