Initial Thoughts
Believe it or not, but this is the first La Aurora cigar that I’ve ever smoked. I’ve had some other Miami Cigar Co’s offerings, but never the La Aurora brand. I always see these cigars on the very top shelf sitting in their metal tubos and I’m always tempted, but I’ve never actually pulled the trigger on one. So I was more than delighted when some of these La Aurora 107 Maduros showed up at my house along side an awesome bobble head of Nestor Miranda. I was excited to see what was in store for this new blend that will be released this year at the IPCPR show in Vegas. The pre release samples that I received were in the Robusto vitola (4 1/2″ x 50). Their will be other sizes available, Corona (5 1/2″ x 43), Toro (5 1/2″ x 54), and Belicoso (6 1/4″ x 52).
If you’ve heard of or smoked the original La Aurora 107 then you may or may not know that this cigar was created in honor of 107 years of making cigars in the Dominicana Republic. However, the company wanted to build on the original success created by the 107 and created something that stood out as well. Thus enter the Maduro! Now that all that background info is out the way let’s get into the fun stuff and actually smoke this cigar.
Looks
The wrapper on this La Aurora 107 Maduro is a beautiful dark and oily Connecticut Broadleaf. It has a rich dark brown color that’s not quite oscuro, but definitely on the way there. Very small veins run the course of the leaf and at times are very difficult to see. The oil coming off the wrapper isn’t hiding from anyone, in fact in certain light it even pops out and glistens.
The wrapper on this La Aurora 107 Maduro is a beautiful dark and oily Connecticut Broadleaf. It has a rich dark brown color that’s not quite oscuro, but definitely on the way there. Very small veins run the course of the leaf and at times are very difficult to see. The oil coming off the wrapper isn’t hiding from anyone, in fact in certain light it even pops out and glistens.
The Robusto size makes this cigar feel like it will be a short smoke, but I know better. I know I’m in for a least a solid hour to hour and a half smoke, at least at my speed. I’ve always loved Robustos they are my second favorite size standing next to the Corona.
So what makes this cigar really pop and stand out? Well its obviously the big lion on the wrapper. Now it’s not as big as the lion head on the Padilla Reserve Maduro, but still you’re going to notice a lion. It’s interesting how many cigar manufacturers use lions as symbols on their packaging. I don’t think there are any lions in these tobacco growing regions, so I’m guessing they use it as a metaphor for being kings in their jungle. Just a little deep thought for you today. Go ahead and soak that in, I’ll wait… After I noticed the lion as the main focal point on the band I started looking deeper and found other small intricacies on each side there are three gold coins. They are too small to figure out what is actually on them, but still look pretty awesome!
There is a second band on this La Aurora 107 Maduro which is a dark red with some gold striping. The band simply states ‘Maduro’ which is helpful to some that wouldn’t know it’s a Maduro cigar by the darker leaf and honestly it helps tell it apart from the original 107 release. Now that we have the exterior covered lets take a look under the hood and see how what’s going on.
Function
I feel like I’ve made a good connection with this La Aurora 107 Maduro so far and it won’t mind if I give it a couple of squeezes to make sure it’s ready to burn. I’ve had these cigars resting in my humidor for a little over a month. I like to make sure and give them ample rest time after a long journey. I perform the pinch test checking for any soft spots in the filler. This cigar is ready to go according to my loose set of guidelines.
I was checking out the cap of the cigar and was trying to determine whether it’s a triple cap or a double cap. I wasn’t able to really determine either. I was only able to pick out one distinct line on the cap, so maybe it’s just a single cap. Doesn’t matter too much either way because we’re just going to cut it off anyway right?
After I nipped the cap, I was struggling with the draw slightly so I went ahead and took another slice. That’s the great thing I love about the capped back double blade guillotine cutter. It takes the same amount off with every cut. It obviously takes quite a few cuts when you’re smoking a torpedo or anything with a tapered head, but for the normal (parejo) shape sticks it works perfectly. After the second cut the dry draw was still a little snug, but I figured what the heck it might actually open up some once I get some fire to it.
