Cigar Review: Litto Gomez Diez 2009

Keeping to my goal of smoking more limited edition cigars this year, I recently picked up a box of the Litto Gomez Diez 2009 smokes when I came across them at a serious discount under $200. So far, I’ve smoked about a half dozen and found them extremely consistent, both in their positive and negative characteristics.

The annual line is rolled exclusively with tobacco grown on the Gomez farm in the Dominican Republic. A sheet in the box says the tobacco was harvested in 2005. So, there’s quite a bit of age there.

But time hasn’t overly mellowed them. They are a fine, hearty example of what Gomez has accomplished in breaking the stereotype of Dominican smokes as mild, adding to what Fuente has done with its Opus line.

These 5.5-inch sticks also share the Gomez chisel-head innovation with a number of his other La Flor Dominicana cigars.

After that odd head, the most striking immediate characteristics of the 2009 are the lovely, thick, reddish-brown wrapper (more about that later) and an intoxicating pre-light aroma that’s sweet, nutty, and rich.

Although some reviews I read emphasized spice, I found that to be muted and serve more as an underlying component to other flavors, such as wood, earth, and a deep tobacco sweetness. The cigar, while powerful, is also incredibly smooth from first to last, with a light, pleasant lingering finish.

Now, to the issues I didn’t enjoy. That wrapper looks good, but it also appears to be thick, and it doesn’t burn very well. Every stick I’ve smoked so far has had burn issues and required numerous relights to try to keep the burn line close to even.

And that chisel head. While I applaud Gomez for attempting innovation, I just don’t find this one worthwhile. I’ve tried smoking purely from the opened chisel end, used a punch, a guillotine, and and even a V-cut sideways. Nothing seems to create an opening nearly as good as that on a conventionally finished cigar.

For taste, this limited edition would rate four stogies, perhaps even four and a half. But that’s not enough to overcome the burn and draw issues. So, even though I like these cigars a lot, I can only give them three and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys