A Christmas Eve Treat!
On Christmas Eve, thanks to a generous gift from our fellow Brother of the Leaf, @TommyH2sT ,I had the pleasure of trying a cigar I’d never heard of prior to his reviewing it here, a Dominican Big Leaguer 2nd Generacion Reserva Exclusiva Toro. This beautiful 6 5/8 x 52 round parajo was made by Francisco Almonte, who studied cigar making from famous makers Carlos Fuente and Litto Gomez.
Its gorgeous “one of a kind” Ecuadorian-grown sun grown Cameroon wrapper was slightly oily, and underneath it is a binder from the Dominican Republic with fillers consisting of Dominican Piloto Cubano & Criollo 98 leaves which were all grown on the DBL farm.
It became obvious to me that Señor Almonte learned the craft from Litto Gomez because this cigar’s transitions were strikingly apparent. The 2nd Generacion started out with notes of cedar, cinnamon, and a slight bit of pepper. As it progressed into the second third, the pepper backed off, as did the cedar and cinnamon notes. Notes of earthiness, nuttiness, and a hint of fruitiness then entered the picture, providing for a very pleasant and interesting flavor transition. At that point, a hint of generic mushrooms was present in the consistently smooth retrohale throughout. Those notes remained into the final third, with the return of notes of wood, again cedar with the addition of notes of oak.
The burn and draw were impeccable, and smoke production was abundant. The burn started to become very slightly wavy in the final third, but it quickly corrected itself; no touch-ups were necessary. Although DBL gives the 2nd Generacion a medium strength rating, I found it to be medium-full. Its body was low-medium, though, which I found slightly disappointing. I was expecting more “oomph,” flavor wise. Even though the cigar provided an engaging array of flavors, those flavors just didn’t seem to have that, for lack of a better description, “deep” and full impact on my palate. The only major downside is that the bands were extremely difficult to remove. However, those things stated, I would definitely like to try more of what DBL has to offer.
It paired excellently with an Evan Williams Manhattan rocks.
Thank you so very much, Tommy!
Cheers!
Comments
100 TommyH2sT
(5 months ago)Man what an incredible review, and this is why I wanted to you to try it. I wanted to see what a seasoned smoker as yourself would think. And honestly. I am happy you enjoyed it and to myself I agree, although a good smoke. The flavors aren't as rounded as I would prefer for a "limited smoke" such as this. Thank you my brother. Much love and respect.
100 TommyH2sT
(5 months ago)Oh yeah, the bands!!! Them damn DBL BANDS do not want to come off 😡 haha!
100 chipc73
(5 months ago)Thank you for the kind words! You made it all possible. 😁
28 Ieppert
(5 months ago)Looks like a very nice cigar. Excellent review, my friend!
100 chipc73
(5 months ago)Thank you!
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