Smoking
Alright, lets toast the foot on this La Aurora 107 Maduro and see what’s in store for us here. As I mentioned above the initial draw was very snug, so I’m hoping it opens up. I didn’t toast the foot a ton on this cigar it didn’t really take that well when I tried so I figured instead of scorching the wrapper near the foot I would just puff on it and get it going. That worked perfectly, and you know what, that snug draw opened right up just like I hoped it would.
Once I got passed the initial lighting this cigar began creating a good deal of thick white smoke. It was a great night to smoke, just a soft breeze blowing in a nice big thunderstorm so the wind let the smoke hang around a bit before whisking it away. The first third of this cigar smoked so well that I barely took any notes on it. Obviously, there wasn’t anything wrong with it if I didn’t write anything down. The burn line wasn’t absolutely straight, but it didn’t matter too much. The wrapper was combusting just fine and making a nice solid ash. I held that first ash to almost an inch and then the wind picked up and blew it right off my cigar. Thanks a lot you jerk wind! I was hoping to get a picture of that and now you’ve ruined the review.
About half way through the second third on this La Aurora 107 Maduro I had to purge the cigar, it was starting to have some draw issues and the flavors began to get slightly bitter than I enjoy. After that it burned like a brand new stick. I also nearly caught the bill of my hat on fire when I went to purge this cigar. So as a word to the hopefully wiser than me, be careful when you’re purging your cigar and don’t burn your face off! That goes for everyone, “Only You Can Prevent Faceburn Offs!”.
The final third was very similar to the first, a great draw tons of smoke and the burn was slightly wavy but nothing that really upset me. I burned this thing down pretty far to the nub, but I had to put it out because it began raining and it was coming in the garage so I was selfish and didn’t want to get wet. I know you all will understand that. How about we wrap it up some flavors eh?
Flavor
I’m sure you’ve heard me say this over and over again, but when I smoke a Maduro, I have some pre-conceived notions that it’s not going to be overly spicy. I always have an idea of what it might taste like in my head before I smoke it. I’m typically hoping for some nice rich earthy flavors, not much spice and maybe some hints of sweetness. Well on this La Aurora 107 Maduro, I got a little bit of it all.
The pre-light aroma I picked up some wet hay/barnyard notes along side some wet leather. Something about the wrapper of this cigar just gave me scents of it being moist. It was dry to the touch, and it smoked perfect, so maybe my nose was just tricking me? Following those moist notes I also was able to pick up some nice hints of mocha and molasses on the foot of the cigar. These are more of the typical aromas I get when I nose a Maduro.
After lighting up some of the aromas dissipated and others appeared. I picked up on a strong note of earthiness and coffee right off the bat. Especially on the retrohale, it reminded me of a very bold roast coffee. The earthiness was there as well it had a nice aroma that I can best describe as if you went and took a big whiff of planter’s dirt. I know, you’re prolly not going to go do that, but that’s how I would describe it.
The second third on this La Aurora 107 Maduro was very similar, I began picking up on some nutty flavors on the retrohale. A roasted nut flavor would be the most accurate description on my part. The earthiness was still there as well as the coffee, however on the tale end I began picking up some hints of that mocha that I recognized on the pre light. During the second third this cigar really began building in complexity. The overall body of the cigar stayed very medium, but the flavors were definitely building into something very full and complex.
The final third was very similar to the first. The spice picked up slightly but was never anything that was overpowering or excessive. It added a bit of depth to this stick, but nothing crazy. The earthiness was definitely the backbone of this cigar, I was hoping for a bit more sweetness, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this smoke.
Would I Buy It Again?
Depending on the price point yes. I know La Aurora’s typically have a higher price point so that may deter me from purchasing it, but you never know I get a wild hair every now and again.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Again, it depends on the price point, but this certainly could be an everyday smoke especially this vitola.
Would I Buy a Box?
After looking at the packaging on the box I would definitely consider giving this some thought. It’s a beautiful box and certainly worthy of a purchase.
Conclusion
I enjoyed this cigar. I would smoke it again for sure. I enjoyed the flavors and the overall experience of it. However it didn’t give me that WOW factor that I look for a 9-10 rating. It was full of flavor and smoked great, but for me it wasn’t super exciting. So that’s the reason I’m giving it an 8 out of 10.
