Pre-light Experience

Seth: The La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 is nicely pressed and finished with a wrapper that has some marbled coloring. The wrapper has some tooth present and sports small to medium sized veins. It is between Natural and Colorado Maduro throughout the wrapper. It has a coffee bean coloring. You could be critical of the wrapper, but I like the marbled coloring with the leaf. It may not be as visibly pleasing to some, but I like the natural look of the tobacco. Rich earth aromas with warm spices and stone fruit.
John: The wrapper on the La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 has a Colorado Maduro, almost Maduro color to it. The shape is a rounded square press, giving it a slightly pressed but still rounded appearance. I weighed the cigar at 14.7 grams and measured the humidity with the HumidiMeter Pro at 64.3%. Aromas from the wrapper included wood, faint barnyard and sweet tobacco. From the foot, I was getting raisins, sweet tobacco and hay.
Jiunn: The La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 has an even Colorado to Colorado Maduro shade. Veins are well pressed, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. I dig the squared off vitola and overall size. A true cigar geek size. Pre-light aromas give ample floral perfume and cedar.

La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with barnyard notes that are paired with warm spices, coffee, currants, leather and a finish of black pepper. The cigar is medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with wood leading the profile, followed by light baking spices. Through the retrohale, mossy vegetal notes and earth establish themselves early. As the first third settles in, the baking spices move more clearly into the retrohale and increase to medium strength. Some mild powdered cocoa begins coming through toward the end of the retrohale as the first third progresses. At the same time, lingering dryness starts building into the post draw.
Jiunn: The first third gives cocoa, pencil lead like minerals, cedar and leather. On the retrohale, there’s leather, dirt and cedar. The finish is semi-gritty with and leather. Strength and body is medium.

La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025

Second Third

Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Great barnyard, tobacco, coffee and spice notes. Some hay aspects are present as well with the currants, leather and black pepper. Like the first third, medium-full in strength and body.
John: The cigar transitions into the second third with wood leading off, combined with baking spices and cinnamon accents. The post draw finishes with dry wood and lingering pepper. As the cigar progresses toward the halfway point, creaminess begins to build. Cinnamon sits in the middle of the profile while dry wood and pepper continue to define the post draw. Through the bottom half of the second third, wood begins to take over from the spices, while the post draw remains largely unchanged.
Jiunn: The second third’s flavor profile gets more gritty with cardboard added to the existing dirt and leather. This diminishes the sweeter and creamier cocoa as well as the minerals. Strength and body remains medium.

La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025

Final Third

Seth: The final third is in line with the first and second. Good flavor profile all the way to the end. Nice level of complexities. The strength and body remain at medium-full.
John: The last third opens with creamy wood leading the profile. Dry wood carries into the post draw and is joined by delayed medium-strength spices that linger between each puff. Medium-strength earth quickly joins the finish. As the cigar progresses through the final third, the profile remains largely unchanged.
Jiunn: The final third’s flavor profile becomes harsher and bitter off the cedar wood. Now it’s mainly about gritty earthiness and wood bitterness and harshness. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025

Burn

Seth: The burn was good from start to finish.
John: The burn was straight through the first third and started straight in the second third. Minor waviness developed and the burn stalled, requiring a re-light. The burn was straight through the last third.
Jiunn: Great burn performance featuring an even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025

Draw

Seth: The draw was great from beginning to end.
John: I measured the draw at 32 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw was right in the ideal zone between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw was also great as it gave the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: I enjoyed the La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025. I loved the flavor profile generated and the complexities with the cigar. It showed depth throughout with not a lot of transitioning required. The burn and draw were great additions to the flavor profile from the cigar, and it’s a cigar I would come back to in the future. Interested in other vitolas as well.
John: The La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 presents a profile that leans heavily on wood and baking spice components from start to finish, delivering a consistent but fairly restrained experience. The opening third shows the most nuance, with mossy vegetal notes, baking spices and a hint of powdered cocoa adding some dimension to the wood-forward core. As the cigar moves into the second third, the profile becomes creamier but also more simplified. Cinnamon accents briefly add some interest, though wood steadily takes control of the flavor profile. The lingering pepper and dryness through the post draw reinforce that direction, limiting the range of flavors that come through. The final third continues along the same path, with creamy wood and dry wood dominating while medium-strength earth joins the finish. While the cigar never becomes harsh or unpleasant, it also doesn’t develop much beyond the established wood and spice framework. Construction is solid overall, with an excellent draw throughout the session. The burn required a re-light midway through the cigar but otherwise performed well. In the end, the La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 is a cigar that delivers a stable and predictable profile centered on wood, spice and light creaminess. It remains balanced enough to be enjoyable but lacks the evolution or standout flavors needed to move beyond an Average overall rating. My total smoking time was 2 hours and 34 minutes.
Jiunn: This La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025 is yet another classic example of a good, promising first third with mediocre remaining two thirds. The first third was good, showing a nice backbone of chocolate notes with just enough of gritty earthiness. But as the cigar progressed past the initial third, the profile became too gritty, harsh and bitter. It’s not something I would be interested in returning back to.

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$2.93

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.55

Cost/Point

$3.60

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$3.28

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana Apollonia TAA 2025