La Flor Dominicana El Carajón: Sometimes looks are deceiving

Sometimes a cigar doesn’t look like much but lurking under its wrapper is a lot more than you might expect. A perfect example of this is the La Flor Dominicana El Carajón. This Tres Petit Corona looks very unassuming perhaps lulling the unwitting cigar smoker into thinking that it will be a quick smoke that you can squeeze in over lunch or during half time at the match.

Part of this image is due to the diminutive size of the La Flor Dominicana El Carajón. Even in my little hands, this looks like a small cigar. And then there is the unassuming band. One sniff of the foot though is enough to tell you that this is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” of a cigar as it it is packed to the gunnels with ligero tobacco. Knowing this, and rather enjoying a full bodied cigar, I was looking forward to smoking this small cigar and seeing just what surprises the El Carajón had up its sleeve.

The cigar felt well packed from head to foot and the foot oozed aromas of ground pepper and chillies. Having straight cut the head, the cold draw reinforced that this was going to be a strong cigar with yet more pepper spice, but also a hint of something a little sweeter like chocolate.

Lighting up was very quick and from the first draw my mouth was filled with a generous amount of thick smoke that tasted of pepper and chargrilled chilli con carne with a hint of ground cloves. Risking a retrohale, I was surprised at how smooth the smoke was as well as the touch of fresh apple that I got. This La Flor Dominicana cigar was going to be an interesting little smoke.

To balance the full bodied nature of this little cigar, I wanted a drink with a good amount of sweetness and some creaminess, as you might with a hot spicy curry. My choice was an Abbey in the Hills – a combination of vodka, white crème de cacao, Frangelico and cream liqueur (I used Amarula Cream). Sipping the cigar and cocktail together was delicious. The cream liqueur took the edge off the spice whilst the sweet liqueurs lifted out some of the more subtle flavours that might otherwise have disappeared.

Up to the middle third the construction of the cigar was perfect. I had a couple of very neat half inch ash balls sat neatly in my ashtray. This continued right the way through to the nub. The flavour didn’t change much in the middle third, although the apple notes I got a hint of at the start did become a little more defined.

What surprised me most was just how well balanced this little firecracker of a cigar was. With all the ligero tobacco it could easily have been a harsh pepper bomb, but in the hands of Litto Gomez and his team at the Tabacalera La Flor S.A. factory this was a skillfully made, well rounded and enjoyable cigar.

As I headed into the final third of the cigar, I could feel that the strength of the La Flor Dominicana El Carajón starting to go to my head. As I was enjoying it so much, I grabbed a handful of salted peanuts to just stabilise my blood sugar. I did end up smoking it right down to the last centimetre without a problem.

When the La Flor Dominicana El Carajón first hit the market back in 2015, it was pitched as the full bodied cigar lovers dream, and this is a description that I absolutely agree with. This is not a cigar to be rushed or smoked without knowledge of just what you are letting yourself in for. Will it find a home in my humidor? With its budget price tag and a flavour that punches well above its weight, yes it will.

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La Flor Dominicana El Carajón Cigar Details