La Flor Dominicana - La Nox, toro

La Flor Dominicana -  La Nox, toro

I'm a fan of La Flor Dominicana (LFD) overall. Their quality is indisputable. What is sometimes at dispute is my budget and their price point. I'm a firm believer they are priced well, and, that they often fall just out of range for me. I seek out samplers and clearance, even the make-me-an-offer options; every once in awhile I get lucky.

This is the second in the La Nox release that I've enjoyed. The first was a lonsdale or lancero, along those lines. That one was veery bold in the first half, quite enjoyably so, and it experienced an insane run. My phone was dead during that, I'm still scarred, but I milked that first half like a calf with their mama. The second-half, after the burn got "fixed" was bland and meh like a mouthful of cardboard and I blame the wind. It was crazy out that day.

This toro came over as a gift from Nick in a gargantuan "bomb" (gift box) that included a thoughtful bottle of red wine for my wife. The wrapper on this toro is a deep maduro which can spell "bold" in LFD visual parlance, but I've given this a disturbingly deep sniff and the nose is nearly all wine. Red wine. 

The first inch does provide a bold body but nothing like the LFD's I've dabbled with in the past. There's a Mexican cocoa with leather and the burn on this one has remained consistent, even from the beginning. Approaching dead center the temperature shoots up so I set it to cool in my upside down sunglasses. Just then the ash plunks down holding most of its shape then drifting away through the bench cracks.

I'm taking this in outdoors and I'm fortunate the air is still. It's not humid out but being this close to the coast there is a bunch of traffic. I come to relax when I smoke a cigar but sometimes I space out and take a seat near this construction site where the roads have been rerouted so dangerously that people nearly die there every day. Why I still take a seat near there is beyond me. It's been years since this project started; they're actually finally starting to haul all the refuse and debris away albeit a year late. 

By the time I learn not to sit there it won't be a death trap any more. Maybe.

Anyhow, it can impact my ability to truly enjoy what I came for; so, I mosey. The second half of this is picking up the wine I got early on; it's a merlot undertone and there's a nickel or platinum shimmer on the roof of my mouth - more pleasant than it might sound.

I've been trying to catch up with my cowboy buddy, Topher Dalrymple, my old college rock-climbing partner, for some time and what do you know? The phone rings and it's him. I'm tired of trading voice-mails so I'm going to take this call while enjoying this cigar and crafting this review, if that's cool with you.

It could get messy, or meta, but I think it'll be cool. Essentially, Topher's written a new screenplay source manuscript about a supernatural badass biker and he wants me to take a read. Things are good at the house in Oregon with the Lioness, they do most of their cooking outdoors and he's traded his horses in for a motorcycle for now; he's down to do consulting for the movies 'cause there's so much shit they get wrong on these shows when it comes to cowboyin', you wouldn't believe...! And ultimately, it was like a day hadn't passed in the seven years since we last spoke. The cigar took on this sweetened nature connected to the years scrambling around Thumb Butte in Prescott, the smell of pine and century plants a lingering memory.

A smile on my face as we disconnected the call I remembered how the wrapper on this toro is similar in hue to the LFD Cabinet Select #6 but only holds a slight similarity in flavor with the wine through-line. Just after the second ash-drop I'm picking up a tropical element, mango more than pineapple.

Without the distraction of a phone-call I've started to rush this final third and the heat is building up; I need to let it rest. I'm now willing to put some money on this being a relative to the Cabinet Select #6; I'm getting a solid barrel-aging influence on the overall flavor.

I have a ton to learn about the full LFD line. That said, I can strongly recommend every single one of them that I've had. They're masters at figurados, oversized sticks, bold flavors, double-ligeros, long periods of aging, and consistently coming out with new releases. I will come back to this much like I will come back to their line and over time, affording them will be less of an issue. Worth every penny.

Thanks for reading. Stick with me!