In 2021, La Flor Dominicana would release a pair of cigars as a part of the 2021 Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) series, the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro. When I look at companies that have put a lot of effort into making a TAA Exclusive cigar, La Flor Dominicana has to stand at the top. In 2018, for the TAA’s 50th anniversary, La Flor Dominicana created a cigar known as the The Golden Anniversary. Since then, there have been several extensions of that release – one of which is the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro.
The TAA Exclusive Series consists of cigars made by leading manufacturers that are exclusively sold at TAA member retailers. The TAA is a small group of retailers. At press time the number of retailers is approximately 80. The TAA describes itself as:
The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.
There are 15 cigars released for 2021 as a part of the TAA Exclusive Series:
CLE Signature THT-EKE 03/17
Crowned Heads- The Lost Angel TAA Exclusive 2021
JC Newman Brick House Beginnings Natural
JC Newman Brick House Beginnings Maduro
Diesel Disciple TAA Exclusive 2021 (Scandinavian Tobacco Group)
E.P. Carrillo TAA 2021
Gurkha Nicaragua Series TAA Exclusive
Illusione TAA Exclusive 2021
Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco Edición Americana
Kristoff 685 Woodlawn Box Press
La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Natural
La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro
La Palina White Label Toro
Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 San Andreas Bala
Villiger TAA Exclusive 2021
The following have been the La Flor Dominicana TAA Exclusive Series offerings:
2012 La Flor Dominicana TAA 2012 Air Bender Maduro Torpedo
2013 La Flor Dominicana Double Press Maduro (TAA Edition)
2014 La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707
2015 La Flor Dominicana TAA 47
2016 La Flor Dominicana TAA 48 and La Flor Dominicana TAA 48 Celebration Limited Edition Maduro (Event Only)
2017 La Flor Dominicana TAA (2017)
2018 La Flor Dominicana TAA 2018 – The Golden Anniversary
2019 La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Segunda Edición (Natural and Maduro)
2021 La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion (Natural and Maduro)
2022 La Flor Dominicana TAA – The Golden Salomon (Natural and Maduro)
As mentioned, 2018’s Golden Anniversary was created for the TAA’s 50th anniversary – and that was released in a box-pressed torpedo. In 2019, the “Segunda Edicíon” was created. The Segunda Edición blend was issued in a box-pressed Toro. A San Andres Maduro-wrapped offering was also introduced to go alongside the Natural (Nicaraguan Sun Grown Offering). The releases that followed also came in the Natural and Maduro offerings. The Tercera Edition would feature La Flor Dominicana’s signature Chisel cap, and the most recent (at press time), The Golden Salomon features the two blends in a large Salomon offering.
Without further ado, let’s break down the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro consists of a San Andres Maduro wrapper over Dominican tobaccos for the binder and filler. The filler includes the Dominican Criollo ’99 tobacco.
Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, including Criollo ’98
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Flor
Vitolas Offered
The TAA Exclusive is described as a “figurado” (actually a perfecto) that measures 6 7/8 x 52. The TAA Cigar is presented in ten-count boxes and the total production was 1,000 boxes. The remaining sizes of the Gurkha Nicaragua Series are an ongoing production where each size is presented in 20-count boxes.
TAA Exclusive: 6 7/8 x 52
Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 x 54
Magnum: 6 x 60
Belicoso: 6 1/8 x 52
Appearance
The San Andres wrapper of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro had a rich chocolate color to it. There was some darker mottling visible on the surface. The surface of the wrapper had some oil on it. There were some visible veins on the surface. There also were some minimally visible wrapper seams.
The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro had a soft box press to it. The cigar features La Flor Dominicana’s patented chisel tip. This is a wedge-like head on the cigar – that pretty much looks like the head of a chisel tool. There is a slight amount of tapering on the cigar to that wedge tip.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw
A very thin straight cut was used to remove the cap from the chisel head of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. There were coffee, cedar, and a slight amount of floral notes present. Even with the floral note, the cigar still delivered an excellent pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro and move on to the smoking phase.
Tasting Notes
The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro started out with notes of mocha, cedar, earth, and a slight amount of red pepper. The mocha notes were a fusion of coffee and chocolate notes. The mocha notes moved to primary early on with the cedar, red pepper, and earth settled in the background. There was an additional layer of cedar on the retro. Toward the end of the first third, the coffee notes became more dominant in the mocha component.
As the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro moved through the second third, the mocha notes had split apart with the coffee in the forefront and the chocolate notes in the background with the pepper, cedar, and earth notes. During the second third, the cedar, pepper, and earth notes increased in intensity with the chocolate notes diminishing. By the midway point, the chocolate notes dissipated. In addition, some pepper made its way into the retro-hale, and some grassy notes also emerged.
The last third saw the pepper and earth join the coffee in the forefront. There were still some grassy notes in the background. This is the way the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn
On each of the samples of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro, multiple touch-ups were needed to maintain a straight burn path. In particular, as the cigar progressed, the touch-ups would be more frequent. The resulting ash was silver-gray with some dark speckles. The ash itself wasn’t overly firm, but wasn’t loose nor flaky either. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.
Draw
Normally I like a little resistance on the draw, but in the case of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro, the draw was a little snugger than I prefer. The cigar didn’t get plugged nor require re-lights, but it did require more work to get flavors than I prefer.
Strength and Body
The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro started out with medium to full strength, and medium to full-bodied flavors. Both the strength and body increased in intensity. The strength increased at a faster pace and by the second half, the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro was in full-strength territory.
In terms of strength versus body, the strength had a slight edge over the body.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES
The banding on the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro is something that is very worthy of a TAA cigar. The primary band is the gold LFD band that is seen on La Flor Dominicana’s Oro line. The secondary band is also gold and is unique to the series of La Flor Dominicana 50th cigars. This secondary band features the TAA’s 50th-anniversary logo.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
First up, bravo to La Flor Dominicana for this TAA release. It’s clear that effort and hard work were put into this release. Overall, it’s really nice to see one of La Flor Dominicana’s signature shapes make its way into
The La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro wasn’t the highest-scoring La Flor Dominicana TAA cigar, but this was still a good cigar. Coming in at 89 points, this has scored better than most TAA cigars as of late. At $23.10, this isn’t an inexpensive cigar, so you may want to first try a sample and see if this cigar is a fit for you.
Summary
Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee, Chocolate), Earth, Cedar, Grass, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full (1st Half), Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 89
REFERENCES
News: n/a
Price: $23.10
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: La Flor Dominicana
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
Originally posted on March 14, 2023 @ 10:18 am