La Flor Dominicana Colorado Oscuro No. 3

Size:  5 x 50Wrapper:  Ecuadorian SumatraBinder:  Dominican SumatraFiller:  Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

About:The La Flor Dominicana Colorado Oscuro is a limited production cigar that is only expected to be released twice a year in small quantities.  The blend will be released in four sizes, and available in cabinets of 50.  In addition to the No. 3 that I am reviewing, the Colorado Oscuro is also available in the 4-1/4 x 48 No. 2, the 5-1/4 x 54 No. 4, and the 5-3/4 x 60 No. 5.  Thanks to Doug in Modesto, CA for gifting me this cigar to feature on today’s episode.

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THE REVIEW:

Pre-light:The cigar’s wrapper was a deep brown in color, and very smooth to the touch.  There were several bumpy areas on the wrapper, and that combined with the unevenly-shaped head gave the cigar a slightly haphazard appearance.  There was some damage to the wrapper at the foot of the cigar, but this could be due to being packed and shipped in a cabinet, or it could have been damaged in the subsequent handling and transportation to me.

AROMA:  The prelight aroma had straight tobacco flavors, pipe tobacco elements, and some aromatic floral notes.  At the foot, there was a caramelized sugar like sweetness that was very forward.

TASTE:  There were some very intense dried fruit flavors – mainly apricots and raisins, with a touch of sweetness on the wrapper.

1/3:There was a slight sweetness to the wrapper, and right at the beginning there was a bitterness in the back of my palate and in the nose that I seem to find in several of the La Flor Dominicana lines.  There was a slight green woodiness at the top of my palate, with a meaty core to the profile.  A light touch of spice was present, and even more pronounced in the retrohale.  The cigar had a medium flavor and strength at this point, and the ash was very firm and nearly white in color.  The draw was acceptable.

2/3:The slight spiciness in the overall profile subsided but was still present, and it was a bit intensified in the retrohale.  The sweetness was still there, and became a bit more noticeable as the meaty character of the first third mellowed out a bit.  This shift created an absence of balance to me, with the sweetness not having a substantial and effective counterbalance to the profile.

3/3:In the final third, the sweetness subsided a bit though it was still there.  The core became centered around more of a leathery character, with a distinct cinnamon note.  Unfortunately, these flavors did not develop to the point where they could stand up to the sweetness.  Rather, they stayed muted and in the background.  The cigar remained medium in strength and body through the end of the cigar.  I smoked the cigar down to about the last inch before some bitterness made me decide to put it down.

Overall:Overall, this cigar started off decently but quickly suffered from a lack of balance and clear direction of the flavor profile.  The sweetness, though normally a good component in a well-rounded profile, did not have a proper counterpoint in this cigar, and that proved to be a major strike against it.   It is my hope that future La Flor Dominicana releases will have a bit more balance and some distinctive character to set them apart from the numerous other lines that are currently produced.Recaps from previous episodes:General Feedback about Episode 28

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