The revamped A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro was introduced to the market in late 2019 and brought with it, a new taste and packaging. In order to “streamline the flavor profiles” the company added more Dominican Criollo ’98 to the filler.
During the release, Abe Flores, owner of PDR Cigars noted:
“The Serie Privada lines have been updated and the blends also have been modified. Now, the Capa Habano will be just called Rosado. This change was done so I can market the cigar internationally and not have issues with the word ‘Habano.’ ”
The company describes the blend of the A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro as:
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
- Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
- Filler: Nicaraguan Habano & Dominican Criollo 98
The A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro is expressed in 4 different vitolas, each packaged in 24-count boxes:
- SP 52 (5 x 52) – MSRP $9.75
- SP 54 (6 x 54) – MSRP $11.25
- SP 58 (7 x 58) – MSRP $12.75
- SP 44 (5 x 44) – MSRP $9.50
For this review I sampled 2 of the SP44 vitolas which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro sports a toothy and oily dark brown wrapper that has a few noticeable veins and bumps along the barrel. The cigar is firmly packed. A double cap finishes the presentation. The cigar has a slightly rounded box pressing.
The cigar uses the new branding which includes an update primary band that proudly displays the A. Flores 1975 logo using a royal blue and gold motif and the word Maduro on the bottom. It also included the phrase “No. AM-02” below the word Maduro. Additionally, like all newly branded PDR cigars, it has a large vellum outer sleeve that has a light gold print of the PDR logo on it.
Running the barrel along the nose I was greeted with an earthy and fruity sweetness while the foot presented a ripe pear like aroma. Interesting indeed.
Using my Baller cutter by CigarMedics, I opened the cap perfectly and a gave the cigar some cold draw puffs that had a growing pepper spice note warming the lips and cheeks along with a bit of earthiness and fruit.
I used my single flame torch to warm the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of pepper and floral smoke. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Floral and pepper notes to start
- Light grey ash forms on a clean even thick char line
- Dark chocolate notes build in the profile
- The ash fell in a small chunk revealing flat and slightly off-centered burn cone
- Mild off burn develops but so far does not require a touch up
- Nuttiness adds to the profile
- Required a re-light
- Natural sweet fruit nuances lay in the background
- Spice notes add to the mix midway as the early fruit morphs into a mouth watering citrus note
- Earth grows moving through the second third
- Nut finds its way into the aroma
- Relight again
- Spice build down to the final
- Medium in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Final Analysis
The A. Flores Serie Privada Maduro SP44 was a rather bold and flavorful expression of a Dominican cigar. With it’s rich blend of Nicaraguan leaf in the binder and filler, it offered a balanced and complex array of flavors and aromas throughout its 1 hour and 30 minute journey. Starting with a characteristic floral and pepper it quickly evolved into notes of dark chocolate and nut with a growing sweet fruit in the background. Flavors and aroma continue to evolve ending in a spicy finish. From a construction perspective, it started clean and crisp but did have moments of off burns and went out a few times requiring re-lights. Even with the issues with the burn the flavor profile in this deems it a five pack buy as I took two of these down to the nub. I rate this an 89.
Point Deductions: (-2) Multiple Re-Lights; (-1) Mild Off Burns; (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-1) Jagged Burn
