Earlier this month, La Flor Dominicana began shipping the newest incarnation in the Small Batch line, the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5. Produced using tobacco from 2007 grown at the La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic, the Small Batch No. 5 is limited to just 25,000 cigars total and comes packaged in cabinets of 105 with each cigar costing $19.00 before taxes. According to owner Litto Gomez the cigar is a Dominican puro and is composed of Sumatra, Corojo and Pelo d’Oro tobaccos.

In 2006, La Flor Dominicana introduced this first Small Batch, the company described the release to Patrick Lagreid last year:

We began experimenting with growing our own wrapper in the early 2000′s, namely Sumatra seed Dominican. The problem back then, and today to a lesser extent, was that the success rate on our wrappers was minimal, only allowing for ‘small batches’ to come out of the farm every year. The LG small batch series truly is as the name suggests, a very small batch of a very special tobacco, the most special tobacco we grow.

The boxes of the Small Batch 5 look like this:

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No 5 Box

With the addition of the Litto Gomez Small Batch No. 5, there are now six releases in the Small Batch line. They are:

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch Series

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No 5 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5
  • Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Flor S.A.
  • Wrapper: Dominican Republic
  • Binder:  Dominican Republic
  • Filler:  Dominican Republic
  • Size: 6 3/4 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 52
  • Vitola: Churchill
  • MSRP: $19 (Cabinets of 105, $1,995)
  • Date Released: December 1, 2013
  • Number of Cigars Released: 238 Cabinets of 105 Cigars (25,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 2

Covered in a dark espresso bean-colored wrapper that shimmers slightly in the sun, the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5 is noticeably toothy to the touch, but has no oil present at all. It has just a little more give when it is squeezed than is optimal for a cigar of its size, while the aroma coming from the wrapper is a combination of strong earth, leather, oak and pepper.

The Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5 starts out with strong flavors of gritty earth, creamy leather, espresso and rich cocoa. There is a great black pepper note on the retrohale that combines well with the rest of the profile so far, as well as just a slight spice that is evident on the tongue, although that seems to be fading as the first third progresses. Smoke production is huge, white and dense, smelling slightly sweet, along with wood and pepper. Construction-wise, the draw has the perfect amount of resistance and the burn is a bit wavy, although it is perfectly acceptable. The strength seems to be building slowly, and is just a little less than medium by the end of the first third.

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No 5 2

A small amount of indeterminate sweetness starts to seep in around the start of the second third of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5, and although it combines nicely with the rest of the profile, it is not strong enough to identify at this point. The black pepper on the retrohale has increase a little bit, but as expected, the spice on the tongue has disappeared completely by the halfway point. The flavors in the profile have not changed all that much with leather, gritty earth, oak and dark chocolate leading the way. The burn has evened out nicely, and the draw has tightened up, leaving me with no problems at all in that regard. The strength has increased – which is no surprise—but by the end of the second third, it is only just below the full mark and has not quite pushed over as of yet.

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No 5 3

The final third of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5 has much of the same flavors in the profile as the first two thirds: earth, oak, espresso, dark cocoa and leather. Two obvious changes were the sweetness, which increases enough for me to place it as a caramel note and the black pepper on the retrohale, which bumps up another notch to end quite strong. The burn, draw and smoke production are all excellent until the end of the cigar, and the strength bumps up to the full mark just after the start of the last third. The nub is cool to the touch when I put it out with a little less than an inch left.

Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No 5 4

Final Notes

  • At first glance, the band for the Litto Gomez Diez  Small Batch No. 5 seems to be the same as any other Litto Gomez Diez release, but looking closer you can see Puro SB – V written in gold to the right of the logo. This change in the band was started with the Small Batch No. 4 and Small Batch No. 4 Oscuro – both of which had SB-IV written in the same location – while the other three releases did not have any indication at all on their bands that they were Limited Editions.
    Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch Series Side
  • Although it means that you don’t have a box to put them in, I have always loved the fact that the Small Batch series only come in cabinets of 105, as it really sets them apart from most other cigars on the market. There is something about walking into a humidor and seeing this huge box on the shelf that really speaks to me for some reason.
  • La Flor Dominicana has always admitted that the amount of cigars released for Small Batch are more approximate than scientific. Whether or not there is exactly 238 boxes remains to be seen.
  • Along with the above, I have always found it interesting that the La Flor Dominicana cigars have burned slower than average for their size, basically forcing you to slow down and actually appreciate the flavors that are offered. Whether this is due to a different technique in processing tobacco, how it is rolled or just due to the specific tobaccos used I don’t know, but it is something I look forward to every time I smoke one.
  • Each of the six releases in the Small Batch series has been a 52 ring gauge other than the Small Batch No. 2, which bucked the trend and was one size larger at 54.
  • I have seen the name of this cigar written all of the web as the Small Batch V. According to official press releases and the actual box these come in, the name includes the number 5 instead of the Roman numeral. Interestingly, this goes in the face of the aforementioned designation that is actually on the band, as seen in the photo above.
  • Along with the Small Batch No. 5, La Flor Dominicana has released an unusual number of limited edition cigars in the last two months: the NAS, a special blend for Foxtoberfest, a single store release for Tobacco Plaza, and the Collector’s Edition Mysterioso. In addition, there is yet another single store release, this time for Micky Blake’s located in Southington, Conn. as well the Double Ligero A Oscuro Natural Collector’s Edition, which had not been seen since 2008.
  • This cigar goes very well with a cup of coffee.
  • Although it took a little longer than I expected to reach the full mark in strength and it is not quite as complex as I was hoping, the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5 is full across the board: full flavor, full bodied and full strength. This is not exactly a shocker, considering the past releases in this series.
  • The final smoking time for both samples of the Litto Gomez Diez  Small Batch No. 5 averaged just over two hours.
  • The samples smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • If you would like to purchase any of the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 5 cigars, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar has them in stock at this moment.
87 Overall Score

I look forward to the Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch releases as they have always been extremely high quality and well-made cigars and the Small Batch No. 5 is no different. I enjoyed the two samples I smoked quite a bit, but they fall short of the both the Small Batch No. 4 and Small Batch No. 4 Oscuro that came out in the prior two years, especially in regards to the complexity of the flavors in the profile. Having said that, every single one of the Small Batch cigars I have smoked after their release has gotten noticeably better with age and I expect the Small Batch No. 5 to be the same. A very good cigar that will only get better.

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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.