La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014

In 2011, La Flor Dominicana released the Mysterio, a double perfecto with a bee-hive cap and a maduro covered foot. The line got a limited edition release with a name change to Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 in order to make it easier to differentiate the releases in 2013. The cigar featured a strip of Ecuadoran Connecticut tobacco running the length of the cigar that stands out against the Connecticut broadleaf oscuro background. The Mysterio was also released again, this time in both maduro and habano wrappers.

The name of the cigar was changed before the release to TCFKA “M” — which stands for “The Cigar Formally Known as ‘M'” — after a lawsuit, which we detailed in a news story:

In early November, La Flor Dominicana announced the name change after a lawsuit filed by Connecticut Valley Tobacconist challenged who had rightful ownership of the Mysterio and Mysterioso names. CVT is the parent company of Old Battleground Cigars and has been producing a cigar with the Mysterioso name since January 2003, with the name being registered for a trademark in August 2006 and granted in July 2007. It was around that time that La Flor Dominicana began using the Mysterio name. The Mysterioso line was added to the LFD catalog in 2013.

In November of 2014, La Flor Dominicana announced the latest release in the line, the La Flor Dominicana’s TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014, a 7 x 55 perfecto that incorporates a Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper with Connecticut broadleaf accents, a Dominican binder and filler tobaccos hailing from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The cigar has an MSRP of $19.30 with boxes of five selling for $96.40, which is a slight increase over last year’s edition.

• La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013 (7 x 55) — November 2013 — $19 (Boxes of 5, $95)
• La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 (7 x 55) — December 2014 — $19.30 (Boxes of 5, $96.40)

• Cigar Reviewed: La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade & Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 55
• Vitola: Double Perfecto
• MSRP: $19.30 (Boxes of 5, $96.40)
• Date Released: Dec. 3, 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 certainly has no problem standing out with a barberpole wrapper that winds its way from the top of the double perfecto to the bottom. There is some nice give when it is squeezed, and “knob” on the cap of the cigar is nice touch. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of pungent barnyard, hay, chocolate and cedar, while the cold draw brings flavors of sweet honeycomb, cinnamon, barnyard and leather.

Starting out, the TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 exhibits a dominant barnyard and leather mix, along with lesser flavors of earth, bitter espresso, brisket and a slight floral note. There is a very aggressive black pepper on the retrohale, along with just a touch of spice on the palate that does not seem strong enough to stick around long. I am also tasting a generic sweetness every once in a while on the retrohale, but it is just not distinct as of yet. Construction-wise, the draw is a bit tight for the first few puffs—which is not unusual in a cigar with a perfecto foot—while the burn is close to razor sharp. The smoke production is well above average, while the strength easily hits the medium mark by the end of the first third and only seems to be getting stronger.

The sweetness increases quite a bit in the second third of the La Flor Dominicana, reminding me strongly of maple syrup, although it is till only present on the retrohale. The dominant flavor shifts to more of the meaty brisket note, interspersed with other flavors of creamy oak, gritty earth, coffee, dark cocoa and leather, while the black pepper from the first third is reduced by about 30 percent. Both the burn and draw continue to impress me quite a bit, and the smoke production has increased significantly as well. Stength-wise, the TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 blows past the medium mark and is still increasing.

The dominant flavor remains the same meaty brisket note, although there is now more leather in the profile at this point, at well as other flavors of dark cocoa, espresso, peanuts, anise, oak and more floral. The maple sweetness is still present, but much reduced from its high around the halfway point, but is still very noticeable. The burn and draw are remain excellent until the end, and the smoke production level stays high as well. The overall strength continues to increase in the final third of the La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014, finally hitting a point just below the full mark by the time I put the nub down.

 

Final Notes:

• As with last year’s release, the company is not disclosing production numbers for the release.
• The name La Flor Dominicana TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 is way too long and is extremely confusing, not just for what it stands for, but also considering there are two other cigars released this year from LFD named
• I am also wondering if La Flor Dominicana will (or already has) gotten a note from Prince’—sorry, I mean The Artist Formally Known as Prince—lawyers.
• The smoke production was massive on each of the cigars I smoked, billowing off of the foot like a house on fire.
• On all three samples I smoked, I had to cut down to pretty much where the maduro accents start on the cap to get a draw that was not too tight, but after that, the draw ended up being excellent.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• These are very slow smoking cigars, and the final smoking time for all three samples averaged just under two hours.
• If you would like to purchase any of the TCFKA “M” Collector’s 2014 cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar, Cigar Hustler, Elite Cigar Cafe (972.661.9136) and STOGIES World Class Cigars (713.783.5100) have them in stock as of the time of this review.

Editor’s Note: The score was originally entered incorrectly on this review.