La Flor de Cano Elegidos Test

Elegidos is the name of the new format of La Flor de Cano. It is a Robusto format and the brand is Cuban. This cigar is made of short filler and is rolled by hand. Shortfiller cigars from Cuba are terrific in my personal opinion. They are very affordable and have fantastic aging potential. Since it is worth buying several of these Elegidos 10er boxes and store for the next 3 years. The new line is presented here.

A cigar test is subjective

Notice: How a cigar tastes is influenced by personal taste preferences, taste memories, the shape of the day, what you have eaten or drunk before. Even the lighting mood in the room has an influence on the experienced taste. The notes described here therefore do not have to match your own impressions.

The brand La Flor de Cano dates back to 1884, a company founded by brothers José and Tomás Cano, whose history is quite unknown. Over the decades, various formats were launched and abandoned very quickly. On the vintage market, it is not uncommon to see, for example, the Diademas 25 box fetching prices between 3,000 - 4,000 English pounds. Yes, read correctly.

My recommendation: buy several boxes of La Flor de Cano Elegidos. They are very cheap and in my opinion have a very good maturation potential.

Fact Sheet La Flor de Cano Elegidos

• Format: Robusto (length: 127 mm / ring size: 50)
• Tobacco: Complete Cuba
• Boxing Date (BD): OCT 20
• Price: Status April 2021
  • CHF 4,50 / box of 10 CHF 45,00
  • EUR currently unknown / box of 10 EUR currently unknown
• Buy cigar: Google Search >

Personal impressions in taste

First half

• Tongue, palate: tart / much cocoa bittersweet / slightly astringent
• Retronasal: peppery
• R+ ZiZo vacuum technology: incredible roasted aromas of wood and nuts
• Umami: slightly astringent / "toasty
• Strength 3/5

Second half

• She gets snappy. This is not a fault of the cigar. The boxing date is OCT 20 and the tasting took place April 2021. The cigars are now soon in the sick phase and need a maturation period. Recommended: At least 3 years.

What is "retronasal"?

Retronasal cigar enjoyment enhances the taste. What it is and, why it works and how to do it please read here. Especially look at the ZiZo vacuum technology. Incredible increase in the enjoyment of the cigar!

What is the "R+ ZiZo vacuum technology"?

This is the consummate pleasure of a cigar. Hard to describe. I'll try. Here's an example: a baby sucking on a pacifier. Try this technique with a cigar. Very little smoke enters the mouth. But this passes over the tongue and goes right through the nose. I tried it on about 10 cigars before I mastered it. Please be very careful with this technique when practicing: the smoke got to the back of my larynx several times when I did this. It was really bad. But now that I can do it, it's an accomplished technique for enjoying a cigar.

What is umami?

This means "savory", "spicy", "essence", "meaty". This blending of taste sensations is perceived in the middle of the tongue. You can find a good article about it on Wikipedia. 

Recommendation acclimatization: With the box at least 3 years in the humidor.

Cuban cigars and the important maturation phase

Cuban cigars are super tasty after rolling for the first 1 - 3 months. After that, the cigar begins to mature. The tobacco used is not yet ready for tasting. Cuba has too few resources. The tobacco cannot mature as long as it should. The cigars are rolled and have hardly any resting period. Depending on the brand and format, the maturation phase in the home humidor takes between 2 to over 8 years (or even longer). Very important: This is not a fault of the cigar.

If you buy single copies

Place the cigar with the cellophane in the humidor. If your cigar does not have cellophane: Put them in tubos and then in the humidor. Or you can put the single cigar in a Zippo bag and put a small Boveda in it. Then you put it closed in the humidor. Cigars that are stored open without cellophane or a box lose their flavor very quickly. This is proven in this article with experiments.

What is the Boxing Date of the cigar (BD)?

On the back of the box is a stamp. There you can see when the cigars were placed in the box. From this date Cuban cigars are excellent to taste within 1 - 3 months. If you did not buy a whole box, please ask your dealer for the boxing date.

Note: The boxing date can also be placed in other places. E.g. on the outer carton.

Conclusion of the La Flor de Cano Elegidos

The cigar is already in the sick phase when tasting (April 21). Nevertheless: in the first half it showed the outstanding flavors of short filler tobacco. These cigars are very affordable. I recommend you buy several boxes of 10 at once and store them for at least 3 years.