La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962

In December 2014, the brand that was formally known as La Hoja de Flores decided to rename itself due to trademark issues and also decided to discontinue the lines that used the Flores moniker.

We had the news in a story last month:

Due to trademark issues the company has rebranded itself as La Hoja Cigar Co. 1962 and discontinued all lines that used the Flores name, such as the Hoja de Flores Autentico Maduro. Instead, the company will focus on three lines going forward: La Hoja Edición Clasica 1962, La Hoja Edición Maduro 1962 and La Hoja Reserva Limitada.

One of the new brands to come out of the relaunch is the La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962, a toro extra vitola that measures 6 1/2 x 54 that incorporates a Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper along with a Dominican binder and Dominican piloto cubano and Nicaraguan fillers. According to La Hoja, all of the tobacco used in this release has been aged six years and the MSRP is $14.50 per cigar and sold in boxes of 12. All three new brands are rolled at the Tamboril DBL S.A. factory in the Dominican Republic.

• Cigar Reviewed: La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tamboril DBL S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Size: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $14.50 (Boxes of 12, $174)
• Date Released: December 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962 is covered in a dark espresso brown wrapper that is extremely toothy to the touch and exhibits a fair bit of oil. There are multiple veins running up and down the length of the cigar, and it has some nice give when it is squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of sweet cedar, earth, nutmeg and mint, while the cold draw brings flavors of rich oak, spices, cinnamon and earth.

Starting off, the La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962 features flavors of popcorn, dark chocolate, oak, earth, leather and nuts, along with a touch of cinnamon. There is an interesting combination of black pepper, slight bitterness and honey sweetness on the retrohale, while the finish features the same honey sweetness. Smoke production is massive from the start, and while the draw is excellent, the burn is just wavy enough to be annoying without being problematic. The overall strength is not a huge factor in the profile, and ends the first third well shy of the medium mark.

A slightly sweet floral note begins to invade the profile of the La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962 around the start of the second third, along with other notes of hay, creamy almonds, leather and espresso. The cinnamon from the first third is long gone, but the honey sweetness remains, and if anything, has gotten a tad stronger, especially on the finish. The black pepper on the retrohale is still present, and while the draw continues to impress, the burn is still just a bit wavy. Strength-wise, the La Hoja continues to increase slowly, and still does not hit the medium mark before the end of the second third.

The final third of the La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962 is almost identical to the second third, with the same slightly sweet floral note and other flavors of hay, creamy nuts, leather, dark chocolate and bitter espresso, along with honey and black pepper on the retrohale. Construction-wise, the draw is as excellent as ever, while the burn has evened up nicely, albeit right before the end of the cigar. The smoke production continues to impress, while the strength struggles to reach the medium mark, but does finally break through before I put down the nub with less than an inch left.

Final Notes

• I really do love the gold/blue/orange color scheme of the band and how it matches with the metallic  blue foot band, although the logo itself leaves a bit to be desired.
• Unlike the other two new lines that were introduced, the La Hoja Reserva Limitada 1962 is not box-pressed.
• J. Carlos Gomez, the executive vice-president of La Hoja, told halfwheel the company is planning a milder cigar for the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, as well as a limited edition line.
• The Reserva Limitada is described as being a regular limited production offering.
• While the smoke production is massive off of the foot, it really does not smell all that great, and features an extremely acrid scent that lingers in your nostrils.
• The ash on this cigar is extremely flaky, so don’t make the same mistake I did and smoke over a computer.
• The final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 45 minutes.
• The cigars smoked for this review were sent to halfwheel by La Hoja Cigar Co.