Tag Archives: La Aurora

by CigarCraig | May 17, 2015 · 12:12 pm

La Aurora Preferido and Puro Vintage and an A.J. Fernandez New World

Of course, I smoked a bunch of great cigars this week. One that was interesting was an old production La Sirena Trident that I smoked in response to Lonnie, who won the last La Sirena contest I held. He got a sourdough bread note and wanted to know if I got anything like that. It turns out he was right, there is a pleasant sour flavor that I couldn’t put a name too that I really enjoyed. It’s always interesting when someone names a flavor and you taste it too. Whether it’s the power of suggestion or simply putting a name to a flavor, I thought it was pretty cool. I still need to sit down and compare the new Trident to the old, but when do I have time to smoke two Churchill size cigars back to back (or at the same time!). I also smoked the Rocky Patel Prohibition Mexican again this week and enjoyed the flavor, although there was a bit of a void in the filler that made it burn a little funky. I will have to get a few more and try to settle my internal debate on which version I like better, the Mexican or the Broadleaf. Maybe I don’t need to decide…

A.J. Fernandez came out with the New World last year and it has been very well received. It’s priced well and it’s a great tasting cigar, so there’s really no surprise. Apparently Abdel and his father, Ismael Fernandez collaborated on this blend, which is a Nicaraguan puro, with tobacco from Jalapa, Condega, Esteli and Ometepe. The New World Brute is a store exclusive for Serious Cigars in Houston, Texas, and is a 6″ x 66, which sounds pretty bug, but the box press makes it feel smaller ( more like a 60, still pretty big). Everything”s bigger in Texas, right? This cigar was only about a week in the humidor, but I had been eyeing an Almirante for a few weeks so I felt compelled to smoke this, and I’ve seen a couple other sites featuring this cigar in the last week or so, so I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon. First off, it’s every bit as tasty as it’s smaller siblings. I got a hint of some ammonia near the end, which I’m sure some more humidor time will fix. It’s a great cigar with rich coffee and chocolate flavors that I really enjoy, with a hint of a peppery spice. I’d definitely keep these in my humidor, but they take up so much darned space!

A few weeks ago at another vendor’s event at my local Cigar Cigars store, I noticed a basket on the counter as I was checking out that had La Aurora Corojos in the Preferido No.2 size for $5. I grabbed two, and am a little disappointed that I didn’t empty the basket. First off, it’s a fun size to smoke. Its a classic perfecto shape, tapered on both ends and fat in the middle. These are stated as 5″ x 54, have a barrel aged Dominican Corojo wrapper. Remember when you couldn’t grow wrapper in the DR? Anyway, this cigar burned perfectly, and had whatever that flavor that is classic La Aurora that I can’t put a name to, isn’t really my favorite, but I know and appreciate it when I smoke a cigar from this great factory. Like I said, I’m kicking myself for not picking up more when I had the chance, because this was a terrific $5 cigar, and probably pretty darned great at $9 or $10 too. Being the cheap bastid that I am, I have picked up some great cigars on Cigar Cigars’s closeout area over the last year or two, always pays to check that section out in your local shop if they have one.

Yesterday I smoked a new cigar in La Aurora‘s Puro Vintage series, the 111th anniversary Puro Vintage 2006. My only experience with the Puro Vintage line is the 2003, which is the cigar I smoke on the occasion of the birth of my granddaughters. I have two left in the humidor, but I don’t anticipate any more granddaughters in the foreseeable future. This tradition started when my first granddaughter was born, and La Aurora president Guillermo Leon happened to be visiting the Wooden Indian in the same town my daughter lives. Chris Lenzo, our local Miami Cigar and Co. rep generously gifted me a 2003 to mark the occasion.I since picked up a few more and smoked one when granddaughter two was born. Important to note that my daughter is named Aurora, which is one of the reasons the brand has a special place in my heart. The 2006 is a Salamone shape, tapered at each end, and is limited to 1500 boxes of 18 cigars. The wrapper is Ecuador HVA (Habano Vuelta Ariba), Brazilian binder and fillers from Dominican Republic, Brazil and Nicaragua. I smoked the first half of this example walking with my wife and dog on a nearby trail the the rest while relaxing on my back porch. When ever I think of the Puro Vintage line, I think of Barry Stein saying he tastes sunflower seeds (the 2003, in specific), and I understand the sensation, and I get that with this 2006. It’s a very flavorful and exceptional cigar, definitely good for two or more great hours of enjoyment. It’s got a hint of sweetness and had nice, bright flavors that are enjoyable and intriguing. This is a great special occasion cigar, and yesterday’s special occasion was that I got to smoke this cigar! Thanks to Jason Wood and Gabriel Piñeres for allowing me the pleasure.

