Hoja de Flore(s/z) Authentico Maduro Review

Killing time waiting for my shift replacement to arrive, I decided to spark up a cigar that's new to the industry. One which I actually like despite their sales rep being an annoying S.O.B.

This shiny motherfucker is the Hoja de Flores Authentico Maduro. Some refer to it as their "brown label", but I don't suffer memory problems. It's part of an industry movement to distance certain brands from artificially dyed, steamed, pressed, or otherwise unnatural maduro wrappers. I discussed late last year another cigar, the Azan, which also has a natural maduro in their lineup. Call it the "organic" movement of the cigar world, or whatever, but these cigars are actually fairly good.

The reason for this post's crazy title is a pending name-change from "Hoja de Flores" to "Hoja de Florez", in response to a lawsuit the company is undergoing. Their newest offering, some kind of bundle, is actually a real powerhouse in the 6-7 dollar range, but this natural maduro weighs in higher, around 10-12 dollars per stick. Is it worth it? Yes, I really think so.

I must be a gringo, I keep trying to spell "Hoja", as "Hoya".

The cigar is a Dominican Puro. Many people think of Dominican cigars as being milder in flavor (except for perhaps La Flor Dominicana), but the Authentico Maduro is actually fairly robust. Many people look at the cigar and question whether it's actually even a Maduro, but I can assert based on flavor that the cigar is named correctly. It's full of a dry cocoa note, and subtle earthiness. It doesn't hit you over the head like many other blends currently on the market. It's sort of a sleeper.

Draw and construction are solid. The wrapper is a little less oily than some may like, but I find that to be a common occurrence among cigars distributed without cellophane wrappers. It feels a little dry, but it certainly smokes well, and that may be intentional, since the body feels very firm, almost as though it was packed a little tightly. It's box pressed, but not overly so. It's almost as though the original blend was intended to be round, but they box pressed it as an afterthought. Normally this would be a fatal mistake, but the Hoja de Flore(s/z) smokes fine.

Body is about medium. As aforementioned, it can have a habit of creeping up on you.

I'd definitely smoke it again.

-Ephram Rafael Nadaner
Current Smoke: Hoja de Flores Authentico Maduro