La Flor Dominicana Bringing Back Coronado
One of Litto Gomez's finest blends is returning to smoke shops later this year. Coronado by La Flor, which has been off the market for approximately 18 months, will be brought back to the La Flor booth at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers trade show next month under a new name.
"We're going to bring back the Coronado line," Gomez told Cigar Insider.
The cigar has been renamed La Flor Dominicana Coronado, but the blend remains unchanged. The distinctive component of the cigar is its sun-grown, Habano-seed wrapper, grown in the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua by the Plasencia family. That oily leaf cloaks a selection of Gomez's powerful Dominican tobaccos. "I just love the blend," said Gomez.
Coronado by La Flor was a critical success, and the Double Corona scored 93 points and was named No. 2 cigar of 2006 by Cigar Aficionado magazine. The 7 inch long, 50 ring gauge smoke was called "rich, complex and decadent...with ample notes of caramel and leather on the palate." It was the highest position one of Gomez's smokes has achieved to date on the Top 25 list.
But sales were not as impressive as Gomez hoped they should have been, as the Coronado was not necessarily viewed as part of the main La Flor Dominicana brand. It existed in a sort of limbo where La Flor smokers didn't know it was part of the La Flor family. It was also never marketed heavily.
"It was made as a separate blend, but we did not market it as a separate blend," said Gomez.
Gomez discontinued the line a year and a half ago, but some are still available at a few retailers who requested them. "We shipped a few boxes to some customers," said Gomez.
Adding the name "La Flor Dominicana" on the box and band is intended to make it clear that the Coronado is a member of Gomez's La Flor Dominicana portfolio.
As before, the cigar will come in six sizes: Double Toro, 7 inches long by 54 ring gauge; Corona Gorda, 7 by 60; Double Corona, 7 by 50; Lancero, 7 1/2 by 38; Corona Especial, 5 1/8 by 47; and Toro, 6 by 52.
Look for a vertical brand tasting in an upcoming issue of Cigar Insider.
This article first appeared in the June 16, 2015 issue of Cigar Insider.
