Allow me to introduce La Flor de Jose Suarez Murias y Ca, or to be a little less formal, Flor de Murias. This is a long defunct Cuban label that Cigars by Santa Clara appropriated and is now using for a mild blend made in the Dominican Republic.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a thing about smoking the last cigar in a box. For some vague reason I always hesitate when it comes to smoking that last stick, as if it were the last of the tribe, which of course it isn’t. For this reason I tend to have a few finalists hanging around the humidor, so despite myself I always have a few aged sticks. This Sovereign was one of those.
Flor de Murias are available in natural (Connecticut Shade) and maduro (Connecticut Broadleaf) wrappers — the naturals come wrapped in white tissue paper, the maduros in black.
The very fine print on the band says: “Tabacos Superiores de las Mejores Vegas de Vuelta-Abajo Hechos Espresamente Para Personas de Gusto.” Presumably this is from the original Cuban lithography, but who knows. In any case, this particular cigar is certainly not from the Vuelta-Abajo; it is in fact from Santiago, made with a Mexican-Dominican blended filler, a Mexican binder, and a Connecticut Shade wrapper.
The Sovereign is a long corona measuring 6 3/4 by 45. Prelight, the wrapper smells slightly sweet, with a very mild spicy tang to it. I last reviewed this cigar in April 2005, when I said it was “a smooth and mild smoke with a good draw, subtle aroma, and decent price.” This particular cigar has been resting in my humidor for close to two years, so I was eager to see if I could detect any change in how it smoked, for better or worse.
The wrapper on this cigar is a fine example of Connecticut Shade — light spice and a pleasant floral aroma are in abundance. This is a very mild cigar with a grassy, somewhat papery flavor, and a touch of tannin. Very little aftertaste. I don’t think it has benefitted greatly from the humidor time; it performs pretty much the way I remember it did in late 2004, early 2005.
There were no construction flaws to speak of — a perfect draw and an even burn lasting a good 45 minutes. It forms a long ash and needs no special care. You could have your morning coffee and read the paper without a second thought while puffing away on this one.
Overall, this is a pretty decent morning or mid-day cigar. I can taste the Mexican leaf in this one, but it’s not overpowering. A nice blend, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t care for Mexican cigars. One of the better sticks from Santa Clara.
Cigarfan.net 
Hmmm…historically I’m not a big fan of the Mexican leaf. Although more and more people are telling me to give it another try. I guess I will have to.
Great looking site! Love the new look bro!
The only Mexican leaf I can really appreciate is the San Andres maduro wrapper on the Gispert maduro, but that’s about it… no matter how old, Mexican cigars always taste green to me. But some cats dig that, I guess.
WordPress.com is great for clueless people like me. One click and the whole look of the site changes!
What happened to the La Flore De La Murias 1876 Maduro? It is my favorite Cigar. I have been told by my supplier that it has been discontinued!!! Please return this cigar. I was told by my supplier that it was very popular.
Robert – I assure you that if it were within my power I would bring it back. Unfortunately, I am but a lowly tobacco taster, an aficionado like yourself. Perhaps Lew Rothman, King of JR cigars, can help you. Speak truth to Power!
JR Cigars introduced these cigars about five years ago. I had been searching for a good inexpensive cigar for quite some time. Like many I was hesitant to try a mexican filler cigar. I am here to tell you, if you like a mild to medium maduro, these cigars are awesome. Everyone I have ever shared one with has been shocked that this is a $2.00 cigar. Alas JR Cigar has choosen to discontinue sales of these fine affordable cigars. I enjoy them so much I will rather take my business to another distributor that carries them than remain the loyal customer to JR that I have for many years.
I’m surprised at the number of hits that this review gets on the site. This cigar definitely has (or had) a following. I wish I had grabbed a box of the maduro when I had the chance.
Unfortunately I think this was a Santa Clara product, which means JR Cigars. If they aren’t carrying it, I doubt anyone is, unless it’s from old stock.
My favorite is the Port Royale. While I could no longer find any Flor de Murias on the JR website, I stopped by the JR store in Smithfield last night, and they had a complete selection, I believe including the 1876 Maduro. They gave no indication that they were discontinuing them…
Hi… Welll Im not very good writing english… but maybe you already notice my last name… thats actually my mom’s last name.
Mmm the thing is I don’t know very much about the history of my family name… but I Know our family owned a cuban cigar factory a looong time ago…
So finally the question is if you could help o led me know where I can find more information on book or maybe other web pages, about this brand….
well… thanks…
Alejandra –
You might want to take a look at a book by Enzo Infante called “Havana Cigars 1817 – 1960.” There isn’t too much else out there on the original Flor de Murias, but I’ll email you if I come up with anything new!
Alejandra–
I’m a Suarez-Murias too! I was wondering the same thing as you–about the history of the family name–and I came across this. I checked out “Havana Cigars 1817-1960” and there is a brief history of the cigars, along with a few pictures. I also found a few more pictures in “El libro del tabaco”, escrito por Jose Antonio Portuondo, Adelaida de Juan, y Zoila Lapique. I’d love to hear from you–you can email at *edited*.
I m the youngest grandson of Doña Zenaida Suárez-Murias y Ortiz,daughter of Don José Suárez-Murias.
I live in México city and would be very interesting to keep in touch with direct family of my grand, grand father.
El 2 de mayo de 2008 Doña Nuria Bordas Suárez-Murias,sobrina de mi abuela ha muerto en la Ciudad de Barcelona.
Señor Luis Albó Suarez-Murias, desde Colindres – Cantabria España, necesitamos ponernos en contacto con usted. Colindres es la sede de su familia. tenemos información sobre sus antepasados y le necesitamos hoy en día para un proyecto muy importante y muy urgente. gracias por contactar con nosotros asociacionfalgote@hotmail.com
Hey Guys, I just bought a box of La Flor De Jose Suarez Murias y CA Santiago’s from JR’s in Statesville NC and they only had like 5 boxes left of these cigars. This box was purchased for about $38 with tax and per the store mgr, they are discontinued and will no longer be produced. The few boxes that they had left will most likely be sold off by this weekend. I have not had a chance to try any, but at the price I could not resist.
Adam, thanks very much for the tip. I’ve heard that these cigars are still available, but haven’t had success obtaining them. I will try NC.
Cigarfan, thanks for your site.
JR, thanks for trying to preserve this leaf.
Hopefully, the new-Cuban era will encourage the US to drop the embargo, so that JR might return the seed to its native environment. JR might be able to resurrect this superior, aromatically flavorful, no-bite cigar.
I bought a box of these (in the Epicure size) from JR. I agree that they’re a nice mid-day smoke with excellent construction.
I was informed by JR cigar compqny that this brand I come to Live by is no more and can’t be found, can any one tell me where I can by a box or two?
I was very fortunate to hear of the demise of the Flor de Murias cigar line just before all stock was depleted. I currently have three boxes of Flor de Murias 1876 Maduro and one box of Flor de Murias Sovereign Maduro in my personal cache. If anyone is interested in these cigars, please contact me.
Can anyone recommend a comparable cigar? These were my favorite a while back. I quit cigars for a long while but I am back again.