La Flor Dominicana La Nox | Cigar Review

By The Katman on November 28, 2015 • ( 1 )

Wrapper: Brazilian
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Dominican
Size: 6.5 x 50 “Toro Extra”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $11.00 MSRP

Today we take a look at the new La Flor Dominicana La Nox.
Thanks to Carter Tinsley for the sample cigar.

BACKGROUND:
Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A Dominican Republic
It’s called La Nox. Latin for “The Night.”
Debuted at the 2015 IPCPR trade show.
Date Released: Sept. 21, 2015.
Regular production. Comes in one size only.
Sold in boxes of 10.

From the La Flor Dominicana web site:
“Dark in appearance and in flavor, La Nox features a sweet Brazilian maduro wrapper, a San Andrés binder and a blend of our own Dominican Piloto and Pelo de Oro fillers. Its smooth smoke and rich flavor were crafted for elegance and power. The result is a cigar that embodies its name and the serene experience that only the night can provide.”
Tony Gomez, son of Litto Gomez, was the blender.

DESCRIPTION:
A rustic, sort of sloppy stick. Massive body builder veins running the length of the cigar. Seams are clearly visible. A sloppy triple cap. The wrapper is oily, and the color of dark coffee beans. A bit of tooth is felt.
A double cigar band. Simple but elegant.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
The shaft smells of sweetness, nuts, cocoa, and cedar.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell strong sweet paprika, spice, nuts, and cocoa.
The cold draw presents flavors of peppermint candy, spice, oak, barnyard, more sweet paprika, and sweetness.
The Brazilian wrapper smells of salty nuts and not much else. There’s a much more diverse mixture from the foot which is dominated by oak over some paprika and sweet cocoa. A candied floral flavor dominates the cold draw with apple cider and some nuttiness behind it.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is clean and a little airy.
Then boom! The spice bomb hits with a left jab to the gut. I counter with a right hook and hit myself in the face.
Lots of smoke. Lots.
Strength is medium body.

The flavors: Spice (Black pepper), creaminess, meaty, chocolate, sweetness, toasty, nuts, floral notes on the retrohale, salty pretzel, cedar, black raisin, a nice smokiness, and a touch of lemon zest.

Some malt develops: Special B Malt, Smoked Malt, Rye Malt, and Mild Ale Malt. (See Malt Chart).

The creaminess is really putting out like Julie Anne Stronsky in high school.
The sweetness has a very fruity flavor. Like a sweet Riesling wine.

I was knocked off my seat when I read a review that made me proud. Halfwheel.com really had all 6 cylinders cranking when describing his experience. Makes me look like a slacker. I experience some of his flavors but there are others where we differ. Bottom line is that La Flor Dominicana La Nox is a marvelous cigar.

I have a beautiful, dead nuts char line. I get up to take a photo; I stumble, and knock this perfectly formed white ash displaying the burn line, right off the cigar. Drat.

Tony Gomez picked the perfect size for this cigar. It’s a slow burn but one wants it to be an all-day sucker.
Strength is medium/full.
The black pepper makes its surge. Wow. Just like the start of the cigar. I feel like I’m mimicking Halfwheel or it is just affecting my subconscious. But, I too, taste apples. I read Cigar Authority’s review and it is nothing like what Halfwheel and I taste. Humidor timing is critical with an LFD blend. Too soon and you get basic flavors. Or if you don’t have a keen palate…well…
The char line becomes wavy.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas yesterday.
The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is one of the tastiest LFD blends ever. Tony has an incredible journey ahead of him.
Carter Tinsley told me had this cigar for a while. He sent it to me over a month ago so it apparently has plenty of humidor time. The La Flor Dominicana La Nox has a completely different twist than the regular LFD blends.

This cigar brings hope back into my life. Nine out of 10 cigars I smoke have burn issues that nearly destroy the cigar. I’ve done everything possible to try and provide a perfect nesting for my cigars so they burn properly. And it doesn’t matter what I do. And it just isn’t the cold weather.

Then the La Flor Dominicana La Nox comes along and puts my other cigars to shame. A near perfect char line requiring not a single touch up. Finally, a manufacturer that takes pride in its work and quality control.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 25 minutes.
I think this is a beautiful wrapper. I wish my photographic skills were better but at least you get an idea.

This is crazy. This is the first time I am having nearly the exact same cigar experience as Halfwheel.com. I should have just copied and pasted his review to mine and gave him credit. It would have taken less time.

This a nutty coo coo of a flavor profile. Same flavors just different positions:
Creaminess, black pepper, meaty, malts, chocolate, sweetness, toasty, smokiness, nuts, apples, cappuccino, floral notes, lemon zest, salty pretzel, cedar, black raisin, and sweet Riesling wine.

Halfwheel gave the cigar a 94. That’s something special.
Transitions are constantly on the move. Never standing in one spot on my palate for more than a few seconds. Complexity is rich and deep. The finish is lip smacking good.

I’d give your leg to be able to buy a box of these. But as they are regular production, maybe sometime in the future they will show up on Cbid.

The cedar, all of a sudden, moves up the flavor list. A really nice woody flavor. The paprika is gone. Too bad. I can’t remember tasting it in any other cigar. Of course, I can’t remember what I reviewed yesterday. LOL. Oh lawdy.
Nuts move up are more defined: raw cashews, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts.

The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is spectacular. I’m glad I waited. Normally, LFD blends need months and months of humi time. Not this baby. New Breed. Way to go Tony.

