A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Sungrown, by PDR

I failed to write a review last week, so if I'm going to keep to my goal of writing at least once weekly, I'm going to have to step it up this week; I'll probably be doing two reviews. Tonight's will be a short one; not because I'm pressed for time, but because I just want to. Sometimes you only have time for a shorter smoke, and there's some pretty good ones out there that are good for a short, half-hour-or-so smoke.

Cigar: A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Sungrown, by PDR.

Vitola: Half corona, 3 ½” x 46

Price: ~$4.50/stick

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano, sungrown
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Body: Medium to Full

Rating (out of 10): 9.5

Appearance:
This little shorty sports a black and gold band on a smooth, chocolatey brown stick with neat veins and invisible seams. The lower end (below the band) is wrapped in cedar with a black foot ribbon. A lot of class on such a small stick. A very light sheen of oil under the fingertips, as well.

Construction:
There's a perfect quadruple cap on this, and no signs of damage or inconsistency in the construction. I'm sure I don't even need to mention how perfectly my Xikar XO cut this thing.

Aroma:
The barrel smells softly of wood, with notes of coffee and a subtle spiciness at the foot.

First Half:
First off, we'll be talking about this cigar in halves, instead of thirds. It's just not long enough to break it down in the ordinary way.

The cold draw is just a little tight, and offers suggestions of coffee and a bit of cream.

Once it's lit, the draw opens somewhat, and the flavor becomes distinctly woodier, like cedar. Faint bit of a cracked peppery spice in there, too. A few puffs in, and the coffee flavor is creeping in a bit more, as the spice picks up just a bit, the flavors all kind of blending together in a really fascinating way.

The burn is a little bit wavy but otherwise even, leaving behind a perfect, white column of ash. Very decent smoke output when drawing from this stick, but very tame on the resting smoke. Nice smoldering cedar aroma to it, too.

The peppery spice is remaining consistent, not overpowering, but lasting, while the cedar and coffee notes kind of dance around each other, trading places of prominence with one another. On occasion, there will be a sudden burst of spiciness. Keeps things interesting, to be sure.

The burn is becoming a bit more uneven, but I'm going to see if it corrects itself before giving it a touchup.

Nope, had to touch it up.

Second Half:
Pretty consistent rolling into the second half, if by “consistent” we mean “complex and constantly changing.” Main thing is, the same primary flavors of cedar and coffee are in a fantastic back-and-forth, with intermittent peppery spice.

Notes of sweet caramel on the retrohale, too.

Winding down, getting a tiny bit spicier, and definitely nearing the point where it's starting to burn my fingers trying to hold onto what's left. That's usually a pretty good place to stop.

Closing Thoughts:
I really enjoy this little one; it's been one of my go-to short cigars for a couple years, now. It has never disappointed me, and I'm comfortable enough at this point to say that I don't expect it ever will. Strongly recommend.