La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero DL-700 6 1/2″ x 60

Double Ligero is Litto Gómez’s answer to anyone who thinks a cigar cannot be too strong, built almost entirely from ligero, the thick, oily, slow-burning leaf from the very top of the plant that most blenders use only in small amounts. The DL-700 is the big one at 6 1/2 x 60. A sun-grown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper covers binder and filler grown on Gómez’s own La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic. It smokes full from the first inch: black pepper and earth lead, with cedar and dark cocoa filling in behind, and the heavy ring gauge keeps it cool enough that the strength never turns sharp. This is a cigar for an experienced palate and a full stomach, not a first smoke of the day. Pairs well with bourbon, espresso, or a stout.