I’ve reviewed 14 LFD blends with raves. I’ve published every single press release they send me. And do they send me the La Flor Dominicana La Nox for review? Of course no. I have reminded them several times and I’m just tired of begging. But my ethics won’t allow me to diss a cigar blend to get back at them. That ain’t right. At least, I can hold my head high and not play their game.

I’m at the halfway point. Smoke time is 45 minutes.
I check a few reviews out of curiosity. Everyone loves this cigar. Everyone is rating it very high. I will too.
Strength remains at a very smooth medium/full.

The chocolate moves up the line. With the huge dose of creaminess, it is like drinking hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows. And just when will they come out with a no sugar added marshmallow? I have not eaten a marshmallow in 35 years. Same goes for doughnuts.

The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is super complex now. It has an incredible balance. One of the best I’ve tasted. This is a quantum leap for LFD. I am betting that Tony Gomez will be doing a lot of blending from this cigar forward.
Construction is immaculate. One minor touch up was required.

Let’s see…what’s happening with the flavor profile? The flavors have broken up into sets. The first set is creaminess, chocolate, coffee, and a toasty element. The second set is black pepper, malts, nuts, fruit, and floral notes. The third set is sweetness, floral notes, smokiness, cedar, salty pretzel, raisin, meaty, and sweet wine.

The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is giving the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa a run for its money. I rated the Sobremesa a 98. This will be close.
Again, transitions are fast and furious. The black pepper, once again, surges. I love that.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 10 minutes.
The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is so complex that flavors are exponential. Or like a black hole…” …an object in space so dense that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light.” It sucks in every flavor imaginable and won’t let go.

For such a strong cigar, not a lick of nicotine. J. Claxton left an interesting comment about nicotine on the Crossfire Cigars Library Series “Legends of the Arapiraca” review. Check it out.

The price. I check the usual discount online stores and they aren’t carrying the La Flor Dominicana La Nox.
Online store list: Corona Cigars, Famous Smoke, Anthony’s Cigar Emporium, and Atlantic Cigars is selling singles for $9.90 each with a 2 cigar limit. I left out the stores that are backordered. There is a rush on them but since they are regular production cigars, they will return shortly. Except for Atlantic, they are all selling the cigars for MSRP.

If you join the Atlantic Cigars VIP Club, cigars are much cheaper. But probably not for this cigar. This statement got me banned from buying cigars from Atlantic. They are selling lots of brands for under the price point that the manufacturers demand. And they blamed me for letting the cat out of the bag. Yeah, I’m the culprit. They boldly advertise the club but it’s my fault that My Father found out and got Atlantic into big trouble. What jerks they are at Atlantic.

The La Flor Dominicana La Nox is a true joy to smoke. Even though the blend is touching the hem of full body, even newbies will love this cigar. It is so smooth and not overwhelming that anyone can enjoy it.
The last third is a gold mine of flavor, complexity and finish. As good as the rest of the cigar was, the last third is out of this world.

I must thank Carter Tinsley one more time for giving me this cigar. I can’t afford it so it was my only chance to try it.
I highly recommend this cigar. You will love the La Flor Dominicana La Nox. I did.

RATING: 95

And now for something long ago and far away:
It was 1982.

I have published this story a couple times but a reader reminded me he loved this story so I dug it up from a review back on April 13, 2014. I hope you enjoy it. And it is all true. You couldn’t make this shit up.

I love music. I love playing bass. And my body of reviews has shown that.
Since the height of being in the big time music industry lasted between the ages of 24-34, it is becoming harder and harder to remember all the stories.

So, here is another….It was Passover and I was stuck in the studio with Hal Blaine and a full orchestra. Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood.

Hal got me on board to do a Barbra Streisand album. It paid better than scale and it lasted two weeks.
On my last night, Passover, Streisand showed up in the booth. I could see her and was blown away. I never thought I would see her, let alone, meet her.

The session broke around 7pm. I was packing up when Streisand approached Hal. Hal had played on many of her albums and they were old friends. Hal was courteous and introduced me. My knees were knocking.

When she heard my last name, she asked if I had any family? I nodded yes as the ability for speech eluded me.
She looked at both Hal and me and asked why we weren’t at home for Passover Seder?
We both shrugged our shoulders. Passover was at my dad’s that year.

I told her that. She said that because she was there to begin doing her vocals, she would totally miss out on the Seder.
I began packing my gear into my 1971 Datsun station wagon. She followed me out.

“The hell with it. I’m coming home with you.”
I gasped.
Before I could say anything, she got into the front seat. Her manager came running out and asked what the hell she was doing? Back in 1983, Sunset Gower charged $250 per hour.
She told him that she was going to a Passover Seder at my dad’s house in Long Beach.

The manager flew off the handle and started screaming at her. I didn’t say a thing. I just watched as they argued. She told him he had no right to make her work on Passover and she would do what she damn well pleased.
I was pissing my pants.

A moment later, she got out of my Datsun. She gave me a hug and winked at me as she walked back into the studio. She had never really intended to come home with me. She was just pranking her manager.
I was relieved.

When I got to my dad’s, I told everyone what happened and my evil step mother went bananas.
She was from the same neighborhood as Streisand in Brooklyn. She was on Cloud 9 at the thought that maybe Streisand would have attended our Passover Seder.

For years after that, she told everyone who would listen about this story.
And it was quite a story at that.