Wednesday, March 02 2011
Size: 6" x 46
Wrapper: Dominican Criollo '98
Filler: Dominican Criollo ’98 & Piloto Cubano
Binder: Dominican Olor
Welcome to a new feature here on CigarAdvisor.com - the "Cigar Of The Week." The cigars I choose will be based upon both personal preference, and my perception of the their value. For this debut installment, I chose the new Dominique Gran Corona.
The Dominique selection has been a staple house brand of Famous Smoke Shop for decades. Originally produced by Arturo Fuente, the blend was later made by General Cigar in Santiago, and recently received its most flavorful re-blend yet by a small factory in Tamboril. Unlike the former edition, the new Dominique does not offer Maduro or Claro wrappers, but it is still presented in bundles.
The new blend boasts an all-Dominican leaf recipe with a Criollo '98 wrapper. Geared toward today’s cigar smokers who tend to be drawn to richer-tasting cigars, gone is the mildness, replaced by a more robust, medium-bodied character. A lot of this has to do with the Criollo '98 filler and wrapper. (The former "natural" wrapper sizes used a Connecticut Shade leaf.)
The Dominique Gran Corona (formerly the "Madison") is rolled to 6" x 46 - an excellent size in terms of length to width ratio. The smoke still has a lot of nutty flavor, but with a little more spice and sweet wood elements in the mix. Normally, I'd suggest starting with a 5-pack to whet your appetite, but Gran Corona 5-packs are not yet available. That said, when you look at the price for a bundle, it's pretty hard to resist.
Frankly, I didn’t pay too much attention to the previous line. They were OK, but compared to a lot of other cigars in their former price range, I was likely to pass. However, this cigar really got my attention, and I give it pretty high marks across the board.
See pricing and offers for all Dominique cigars. (_[GK]__{{{~
