Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial is light brown with some darker marbling and carries some decently raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. The band is various shades of red along with gold, black, blue and green and carries the company initials and line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of cedar and earth while the foot brings cedar, breadiness and light earth. The pre-light draw brings cedar and a light floral note along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
Matt: Reddish-brown wrapper on the La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial with fairly prominent veins, firm pack, slightly messy application of the cap and matte finish on the wrapper. New style band is nice but the old ones were better. Cold draw had the perfect amount of resistance.
Will: The La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial Nicaraguan Habano wrapper had a dark cinnamon color to it. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface of this wrapper. Upon closer examination, there was some mottling seen on the surface. The aroma from the foot was sweet natural tobacco and cedar. The cold draw delivered a mix of leather, wood and smokiness.

La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, dry earth and mild black pepper. At a half inch in, the dry earth is now right behind the toasted cedar. The retrohale is an even mix of toasted cedar and dry earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the dry earth, with black pepper in the background. The strength was just below medium.
Matt: Oak and leather were the predominant flavors to start. Apricot and medium roast coffee came in as undertones. Slightly stinging amount of mulling spice through the retrohale. Great combustion, slightly wavy burn line, long finish, slightly syrupy smoke texture. Mild-Medium.
Will: The Coronado Corona Especial opened up with notes of tea, cedar, wood, chili pepper and sweet tobacco. The sweet tobacco and cedar took over, but the other notes really complemented the primary notes well. On the retrohale, there was mostly wood but a slight chili pepper note mixed in. Strength was medium and flavors were medium to full-bodied.

La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the toasted cedar and dry earth are now even. At a quarter inch in, a light nuttiness joins the profile. At a half inch in, the nuttiness transitions to leather. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and dry earth with light leather. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and dry earth are even up front, with the leather in the back half of the profile and the black pepper in the background. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Matt: Apricot sweetness took over as the main flavor. Oak, leather, medium roast coffee and almond are present as undertones. Faint amount of mulling spice. Medium body. Long finish. Syrupy smoke texture.
Will: The second third saw the natural tobacco lose some sweetness and the cedar notes still remained. The chili pepper now had black pepper notes mixed in. This pepper also became more prominent on the retrohale. Strength was now medium to full. The body increased but still remained medium to full.

La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the toast level increases a bit. At a half inch in, the leather is now in the middle of the profile and the pepper has bumped up a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar ahead of the dry earth and leather with some black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper is now even with the leather in the middle of the profile. At an inch and a quarter, a light wood bitterness joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and dry earth are even up front, with the leather and black pepper in the middle and some light wood bitterness in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Matt: Oak and leather became the main notes once again. Little more mulling spice through the nose, stinging through the nose. Apricot and medium roast coffee are still there as undertones. Faint hints of almond. Medium plus body. Thin smoke texture. Long finish.
Will: The final third was a combination of natural tobacco, cedar and earth. The pepper notes stopped increasing in intensity. There still were some tea and wood note present. Strength and body remained medium to full right to the end.

La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial

Burn

Aaron: The burn line was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Matt: Although never perfect, the burn stayed straight enough. Never required touch-ups or re-lights.
Will: This was a low maintenance burn, requiring a few touch-ups to keep a straight burn path and straight burn line.

La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Matt: Great draw with the perfect amount of resistance.
Will: The draw had a touch of resistance, which is something I like.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, dry earth and mild black pepper. The second third saw the toasted cedar and dry earth become even and some nuttiness joined in. The nuttiness transitioned to leather fairly quickly. The final third saw the leather and black pepper move to the middle of the profile and some light wood bitterness joined in. The construction was perfect. The La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial had an average flavor profile throughout focused around the toasted cedar and earth. The leather and pepper built up, but didn’t do anything to really enhance the profile. Overall, an average experience, and not a cigar I’d see coming back to with any real frequency.
Matt: Not having this La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial in over a decade, it was a nice treat trying this one again. Although I feel like this cigar isn’t like a lot of other LFD’s, it’s still a good cigar in its own right. Nothing mind-blowing about the experience, but it had a very good second third along with great construction.
Will: The La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial is a very good cigar that delivers a rich tobacco experience with enough complexity to keep you interested. This cigar has enough punch, but it won’t overpower you. The Corona Especial size is an excellent size for this blend. In a lot of ways, it’s quintessential, classic La Flor Dominicana. It’s a cigar and blend that’s overlooked, and it’s one I plan on revisiting more in the future.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.86

Scoring System

Matt Masters

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$1.59

Scoring System

William Cooper

SCORE

7.27

Cost/Point

$1.47

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona Especial