La Flor Dominicana Culebra Lanceros

Size: 7 1/2″ x 39

Vitola: Lancero in the Culebra format

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra, Cameroon & Oscuro Ecuadorian Sumatra

Origin: Dominican Republic

Age: Infancy

What a lucky guy I am.  The La Flor Dominicana Culebra Lanceros are some of the hardest cigars to find.  The Double Ligero Lanceros by LFD are themselves a tough find.  But every once in a while Litto Gomez produces the Culebra Lanceros in super small batches, and Empire Cigars was lucky enough to get a whole bunch of them in recently.

The packaging is simple and elegant: cedar coffins housing the culebra in shrink wrap.  After removing the shrink wrap it was evident that the culebra goes into the coffin just so, do not get in the habit of pulling these in and out as you will damage the cigars!

Before I get to the actual review, I should point out another thing that makes the Culebra Lancero such a special cigar.  Unlike other culebras, this format features three different wrappers: a Natural, Oscuro and Cameroon!  I will review each of the wrappers individually and pick my favorite of the three at the end.

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Manufacturer’s Spotlight – Don Pepin Garcia

There is no one cigar maker more popular than Don “Pepin” Jose Garcia… or busier!   His tiny little shop in Little Havana has exploded into several factories in Nicaragua and more brand names and collaborations than you can shake a stick at.  He has almost single-handedly changed what comes to mind when consumers think of Nicaraguan cigars.  He has helped make the lancero and salamone popular and sought after sizes.  And full-bodied cigars?  The bar has been raised through the ceiling.

Pepin & Jaime

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Pepin Event at Empire Cigars

Last Friday we had the privilege of having one of the most popular figures in the cigar industry at Empire Cigars – Don Pepin Garcia!

Pepin showed up promptly at 3pm and the festivities began with Empanadas and Mojitos.  Our pal Hal Rubin, the owner, also splurged on a few bottles of Zaya, a 12-year old rum from Trinidad which was absolutely fantastic.

Dave preparing for the fun

There were great promotions that night, discount on boxes of DPG cigars and a free 5-pack with every box purchase.  Box purchases earned a ticket for the raffle which included a few pipe and baseball cigars and a few ashtrays as well.

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New Alec Bradley – SCR!! A Tempered Down Tempus

From the CA website:

Alan Rubin, owner of Alec Bradley Cigars, has put the finishing touches on Alec Bradley Special Cabinet Reserve, a premium cigar with a similar but smoother blend than his popular Alec Bradley Tempus, one of Cigar Aficionado Magazine’s Top 25 cigars of 2008.

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