Cigar Review: Dominican Big Leaguer Habano

Fine Tobacco NYC recently did an event with Dominican Big Leaguer cigars and here is a review of their Habano line.

Blend Specifics

Cigar: Dominican Big Leaguer Habano

• Vitola:Toro Grand Toro 6” x 54
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Appearance and Construction

The DBL Habano has a medium chocolate brown with a strong reddish tint wrapper. Color is mostly even throughout. The cigar has tight, almost invisible seams, minimal veins, and a nicely applied triple cap. Slightly oily sheen, dry satiny feel with a small amount of tooth. Nice soft sponginess and an appearance of good bunching, dense without any soft spots, it does have a light feeling in the hand.

Cold Aromas: There isn’t much smell off the wrapper, just a touch of cedar, a touch of oak, and something green, like cooked spinach or collard greens. On the foot however, there’s a nice mix of cinnamon forward, nutmeg, chocolate, a touch of black pepper, and vanilla on the settle. The cold draw presents that this cigar has a loose draw with lots of air flow, but that shouldn’t be an issue. The notes are nutmeg forward, cinnamon, dry oak, a touch of ginger, and very light notes of chocolate and coffee, and the faintest notes of a floral soapiness.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

First Third:The first notes are a nice deep oak, a heavy tobacco core with touches of cinnamon that appear pretty far back, and a black pepper kick on the finish. The very loose draw gives way to big plumes of smoke early on. The smoke is very light and airy. Settling in, the oak is the dominant note, accompanied with notes of cinnamon, lots of core tobacco notes, a little cedar, even less earthiness, and is rounded out with very light notes of chocolate and coffee. A not too heavy black pepper washes over on the finish. The aroma is very woodsy, with a nice cedar note and tobacco core. The ash burns to a flaky gray with some dark deposits. Burn line is pretty spot-on and close to being razor sharp. As the first third progresses through, the oak stands far out in front, while the pepper dies down and a bit of earthiness moves up. The profile is medium-full in body, medium to medium-full in strength, and medium-full in flavor. There’s also a bitter, herby, veggie flavor that comes into play, somewhere between parsley, basil, and fennel, and complements the oak nicely. The cigar has a strong emphasis on balance and there’s a nice roundedness that keeps the blend interesting. The ash holds well but one is inclined to tapping it off early due to its softness and flakiness. That roundedness is found in the slight earthiness and open airy floral notes. Very little to no spice at this point, which is still on the black pepper side. There’s also a tiny amount of saltiness, which is most noticeable in the room note.

Second Third: The ash fell off on its own between 1.5 and 1.75 inches and started losing its even burn line but still smoking phenomenally. The coffee has also come up a bit more. The smoke is still light and airy but is becoming a bit chewier on the palate. The oak still dominates, but adding to the earthiness is an ever so slight meatiness. The finish is clean and crisp but the flavoring and feeling last long on the palate. The profile is still medium-full in body, medium to medium-full in strength, and medium-full in flavor. Saltiness is also starting to become more present. The band comes off with minimal issues and is applied with self-adhesive glue. The paper itself can be a bit tricky though. The flavor and profile are holding consistent through the second third with still an emphasis on balance. The ash is flaky but it also still holds on well.

Final Third: Transitioning from the second to final third, the spice comes back up a bit and is on both the draw and finish. Oak is still present but dropping for a more overall tobacco core taste. Salt is minimal, coffee and chocolate way down, floral notes are pretty much gone. The veggie herbal is still around a bit, though. Airflow still provides big plumes of airy smoke; a very light but creamy smoke. The finish is still crisp and short, but leaves a tingle on the tongue and the flavor is dominated by the oak and black pepper, with hints of cedar, cardamom, and a more present thick and creamy smoke. Rounding out the final third is a slight fermented pungent taste along the lines of the earthiness but slightly different and not so much yet barnyard like. The cigar is very consistent and balanced throughout and is holding firm at medium-full in body, medium to medium-full in strength but getting closer to medium-full and medium-full in flavor. Still burning fairly cool down to the nub.

Final Thoughts

When I first encountered DBL cigars I tended to shy away due to their close resemblance to LFD cigars, in terms of packaging. Though after learning more about the company and their actual closeness  and working under the tutelage of LFD and Arturo Fuente cigars it became clear why that resemblance was there. Well let that be- known as a mistake on my behalf. As DBL cigars are wholly its own when it comes to blending techniques.

The Habano is an all around, suitable for any time of day smoke.  A nice, crisp, clean finish, and its not overwhelming profile make it such. Good before a meal, good after just waking up and good even after a meal; it’s a very versatile cigar. Not overly complex but enough to keep things interesting throughout the duration, but the real emphasis is on smoothness and balance. The smoke is neither harsh nor bitter but does carry a slight grittiness to it, but that’s more than ok, where at times a cigar that has some grip to it is quite desirable and is ever present here.

The profile is dominantly oak, cinnamon throughout the first two thirds, and a veggie herbal-ness along the lines of basil, parsley, fennel, and oregano with touches of thyme but also not unlike a clean, crisp mint. Minor notes throughout the smoke are chocolate, coffee, some soapy floral notes, and the black pepper that’s noticeable in the first and last thirds. The ash holds on nicely throughout while the smoke is clean, plumy and slightly chewy. The draw is open fairly wide, so this is one that should be smoked slowly, as to not over heat the cigar and to catch its acute nuances that pop-up throughout the smoking session.

Similar cigars would be Puros Rocha Toro Especial, Cesar Cigars Habano, LaFlorDominicana 1994

Smoking time was 1 hour and 40 minutes

Grade: B+