The Mi Dominicana generated a little bit of buzz when it was introduced last year. For a month or so, I kept hearing from people that it was a stick I really need to try. It must have left an impression, because months after the buzz faded, finding a few was still on my list of things to do. Admittedly not high enough on my list for me to pay shipping, but high enough that when I finally found some, I didn’t hesitate to grab a bunch.

The word about these cigars is that they are Atladis’s very first Dominican puro, created by Jose Seijas, the general manager of Tabacalera Garcia. It didn’t take me too much time on Google to figure out where the buzz for the Mi Dominicana started. Jose Seijas has been credited on numerous websites as saying that the Mi Dominicana is “the perfect smoke” and that “everything that is beautiful about the Dominican Republic has gone into this cigar.” Heck, I’m almost afraid to review it now. What if I don’t like it? I may never again be welcome in the Dominican Republic! I guess that’s a risk I’ll just have to take. It’s time to set fire to everything beautiful about the D.R.

Cigar Stats:
Size: 5 x 54
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Smoking Time: 2 hours
Beverage: Water
Price: MSRP $8.00

The Pre-Smoke
Looking at the measurements, you already know this is a pretty chubby little cigar. And the heavy way it rests in the hand is a good indicator that they did not scrimp on the tobacco in this cigar. A little squeeze confirms it, this cigar is well packed.

The Mi Dominicana comes decorated in a simple, straightforward white band indicating the name of the cigar and it’s creator all circling a pair of crossed Dominican Republic flags. If you didn’t already know the cigar is a Dominican puro, the band’s combination of white (a symbol of purity) and the flags is good hint.

I gave the cigars I planned to smoke for this review the quick once over, and found them to be free of any obvious imperfections. The wrapper was a very rustic, light brown with plenty of darker colored blemishes, and covered with veins. Most of them were very fine, but there were a few larger veins in each cigar. I also noticed that the sticks were more visibly oily than most of the cigars I’ve smoked recently.

The scent of the wrapper was a potent, but sweet compost and the cigars offered up a consistently sweet cold taste.

The Burn
Referring back to cigar stats again, you’re probably thinking that burn time has got to be a typo. It isn’t. The Mi Dominicana robusto is easily the slowest burning cigar I’ve smoked in the past year. Maybe longer. And the cigar shown in the Tower of Burn took even longer than the two hours listed.

Speaking of the Tower of Burn, it’s always a roll of the dice. The cigar is selected at random, and sometimes, like last week, the best performing one is shown. This week it’s the opposite extreme, the cigar with the most burn issues drew the long straw. It burned very unevenly, to the point of requiring torch intervention, and went out several times. There was also considerable swelling near the burn line. Fortunately this didn’t cause any draw problems or wrapper cracks.

The other cigars burned beautifully. Even, long, solid ashes, and most importantly, no need to puff a little extra just to keep the cigar lit. It’s nice to not have a sense of urgency while you smoke your cigar.

The Flavor
You don’t have to be a graduate of Tobacconist University to know that that one stick was simply flawed. And as such, I’m tossing my flavor notes on it. It bears mention, though, that while the flavor wasn’t quite as good as the other sticks, it wasn’t horrible either.

After a couple initial puffs that reminded me a lot of honey and peanut butter, the cigar started to develop a sweet toasty flavor that I could both taste and feel on my tongue. If you imagine physically licking a piece of toast, you’ll get the idea. Texture and flavor. In addition to the toasty flavor, which was alternately either sweet or buttery, there was also a little but of nuts in there.

In the second third the toasty flavor was a little less dominant. For a while it was gone completely and the cigar took on a sweet peanut butter flavor similar to the one I noticed at the beginning of the first third. That was short lived, the toast returned and took back the reins. Much like the first third, it was sweet, butter or both at different points.

The final third was a combination of all the previous flavors, often nutty, toasty sweet and buttery all at once, but with a little more body. This third also introduced a little spice and pepper.

The Price
I have no complaints about the price. It’s under the ten dollar mark, which is always nice to see, and the slow burn is really impressive.

The Verdict
I hate to say it, but the Mi Dominicana didn’t live up to expectation. Sure, it was a pretty good cigar, and it definitely had some interesting things happening in the flavor department, but it didn’t blow me away. Not like I was hoping it would. Of course, you don’t have to love a cigar to appreciate its merits. On the plus side, it’s a slow burner and has involved taste. On the minus side, that “licking the toast” thing I mentioned in the flavor section left my tongue feeling a little raw by the end of the smoke. Also, I’m just not that into toast.

But I can see how some people would really enjoy the Mi Dominicana. If you enjoy cigars with a prominently toasty flavor, and don’t mind a somewhat abrasive body, you gotta give this a shot. I didn’t have the opportunity to explore drink pairings with this cigar, but the right drink might make all the difference.

Liked It: It was pretty good
Buy It Again: Maybe
Recommend It: Yes, if the you like what you hear!

Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.