La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva

On December 4, 2013, Connecticut-based Mickey Blake’s started selling the final La Flor Dominicana single store exclusive blend for 2013. Named the La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva, the cigar is a 6 1/4 x 60 double toro that are being sold in boxes of 12, with only 150 boxes produced.

The blend is different from the other recent La Flor Dominicana releases, with filler tobacco from the Dominican Republic, a binder from Nicaragua and a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper.

We posted a news story with some of the details back in November of 2013:

Add Mickey Blakey’s to the growing list of retailers to receive a special cigar from La Flor Dominicana. The Dominican cigar manufacturer, who quietly has been making about as many limited editions as any over the last few years, has at least one more limited edition that will debut before the end of the year.
The La Flor Domincana Mickey Blake’s Edicion Exclusiva is a 6 1/4 x 60 soft-pressed parejo with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic. According to Jon Carney, vp of sales for LFD, there will be only 150 12-count boxes, with pricing not yet determined.

An Instagram post from Mickey Blake’s included a photo of the box of cigars had more information:

So we’ve been holding off on announcing our little secret but since it’s gonna be out of the bag tomorrow, here goes. In February of this year I had the distinct pleasure of sitting with Litto Gomez, owner of La Flor Dominicana at his factory in the Dominican. During my visit, the discussions turned to why not do something unique for the store. You can only imagine how humbled we were when Litto decided to make us our own limited production cigar. So without further delay. I present the Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva. 6 1/4 x 60 soft press in 12 count box. We are so proud of this honor as well as the friendship we’ve developed with LFD. Thank you Litto, Ines and Tony. 

The boxes that the La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva come in look like this:

• Cigar Reviewed: La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A.
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Size: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 60
• Vitola: Gordo Extra
• MSRP: $15.99 (Boxes of 12, $191.88)
• Date Released: December 4, 2013
• Number of Cigars Released: 150 Boxes of 12 Cigars (750 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva is an imposing cigar with a slight, but noticeable, box-press. The dark espresso brown wrapper that is smooth to the touch but devoid of any oil at all. A few veins are visible, but they are not distracting at all, and in fact add to the appeal of the wrapper. There is very little give when it is squeezed, and the cigar is just shy of rock hard. Aroma from the wrapper is strong earth, barnyard, dark chocolate and black pepper.

The Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva starts out the first third with just a bit of a harsh note that quickly morphs into a creamier profile with notes of oak, leather, hay, slightly bitter espresso, and dark chocolate in varying amounts. There is a nice subtle sweetness that comes and goes during the first third, but I can’t place it as of yet, and there are times I go five puffs without tasting it. Both the burn and the draw are phenomenal so far, and smoke production is both copious and dense as it rolls off the foot. Strength-wise, the Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva ends the first third solidly in the medium range, and seems to be getting stronger fast.

Coming into the second third of the La Flor Dominicana made for Mickey Blake’s, the sweetness that was so fleeting in the first third has increased in strength slightly, but is still not distinct enough to really make a specific impression. The other flavors in the profile remain the same for the most part, although the creaminess has decreased noticeably by the halfway point: creamy leather, hay, oak, dark chocolate and coffee. There is some nice black pepper on the retrohale that comes and goes, but no spice on the tounge or lips to speak of and the smoke production continues to impress. Construction-wise, the burn is razor sharp while the draw has just the right amount of resistance for such a large ring gauge. As excepted, the strength has increased in leaps and bounds, blowing past the medium point and comes close to the full mark by the end of the second third.

The final third of the La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva features less sweetness than in the second third, but quite a bit more in the strength department, hitting the full mark early on and staying there until the end of the smoke. The slight harshness on the finish from the first third returns as well, and while it is not strong enough to ruin the profile at any point, it does effect the rest of the notes that are present. Creamy leather is the dominant flavor, while other notes of gritty earth, dark chocolate, bitter coffee and hay flow in and out. The burn and draw are both wonderful until the end, and the smoke production never lets up. The overall strength plateaus firmly in the full range, but I am able to get down to a little more than an inch left before I put down the still cool nub.

Final Notes: 

• As has been the case with most of La Flor Dominicana this year and in years past, there is no special band, foot band or secondary band to signify this is anything other than a normal release.
• Having said the above, the box these come in has the Mickey Blake’s logo on it, same as La Flor Dominicana TP Triple Threat and the La Flor Dominicana Foxtoberfest. Interestingly, the boxes for all three releases have the exactly the same layout of logos on the lid, with the logo of the store/event on the bottom left, the LFD logo on the bottom right and La Flor Dominicana written out on top. All of the boxes also close the exact same way, with finishing nails close to each corner of the box.
• The boxes for the cigars above also seem to be the exact same as the Texas Edition, the Pipe and Pint 15th Anniversary and the Mystery releases, albeit with different logos and layouts on the lids.
• This is a very dense cigar, and seems to weigh quite a bit when held in your hand.
• I really love the soft box-press on this release, as it makes what is a very awkward ring gauge almost enjoyable. As I have been saying for a while now, I really wish more manufacturers used some sort of bo- press for their larger ring gauge releases.
• All three of the samples I smoked for this review had both an excellent draw, a wonderful burn and quite a bit of smoke production. In addition, each of the three had an ash that was noticeably flaky, but held on close to the end of the first third before falling for the first time.
• The cigars smoke for this review were sent to halfwheel by Micky Blake’s.
• The average smoking time for all three of the samples was two hours and 10 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the La Flor Dominicana Mickey Blake’s Edición Exclusiva cigars, Mickey Blake’s Cigars and Golf is the only place to buy them.