There’s a new version of the Litto Gomez Diez Americano, a maduro.

La Flor Dominicana has shipped a few retailers a new rendition of the 5 3/4 x 48 parejo, this time with a Dominican pelo de oro maduro wrapper.[ref]Jack Schwartz lists the blend as Connecticut broadleaf, the company says its pelo de oro.[/ref] The typical Litto Gomez Diez blend is a single farm vintage, meaning that all the tobacco comes from Gomez’s La Canela farms in the Dominican Republic with all the tobacco being harvested from the same year.

Pelo de oro is one of, if not the most controversial strand of tobacco. Its growth is banned in Cuba because of its tendency to develop blue mold. In recent years, more and more manufacturers have claimed they are growing it, or at least some hybrid version of pelo de oro.

Suggested retail pricing is $11.20. It is offered in boxes of 24.

La Flor Dominicana shipped the Americano Maduro, along with a host of other new products, to select retailers around the country prior to Aug. 8. It, like many other manufacturers, did this so that these products would be sold prior to the date when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating cigars.

Any new product debuting after Aug. 8, 2016 would be subject to FDA pre-approval, meaning manufactures could not begin selling the product until after FDA approved the product. By releasing the products before Aug. 8, this product can be sold for a few years before La Flor must submit an application. However, while the application is pending, the company will continue to be able to sell the product.

It remains to be seen whether the company will introduce a maduro version for additional sizes. As of now, it is only offered to select retailers.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.