Certified Tobacconist’s Review: La Flor del Caney Toro
Author: Marty Klausmeier | Filed under: Cigar Reviews
Brand/Line: La Flor Del Caney
Purchase date: 12/10/2010
Smoke date: 6/10/2011
Vitola: Toro
Name: Toro
Size: 6” x 50
Purchase price: $87.50/box of 25 || $16.25/5-pack || $5.35/single
Packaging: Cellophane wrapped singles
Country of Origin: Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Indonesia
Filler blend: Dominican Republic
Manufacturer: MATASA
Blender: Manuel Quesada
Distributor: Mike’s Cigars of Miami
Appearance: The La Flor del Caney begins with a reddish, earth colored Cameroon wrapper that shows a fine grain with a fair amount of tooth and some marbling with minimal veins. The banding on the La Flor del Caney replicates the old, pre-Castro Cuban brand of the same name with brilliant gold, red, yellow and black producing a striking graphic. When taken as a total package, the La Flor del Caney is a very appealing looking cigar.
Construction: The cigars I smoked for this review were beautifully wrapped; all in a left hand fashion, and felt dry and smooth. I did not find any soft or hard spots in any cigar. The foot reveals a nice grouping of bunched tobaccos of various types and colors. The head was finished with a perfectly formed cap.
Cut and light: I cut the head of each cigar using a grip cutter. The cold draw of each cigar was great, with just a bit of resistance. I toasted the foot with a single jet torch lighter and was rewarded with wisps of sweet smoke rising from the foot as I worked. All cigars I smoked lit easily, without any problems.
The Smoke: The initial few puffs from the La Flor del Caney produced some mild, earthy tastes with just a slight bit of spice through the nose. This flavor and aroma combination was quickly replaced with one of woodsy, smoky flavor and a slightly woody aroma. The smoke was smooth and slightly salty going into the finish, which, was clean, light, and lingered slightly.
Moving into the second part of the La Flor del Caney the burn was dead-on straight throughout. The body which was initially mild to mild/medium intensified a bit to what I would consider medium bodied. The flavors continued to be mainly of wood and earth with a touch of pepper entering. The smoke remained smooth and balanced, with just a bit of saltiness. The finish in the second third of the cigar exhibited a little more staying power and a smooth, warm feel, without harshness or bitterness.
As I progressed into the final third of these cigars, I was easily able to remove the bands without any harm to the wrapper leaves below. The La Flor Del Caney toro’s burned razor straight from beginning to end and produced an extremely white, solid ash. In the final third of the cigars, the La Flor del Caney became relatively full bodied with a cedary, sweet aroma. The flavors of earth and wood persisted to the end as did the slightly salty component. These cigars ended in a thick, full, and smooth smoke and a long, woody, finish.
Smoke time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Discussion: The La Flor del Caney line was introduced in 2001 by Mike’s Cigars of Miami. La Flor del Caney cigars are made at the famed MATASA factory by legendary master blender Manuel Quesada, maker of Casa Magna, Fonseca, and many other award winning cigar brands.
Named after an old pre-Castro Cuban brand, the La Flor del Caney feature an African Cameroon wrapper over a spicy binder from Indonesia. Other cigars that feature Indonesian binders are characterized as “spicy” but in the case of the La Flor del Caney, this spice is blended and balanced harmoniously with the wrapper to create a smooth, medium flavor profile, without becoming overpowering. The filler blend is from the Cibao Valley region of the Dominican Republic and complements the wrapper/binder combination to create a cigar of great balance and ample flavor.
Why I like this cigar: While most cigars with Cameroon wrappers are typically characterized as “sweet and spicy,” the La Flor del Caney delivered a different flavor/aroma profile. The smoke from these cigars is thick and rich with a woody taste. Spice entered the picture in a few places as do earthy tastes. It’s this woody, earthy profile with slight spice and slight sweetness that sets the La Flor del Caney apart from the other cigars I’ve reviewed with Cameroon wrappers. I would not classify these cigars as your “typical” Cameroon wrapped cigar, these cigars have something extra. If you prefer cigars with a heavier, smokier feel to them, these are worth a try and for the money you can’t go wrong.
Marty Klausmeier, CCT
Certified Consumer Tobacconist
Managing Editor, CigarCaptain.com
Tags: Cameroon wrapper, Certified Tobacconist's Review, Cigar Brand Suggestions, Cigar Reviews, Dominican cigars, handmade cigars, La Flor del Caney, Toro
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