Earlier this year, La Flor Dominicana announced the release of a cigar commemorating Litto and Ines Gomez’s 20 years in the cigar business, the La Flor Dominicana 1994. But before we go any further, it’s worth clarifying that this cigar, while released under the La Flor Dominicana name, isn’t the La Flor Dominicana 20th anniversary cigar. That release, should it ever be developed, wouldn’t be applicable until 2016; more on that in a moment. In 1993, Litto Gomez owned a jewelry store in Miami’s North Beach neighborhood called Pekin’s. As the store was getting ready to close for the day, two men came into the shop and proceeded to gag and bind the hands of Gomez and his jeweler and make off with some $400,000 in jewelry. The pair were never caught, and while Gomez rarely speaks of that day, when he does it is with gratitude as it was what turned him to the cigar business. It was that life-changing moment that inspired Gomez to enter the cigar business, and in 1994, he and his wife Ines, along with some investors, launched a Dominican-made line of cigars called Los Libertadores. It was a quick growth for the brand, making 150,000 cigars ...
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