Had the pleasure of getting together with doc8466 at W.Curtis Drapers today. Upon entering, we were greeted by the usual faces plus Litto Gomez, the man behind La Flor Dominicana. I knew Litto was in the area doing events at a few local cigar shops but didn’t see Drapers as one of his stops. So it was a pleasant surprise to see him.
Litto and the guys from Drapers were nice enough to gift me his latest release in the La Flor Dominicana Air Bender. The Air Bender features a Ecuadoran Habano wrapper along with a Dominican binder and filler. Litto has been buying this wrapper and aging it for awhile and has used it successfully in other lines like the La Flor Dominicana Salomon and the Double Press but the La Flor Dominicana Air Bender will be the first to use it on a regular production line.
I was pretty impressed with The La Flor Dominicana Air Bender. I was taken by surprise at its initial power upon lighting up that I had a really intense coughing fit. The power remained and was complimented by a delicate woodsy flavor. I know I missed a lot of flavor components so I can’t wait for them to hit shelves in the next 3 weeks or so. I’ll definitely be picking up more so I can fully appreciate the experience. The Air Bender will initially be available in four sizes with more sizes to come: The Matatan (5×50 – $7) . The Guerrero (6.25×54 – $7.75). The Maestro (5.5×52 – $7.25). The Valiente (6.25×60 – $8.25).
Jerry,
Sounds interesting and I’m happy to see the price isn’t through the roof. With times being tough for most people, it is nice to see a new release with some momentum behind it selling for less than double digits.
Nice smoking with you too Jerry! I was lucky enough to see Litto again this evening as he was doing a show at the shop I work at in Annapolis. I spent an hour straight talking to him about food, sushi, cooking, how he goes about his blending process, his 3 yr old daughter, the whole store of the ‘ice pick’, WTF the name Air Bender came from, spicy food and all matter of ‘once when I was eating (enter name of hot spicy food here)’ stories, his travels and schedule, the change to the LFD band vs the old one…..and probably a few more I can’t think of off the top of my head at the moment.
I too received an Air Bender and will post some pics over this holiday weekend and maybe let people in on some of what I learned from Litto.
All in all it was a fantastic time both with Jerry this afternoon and then again with Litto this evening!
Doc – I hope you share your experience with Litto and impressions of the Air Bender on the Fan Forums.
I agree with you Mr, Cruz. These sticks hit hard right off the bat. There are numerous flavors in the profiles. With some age, these will be fantastic.
If interested, I can give you 2 shops already selling them. Dont know the rules about this on SR.
Thought the flavors were well blended. I’m wondering what’s up with the swords on the band though. Air Bender is a reference to the movie Avatar I was told — Litto’s son was in it or something.
This stick sounds interesting and powerful, especially after reading about the coughing spells lol I’ve been intimidated to try LFD sticks because the seem to synonymous with power, but this one has me really curious and ready to take the leap. Thanks for the breaking the news on these new sticks Jerry!
because they seem to be synonymous *
Cool!
I had one at Buckhead Cigar the other day, and really enjoyed it. Brian of course didn’t like it… but we both agreed that some age should do wonders for this stick!
Oh.. The Airbender is in reference to an old japanese comic book, which was adapted into a nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar: The last Airbender” (which is an awesome cartoon series, an no relation to the atrocity of James CaMORONs Avatar, which bogarded the name), and now there is an upcoming movie “The Last Airbender” by M. Night Shamalamadingdong.
I too was confused by the crossed swords, since they aren’t “japanese” but whatever… the cigar is great… so is the cartoon!
Typical Brian Hewitt…I bet if it was made by Jesus Fuego he’d be all over it. LOL
Avatar: The last airbender is an American made show by American creators, it has no ties to an “old japanese comic book”. I’m not even sure where you got that from.
This cigar looks great. By the way, this is the best cigar site on the web. I love it.
Actually, no relation to “Avatar” and no relation to M. Night’s “The Last Airbender.” An airbender is some kind of kung fu master, apparently with the power to…wait for it…bend air. Litto is a huge fan of old kung fu movies and decided to name this cigar in honor of those, which came around long before the cartoon. That was information easily accessible from an interview Litto did with the “lifestyle” magazine that people love to hate so much.
Anyway, my question is on the wrapper. My understanding is that the Habano Corona also used the same Ecuadorian Habano wrapper that was used on the Salomon and it retailed for about $7. It was so good I bought a box. Is this Air Bender just the new name for the Habano Corona or is the blend really different?
Yup it has to do with Litto’s love of Kung Fu and nothing to do with either movies. It was the “lifestyle’s” other, more cigar centric “Insider” publication that more info on the Air Bender can be found.
I’m not one who gets engulfed by the “story” of a cigar…
Like I mentioned in the post, the wrapper is the same as that used in the Salomon. So maybe a similar blend thats been tweaked/improved and of course, the size format will change its profile. The Salomon and Habano Corona/Perfecto were all limited edition cigars whereas the Air Bender is an addition to Litto’s normal production.
I guess my big surprise at the whole thing is how this leaf was supposedly “extremely limited” a year ago when the Salomon came out. Then it was “Hey, we found some extra but it’s only sized big enough to roll a bunch of boxes of Coronas.” Then they came up with more for the Perfectos…and more Salomons. And now it will be featured in the regular lineup.
I’m not complaining that it’s being added, because it is a great wrapper that lends itself to some extraordinary cigars. It’s just that they marketed the Salomon as a “1 time only” thing, justifying that excruciating price tag. That being said, I am extremely pleased to see the very reasonable price that the Airbender will be retailing for.
The term Airbender was created by Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino for the Avatar:The Last Airbender show. That was probably back in 2002 or 2003.
The show premiered in 2005.
Everything that you said an Airbender was is tied to the premise of the series.
I can’t wait to try this cigar. Litto has been making great cigar lately. The Habano is quite simply amazing.
Nice. I’ll look forward to smoking a few of these once they hit the shelves.
mango
IS it named after cigar smoking robot, Bender from Futurama?
While I liked the mild and sometimes present flavors, I just don’t get the big deal with LFD cigars? Maybe it is just me, which I’m sure it is. I paid almost $8 for the air bender, and almost $9 for the habano perfecto. CA noted coffee bean flavors from the habano!!! HUH? To me, both were just o.k., and for the price, the La Traviata has much more flavor, and when factoring in the price, I just don’t understand why anyone would pay the premium for the new LFD stuff? Also, another that I think is fab for the price is the Trinidad reserve short churchill. I have seen boxes for $75 and the flavor is incredible for what you pay. Oh well, my rant is over for now…forgive me and good day.
Jerry- Love your reviews because I think we have similar likes when it comes to cigars.
Thats never been more evident than when I just lit up my first Air Bender and had a coughing fit of my own. I had to get online and see if you’d reviewed it and sure as sh*t…here it is. By all means a good smoke with interesting flavors throughout.
Keep up the good work guys.