La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 Corona

By Daniel T. | August 17, 2010

Not long ago I had an invitation extended to me by Jose Blanco (@joseblanco809). If you aren’t familiar with who he is, he is the Sales Manager for La Aurora Cigars, with their factory in Dominican Republic. La Aurora is actually the oldest non-cuban cigar manufacturer in the world with over 100 years under it’s belt. The are the makers of a few other popular cigars including the Preferdidos, the 100 Anos and the Barrel Aged. Read more about La Aurora on their website: http://rediscoverlaaurora.com.

Getting back to my story, Jose sent me an invitation to attend an exclusive seminar he was hosting. I was leaving for my vacation the next morning and hadn’t even packed yet but I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity. Jose took us through the process of how they choose the blends for a cigar and explained a lot of the processes involved as well as what to look for when you are smoking a cigar. Aside from being a great person, he is also very knowledgeable and very willing to share all of his knowledge. It was a wonderful experience and on-top of the exclusive invitation he also gifted me with a few La Aurora cigars, including the one being reviewed today, the yet-to-be release 107 Corona.

The La Aurora 107 was created to commemorate the La Aurora company’s 107 years in business. The factory was opened in 1903 by Don Eduardo León Jimenes near Santiago, Dominican Republic. The company has remained family owned and is now under the watchful eye of Mr. Guillermo León, a fifth-generation León. The factory is also home to León Jimenes line of cigars. You can read more about the company on their main website, http://laaurora.com.do

The La Aurora brand is distributed by Miami Cigar & Company in the United States. Their headquarters is in, you guessed it, Miami, Florida. Miami Cigar represents a variety of brands and has ben happily working with La Aurora for over 20 years. You can read about the press release for the La Aurora 107 on the review that Tony wrote on the La Aurora 107 Robusto. You can also follow Miami Cigar & Company on twitter: @MiamiCigar

The La Aurora 107 is currently available in 3 vitolas, Belicoso, Toro and Robusto. The Corona vitola should be hitting shelves soon so keep your eyes open. The cigar has a nice blend of leaves and promises to be a complex cigar without crossing into the full-bodied category, making it an all-around good smoke for anyone. Check out Tony’s review of the La Aurora 107 Robusto vitola and then compare the notes and see how our opinions differ.

There has also been chatter about a Lancero vitola coming soon for the 107 line although there is no definite timelines. I think this would be a fantastic addition. The Corona size really brought out the lively flavors of the wrapper and I think the Lancero would make them pop even more. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on this…

Cigar: La Aurora Serie Anniversario 107
Drink: Havana Club Silvery Dry Rum on the rocks
Vitola: Corona
Wrapper: Sun Grown Equador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Price: Gifted by Jose Blanco (@joseblanco809).
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• Even diameter throughout the length
• No major veins on the wrapper to be seen
• Has a fair bit of softness and a good spring to it
• Nice and clean triple cap
• Foot looks well packed, one small hole in the center
• Wrapper has a nice golden brown color to it with just a bit of oiliness
• Cut was very clean
• Great draw, just enough resistance
• Band slid off easily with no damage to the wrapper

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and even with no dark spots
• These seem to have great burn, always nice and even with a razor sharp edge
• No need to baby-sit this cigar, allows you to enjoy it nice and slowly with no extra draws
• I did not have to touch-up or purge this cigar at all, a great experience through and through.

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke right off the bat, fills your mouth nicely
• Moderate amount of resting smoke that has a nice woodsy aroma to it
• Ash appears strong and steady for the most part, no flaking
• Ash fell off nicely into the ashtray just short of an inch, Id say that’s just about perfect for this vitola
• The following ashes continued to fall calmly into the ashtray making this an effortless experience

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is fairly woodsy and earthy with a touch of spice
• Foot aroma has some woodsy to it but is dominated by a mix of fruity and citrus notes, very appealing
• Pre-light draw gives flavors of earthiness, woodsiness, spice and a bit of floral
• Initial draws are very woodsy with some slightly spicy undertones
• Each of these that I’ve smoked have had a great retrohale right from the start, it starts with a small bite and a smooth floral finish
• Body has been mostly mild for the first couple of inches
• As I approach the half-way mark a nice spice has begun making it’s appearance and the retrohale is now getting the fruity notes added to the floral notes, a great touch!
• The body is slowly increasing into the medium range as the cigar burns on
• The cigar has been nice and smooth throughout, no dryness or harshness as I approach the last 2 inches
• I’m really enjoying the contrast in flavors between the regular draw and the retrohale, it’s almost like smoking two different cigars
• Nearing the end, I’m picking up a nice tart-like citrus flavor. This is something I didn’t expect so close to the nub, another nice touch
• The body was dancing on the edge of medium-full, making this a perfect smoke for me with lots of flavor
• No real harshness all the way down to the nub and most of the flavors stuck around to the end

Final Thoughts:
Yet another great cigar added to my list and to my must-try recommendations. I found this cigar to have a nice unique flavor profile that I don’t find too often in other cigars. La Aurora has some fairly expensive offerings in it’s inventory, thankfully this is not one of them. The price is very fair actually and you get a great smoke on all levels, multi-dimensional flavor, solid construction, perfect burn and overall wonderful enjoyment. The body was also in the mild-medium range which can make it a great go-to smoke for any time of day and any level experience of smoker. I’ve had the chance to try the Robusto and Toro sizes as well and although they were all enjoyable I found the flavors in the Corona vitola to jump the most. This is another cigar that really gives a great retrohale and I’ve been doing that more often then usual. I think you’ll be missing a fine point to this cigar if you don’t retrohale. Even if you don’t retrohale though, this cigar still has some great flavors throughout.

If you haven’t had the chance to try a La Aurora 107 yet, definitely give it a go. If they don’t have the Corona vitola in stock yet, try one of the other vitolas as they were all top-notch smokes. Thanks again to Jose Blanco ((@joseblanco809)) for giving me the chance to try this great cigar, I will definitely be seeking out more of these in the near future.

Pairings:
I still haven’t stocked up the beer fridge yet so I decided to keep going on with the Havana Club Rum on the rocks. As I mentioned before, it’s a well priced Rum with some good flavors. It actually made a good pairing for the floral and fruity notes in this cigar. I think Port would have also made a great pairing here. Some other suggestions would include coffee, a dark lager or some sweet tea.