La Flor Dominicana "El Jocko" Maduro

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 4 1/2" x 32/54
Shape: Perfecto
Wrapper: Maduro

Construction: I have never really had a construction issue with any LA Flor Dominicana cigars, and this one is no different. The construction on this perfecto was spot on. Both firmly and evenly packed, there were no soft spots to be found. The rich dark chocolate wrapper was smoot and without flaws, and glistened with essential oils.

Pre-Light: The clip was simple and clean. The pre light draw was just right. This draw yielded notes of sweet tobacco, earthiness, and dark roasted coffee.

Burn/Draw: The burn on this cigar was great. On occasion, perfecto shaped cigars will burn a bit funky at the beginning, but that was not the case with this cigar. The burn line generally stayed straight, and self corrected the few times it wandered at all. The draw was just as it should be, it offered a tiny bit of resistance, so that the burn stayed long and slow, producing volumes of smooth cool blue grey smoke. The ash was very light grey/white and firm. It held as long as I wanted it to.

Flavors: This cigar strikes me as the LFD Chiselito, Lite! The chiselito is one of my all time favorite smokes, but it is VERY STRONG, and not for all occasions. This cigar is a mellower version of that. More of a medium strength smoke, it still displays a lot of the great flavors I love in La Flor Dominicana Maduros. It starts with a light burst of pepper, and then settles in to a lovely earthiness, sweet maduro tobacco flavor that lasts most of the first half of the cigar. At the halfway point, the flavor ramps up a bit, adding a nice french roast coffee note. Over the last third or so of the cigar the flavors are more dry, with some cedar woodiness and the earthiness pushing more to the forefront. Overall, a pretty damn good cigar, and I think a great entry point into La Flor Dominicana's more robust blends. I recommend it, and might just have to buy a box myself!

TomC