La Flor Dominicana LG SB-VI Cigar Review

One the greatest things about being a Brother or Sister of the Leaf is the experience of the amazing generosity of fellow cigar lovers. I was recently in one of my local Brick and Mortar shops here in Melbourne Florida – Jimmy’s Cigar Lounge – with a my friend  sitting and chatting about things. One of the customers who I have never met comes in the shop and proceeds to make a rather large purchase of Litto Gomez cigars. Included in that purchase was a 105 count crate of the new LG SB-VI.

Now remember I have never met this gentleman before. We strike up  conversation, typical of a cigar shop, talking about run of the mill things and he proceeds to open the LG SB-VI crate and says “here, try one of these” as he proceeds to give my friend and I one of these beautiful Litto Gomez Diez creations. Wow, that was generous, and that is how we roll in this terrific Sisterhood and Brotherhood.

So, the LG SB-VI is, as its initials signify, a Small Batch (SB) cigar that Litto produces, with this being the sixth (VI) generation of the cigar. The were actually 7 releases of this special cigar as La Flor Dominicana released an additional Oscuro version of the number 4 in 2012. The LG SB-VI is available in only one vitola, a 6 1/2 x 52 and comes in a very limited production of 105 cigars in a wooden crate limited to 250 crates. Well after my new friend’s purchase there is only 249 crates left. The price point is about $20.00 a cigar.

The cigar is adorned with two bands; the primary being representative of the Litto Gomez brand and the secondary red and gold signifying it as the SB-VI.

What is noticeable about the primary band on SB-VI is the number “10” under the “LG” in the center. I reached out to Litto on the significance of this and I am awaiting an answer. Maybe it will be like the “33” on the Rolling Rock beer bottle and no one will ever really know, but if Litto responds I will update the article accordingly.

Well, Litto got back to me and stated:

Hi Jimmie, I hope you are well, the LG line was released in my tenth anniversary as a cigar maker in 2004.

As far as construction, the LG SB-VI is a Dominican puro including a Pelo de Oro wrapper. All tobacco used in this comes from the La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic. La Canela is known for it breezy weather which adds to the tobacco strength. All leaf used in this cigar comes from the same crop, and the LG SB-VI is constructed from the 2009 harvest, so the leaf has some considerable age to it.

Further examination of the LG SB-VI shows that it is well packed and firm to the touch.The cigar is actually kind of rugged looking,  yet beautiful in its own way.  The wrapper itself is a dark maduro with a wonderful sheen to it and some slight color variation. There are some prominent veins but they had no impact on the burn and the cap was applied simply.

As we gave it a little sniff test, the foot exuded a fruity note while the barrel had a in-detectable scent. We sliced the cap off easily and did a little cold draw puffing which produced a very earthy flavor with a hint of barnyard. The wrapper had a touch of sweetness on the lips. We were ready to fire it up and see what Litto’s newest marvel had to offer.

The initial puffs, once lit, offered a dose of coffee with a slight white pepper retro-hale. The foot immediately was letting out a woody aroma. As it burned through the first third, there was tangy fruit component with a touch of red wine. The smoke smoothed out after an inch of burn and the aroma shifted to more of a spice than wood. The ash was light grey and as solid as the cigar itself.

Continuing the burn the flavor shifts to a sweet coffee note which takes center stage but making room for some butter creaminess and fruit. About a third into the burn the smoke production is medium as is the strength. Damn good cigar so far, pleasing to plate and not knocking me on my ass. The burn line as been fairly perfect the whole time, there is no construction issues with this beauty. Even the slight wave that started corrected itself.

Cedar starts to enter the mix as it get into the second third and then opens up to let the fruit dance back in; this time a touch of cherry. This is such a delightful cigar, I can see why they cost upwards of $20.00. I am just thinking how this fine gentleman slapped down a couple of grand for these not mention the other 4 or 5 boxes of cigars he purchased that day. I look back over at him and his wife, smile and say thank you again, as this is a terrific cigar.

So there we are puffing away on what I would describe as a delightful medium strength flavorful smoke that is solid in construction and then “Whack! Pow! Bam!“, Litto does it to me again. The strength begins to ratchet up, passing the medium-full moving into solid full. I grab some water to calm down wondering if the big breakfast I had would be enough for me to finish the LG SB-VI. It is well past noon and this is not a cigar I would recommend to smoke on an empty stomach. Not only is the strength peaking the meter but the smoke production has opened up too so I am getting twice the smoke and twice the strength per puff. I have to slow down, take it easy.

Deep into the second third, there is a bitter coffee note that enters and then it shifts to a walnut  flavor along with a delightful syrupy aroma coming of the foot. That nut finds itself into the foot of the cigar and just fills the air around us.

Just when I thought I had this tamed, the pepper reemerges to clean out my nasals so I can enjoy the newly arrived oak notes as the cigar finally burns to the end.

Overall the LG SB-VI is a fantastic cigar and sits up there with some of the best. I never had the previous Small Batch releases so I can not compare this to them, but fellow bloggers state that this may well be the best LG SB yet. I will take their word on that as I certainly enjoyed it as did my friend. I would not recommend this to a new cigar smoker just like I would not offer them a LFD Double Ligero due to the incredible strength that appears. I would certainly suggest anyone who enjoys full strength cigar with deep complexity, to search this one out before they are all gone.

Although I drank a lot of water while sampling the LG SB-VI, if was to get another, I would certainly pair it with an aged port wine or Islay Scotch after a big steak dinner.