Dona Flor Reserva Especial Blend Robusto (5 x 52)

Wrapper: Mata Fina
Biner: Brazilian grown Cuban seed
Filler: Mata Fina and Mata Norte



Video review HERE.

This is the third of the Dona Flor cigars that I am reviewing and the last of the Premium Blends. This cigar has the usual Brazilian tobacco but also a Brazilian grown Cuban seed binder. I will be curious to see how this addition affects the cigar's taste.


The cigar is well made and had a nice density.

This is a very dark brown cigar. The test draw was good after cutting the cap. The initial flavors after light up were heavy, heavy leather, earthy flavors and wood. That's about all I could taste initially so I let the cigar rest a minute to see how it changed.

About a half inch in the flavors settled down into leather and cedar. The leather is very heavy. There is some pepper but not very much at this point. The finish is a light vanilla with no lingering pepper.

After an inch or so the leather is still very heavy but the cedar notes are trying to catch up. It is almost a 50-50 split at this point. There is also some richness starting in the cedar. This was a nice improvement in the cigar. The bands are very loose on this cigar. It is well aged and ready to smoke. The ash is very tight, just as it was on the other two Dona Flor cigars.

Just a bit further the finish is still one of vanilla but some of the leather notes also carry over giving the finish a very different flavor. The pepper is pretty decent on the front end and it is not lingering on the finish. The pepper is about average on the front end.



At the bottom band I would say the flavors are now about a 60-40 split between the leather and cedar.

At the main band there is an additional flavor detected; coffee. The order of flavors is leather, cedar, and coffee. The ash continues to be very tight.

At the end of the cigar it wrapped up like this; very heavy on leather with some richness on the cedar notes. There is also some leather mixed with the vanilla on the finish. The pepper is average on the front end and it lingers somewhat on the finish. The cigar is fairly full bodied and it is definitely the fullest of the Dona Flor cigars I have reviewed. If you are a fan of leathery cigars you will like this cigar. The semi-rich cedar make the cigar a  nice smoke. The leather was a little too heavy for my tastes but this was a good cigar.


Score: 85