Back in 2017, Dominican Big Leaguer Cigars, owned by Francisco Almonte, showcased a cigar known as the Extra Viejo. It was presented in an astounding humidor that held 41 Extra Viejo cigars in three sizes (toro, robusto, gordo). The humidor is equipped with lock and key, humidifying device and hygrometer.
As far as the Extra Viejo cigar, it is a Doble Prensado cigar, which is the proper name for a box pressed cigar. Whereas, all premium cigars are pressed once after the binder is applied, Doble Prensado cigars are pressed again in a rectangle mold after the wrapper is applied, instead of just rolling the wrapper on and setting them to rest. The phrase “Extra Viejo” translates to “Extra Old” which is a description of the leaf used in this blend.
The DBL Extra Viejo multi-country blend is described as:
- Wrapper: Mexican Arapiraca
- Binder: Dominican Republic
- Filler: Brazil & Dominican Republic
Besides buying the whole humidor for $334.00, the DBL Extra Viejo is available in 3 vitolas that come packaged in 12-count boxes for the Robusto and 15-count boxes for the Toro and Gordo:
- Robusto (5 1/4 x 50) – MSRP $7.20
- Toro (5 7/8 x 54) – MSRP $7.80
- Gordo (5 3/4 x 60) – MSRP $8.70
For this review, I sampled the Extra Viejo Toro, which I received as part of a special gift box during my visit to DBL Cigars in the Dominican Republic earlier this year.
Pre-Light Examination
The DBL Cigars Extra Viejo is a stunningly beautiful cigar with its dark brown and marbled wrapper, a smooth box press, and just a few noticeable veins. It is well capped and has a solid weight in the hand with no soft spots detected.
There are three bands that adorn the Extra Viejo starting with the standard DBL band that proudly displays the company’s logo in the center along with the identifier that this is a maduro. Just below is a black and gold secondary band that declares this as the “EXTRA VIEJO” in white and signifies it as a “DOBLE PRENSADO” in gold. The presentation is finished with a red satin footer band.
As I ran the Extra Viejo along the nose, I picked up a distinct smokey hickory note along the barrel that continued to the foot.
I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and gave the Extra Viejo some cold draw puffs that were nicely restricted and offered a smokey wood flavor. I am finding this to be rather unique from many of the DBL cigars I have smoked over the years. As i rolled it about and puffed some more, the smokey wood notes were getting more akin to savory BBQ spice. Quite inviting if I say so!
I could have cold puffed this for a lot longer, but like all fine cigars, it was time to turn this to ash. I warmed the foot with a double flame torch and took in the first puffs of smooth savory and sweet smoke that had a nuance of hickory along with a light pepper retro-hale.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs offer smooth savory sweet and hickory notes
- A light pepper burn on the retro-hale
- Salt and pepper ash evolves on thin char line
- Slight off- burn develops
- Natural sweetness enters comes forward
- Flaky ash drops revealing a flat burn cone
- Black cherry notes enter
- Smoke smooths out near secondary band with a nuance of chocolate
- Cherry aroma starts to waft off the foot
- Spice notes enter midway
- Savory core continues into final third
- Earthy notes with hints of fruit at the end
- Medium plus in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 Minutes
Overall, I found the DBL Extra Viejo to be a unique and satisfying smoke that offered a blend of Savory, BBQ, Cherry, Spice and Chocolate notes. The burn did run off a bit near the end of the first third but did not need a touch-up and the ash was flaky. This is one I would recommend picking up a fiver of and let a few age. I rate this a 93.
Point Deductions: (-1) Off Burn; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Salt and Pepper Ash
One of the best cigars on the market, PERIOD!!!!