(from the Dona Flor facebook page)
Celebrating 35 years in Brazil, Dona Flor is at its finest, a combination of the best cigar minds to come out of Cuba, and the exotic natural resources in Brazil that produces “Brazil’s dark treasure”- Mata Fina tobacco. Manufactured in the state of Bahia located in northeast Brazil, Dona Flor Cigars are the result of the collaboration between Cuban cigar maker Felix Menendez (who had been involved in the making of famous Cuban brands Montecristo and H. Upmann in the pre-Castro era) and Brazilian tobacco grower Mario Amerino. Now being brought to the United States via Chris Edge owner of Dona Flor U.S.A., cigar enthusiasts will now have the opportunity to savor the cigar industries best kept secret: Dona Flor Cigars.
Our company's name is based on the story of Dona Flor and her Two Husbands - a story from Brazil. Our high quality Brazilian Cigars are sure to become one of your favorite. Dona Flor, a Menendez Amerino Company, utilizes premium Mata Fina tobacco from the Bahia region of Brazil, world renowned for its aromatic quality and taste.
Wrapper: Mata Fina
Biner: Mata Norte
Filler: Mata Fina and Mata Norte
Video review HERE.
There are 5 different Dona Flor blends that I will be reviewing over the coming weeks. Today's choice is from their Premium Blends, the Selecao robusto. This cigar is a dark brown and well made. It feels weighty in the hand and has a nice density.
The test draw was very good. At initial light up the flavors were dry cinnamon, sweetness of cherry, coffee, and nice pepper. The finish was one of lightly roasted almond or possibly cream; it was hard to distinguish and it had nice lingering pepper. These flavors were noted at the 1/2 inch point.
About one inch in there aren't really any cinnamon notes anymore but the cherry notes are quite prominent and the are combining nicely with the coffee and leather. At times I got some dry wood flavor. The finish is more of a cream flavor with lingering pepper.
Just a bit further the cherry notes became rich which was quite nice. The coffee and leather remained the same, along with the finish. The ash is very dense and did not splinter. It finally fell of after about 1 1/2 inches.
At the point the cigar got to the upper band (approximately the midpoint) the flavors changed. The cherry notes became cedar and they were sweet and rich. I enjoyed that change.
With about an inch or so I would get flashes of cherry mixed in with the cedar. The ash continued to be very tight. At this point the ash is about 1 1/2 inches long, just as the previous ash. It also fell off in the ashtray about this point. The cigar continues to be sweet and rich. The coffee and leather compliment the rich cedar notes. The do not overtake it at all but they make a great mix.
As the cigar wound down it finished great. I loved the rich cedar and the combination of coffee and leather. The pepper was quite good on both ends. The cigar ended up medium to full bodied. I found this to be a very enjoyable cigar. I commend Dona Flor with this blend and I look forward to reviewing the 4 other blends.
Score: 91
1 comment:
Hello Tim, Nice Review. It's nice to see someone really joining their work. Just an FYI, Selecao (pronounced sell-a sow) is Portuguese for select or selection being the best selection of the crop. From the state of Bahai (pronounced bah-hee-ah) which is the Salvadore area of Brazil. Thanks for the great review.
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