In 2013, La Flor Dominicana announced the first in what would become an annual release made exclusively for the Texas Cigar Festival at Serious Cigars in Houston, Texas. Appropriately named the La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival, the 6 1/2 x 50 box-pressed toro was originally limited to 500 cigars packaged in boxes of 10.

For this year’s version, quite a few things were changed compared to previous versions, including a new 6 1/2 x 52 box-pressed toro extra vitola, as well as 50 more cigars released compared to the 2015 incarnation. In addition, while the components remain the same, the blend is completely different than past versions, incorporating a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, a Sumatra binder along with Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers that were rolled at Tabacalera La Flor S.A. in the Dominican Republic. A total of 750 cigars were released in boxes of 10 that sold for $87 each.

There have now been four releases in the Texas Cigar Festival Series.

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival Vitolas

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016
  • Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A.
  • Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Sumatra
  • Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
  • Length: 6 1/2 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 52
  • Vitola: Toro Extra
  • MSRP: $8.70 (Boxes of 10, $87)
  • Release Date: April 20, 2016
  • Number of Cigars Released: 75 Boxes of 10 Cigars (750 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

As with quite a few La Flor Dominicana cigars, the cigar is covered in a thick, dark expresso brown wrapper that is exceedingly rough to the touch. There is an abundance of oil as well as a lack of any obvious veins, and the cigar is just a touch hard when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of sweet oak, leather, dark chocolate nibs and manure, while the cold draw brings flavors of rich hot chocolate, earth, creamy wood, black pepper and a touch of citrus.

The La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 starts out with a nice earth and creamy cedar base, interspersed with flavors of leather, hay, barnyard, cashews and anise. There is a wonderful burnt brown sugar sweetness noticeable on the retrohale, along with some black pepper, and I am also picking up some slight spice on my tongue. The draw is excellent so far, with a close-to razor sharp burn, and the smoke production is massive off of the foot. The overall strength starts off fairly light—especially for a La Flor Dominicana blend—and while it does begin to increase, it fails to reach the medium mark by the end of the first third.

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 2

The burnt brown sugar sweetness increases in the second third of the La Flor Dominicana, and I start to pick up a slight citrus note as well as at continuation of the black pepper. The dominant flavor shifts to a creamy leather note, followed by dark chocolate, coffee beans, gritty earth, cedar, hay and tobacco. Construction-wise, both the burn and draw continue to impress, while the smoke production actually increases a bit compared to the first third. The strength increases noticeably starting around the halfway point, and ends the second third past the medium mark and still rising.

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 3

Although the burnt brown sugar sweetness is still present in the final third of the La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016, the amount is noticeably reduced compared the the second third, as is the black pepper on the retrohale. The profile shifts again, with a espresso bean note now the dominant flavor, interspersed with other flavors of creamy leather, oak, cocoa nibs, grass, citrus and slight dark fruit. The burn and draw remain excellent until the end,and the overall strength ends up hitting a point very close to the full mark before I put the nub down with about an inch left.

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 4

Final Notes

  • As with previous versions, there were some boxes that were unsold following the event that were put on Serious Cigars’ website for sale.
  • This year’s Texas Cigar Festival was held on April 20.
  • There is nothing on the cigar itself to indicate this is anything other than a normal cigar. No secondary band, no foot band and in fact, no special band at all.
  • There is a major uptick in strength that begins right around the halfway point and continues till the end of the cigar.
  • The final smoking time for all three samples average just over two hours.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • The only place you can buy the La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016 is at Serious Cigars, and as of the time of this review, this year’s version have sold out.
90 Overall Score

I have smoked at least one of each year’s version of the Texas Cigar Festival over the years, and there is no doubt that the newest incarnation is noticeably sweeter than other versions I have tried, albeit with roughly similar strength. The profile is complex throughout the cigar, with a wonderful burnt brown sugar sweetness and ever-present black pepper combination that really set off the rest of the flavors nicely. While the strength does get a bit overwhelming by the end of the cigar, the construction is excellent overall, making this a cigar I can easily recommend if you can find them.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.