That’s about it for today. Not sure what the next couple weeks will bring as I have root canals scheduled for the next two Wednesdays. I can’t imagine that will bring too many restrictions, but I might not be in top form. I’ve never had a root canal, so I have no idea what to expect. I’ll do my best to continue doing whatever it is I do here!

That’s it for now! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Corojo, La Aurora, Miami Cigar and Co, New World, Preferido, Puro Vintage

by CigarCraig | May 3, 2015 · 10:10 am

Another Nomad, a Joya de Nicaragua, Emilio Cigars and a La Aurora

Another week has gone by and another bunch of cigars smoked. After hanging out with Fred Rewey last week, I decided I had better smoke that Nomad S-307 Torpedo that I had removed from cello because I was going to smoke it, and put it away in favor of the Esteli Lot 8613 I was handed. I really hate trying to put cigars in cello tubes, I don’t know how the workers in the factories do it, but I suppose if you do it eight hours a day, you get pretty good at it. The 6 ½ x 52 torpedo has a nice box press, a rich Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s rolled in the AJ Fernandez factory, but Fred had his hands in all aspects of the blending. I guess I’ve been picking these up here and there, because I find I have a good handful in the humidor, and I can’t get upset about that (I did find that Lot 1386 this week). The cigar is a great smoke, it’s earthy and spicy and has a hint of sweetness. It’s a cigar I enjoy quite a bit, as I said, I’m not unhappy about having a few of these in the humidor.

I went with a trusted friend on Thursday, the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 in the Gran Consul size. The Gran Consul is 4 ¾” x 60 cigar with a tapered head, making it feel like it’s not a 60 ring. I gave it a V-cut this time, and had a good burn and draw, and ample amounts of smoke. This is a tasty Nicaraguan Puro, and is full bodied and spicy. I prefer the Dark Corojo over this line but only by a slim margin. JdN is one of the few major cigar companies that I have a hard time thinking of a cigar they make that I don’t like. I have a slight bias in that I’ve been to the factory a couple times, but the cigars they make hit my palate just right almost all the time. I think the size of this particular cigar makes it fun and interesting to smoke, I guy I’m weird that way!

Friday there was some news that confirmed what many of us may have been wondering. It appears that Gary Griffith has retired from Delaware Cigars, Emilio and House of Emilio. Gary blended the Emilio brand, and built the boutique distribution company known as the House of Emilio. In his honor I smoked an Emilio AF 1 Toro that’s been hanging around the humidor for a couple years. I really like what Gary did with AJ Fernandez and the San Andres wrapper on this cigar, making it a sweet flavor bomb. I had my hand on the corona size, but decided to go with the Toro instead. The Toro is a little mellower than the corona, but I enjoy taking the additional time to smoke a toro. As much as I enjoy smaller cigars, I like my daily vacation to be a little longer sometimes! I know the House of Emilio will continue on supporting the six brands in it’s stable, and I hope the Emilio line lives on, both as an homage to the family that owns Delaware Cigars, and Gary who created it. I hope Gary comes out of hiding every once in a while, he’s an interesting guy with a great knowledge of tobacco and just a bunch of fun to be around. Enjoy your golden years with Dora!

Yesterday was a fun filled and action packed Saturday. We went to our eldest granddaughter’s 4th birthday party, then came home and did some yard work then drove my son back to his place in Philly. I was ready to sit down and relax with a fine cigar after that! But, as usual, I spent the first half of my cigar taking my evening walk, and it was a beautiful evening to do it. The cigar I selected was a La Aurora 100 Años Preferido No.1 which was a gift from Barry Stein back when he first sold his old website and took the job with Miami Cigar and Co. You may recall four years ago when my granddaughter was born, I happened to spend the afternoon with Guillermo Leon of La Aurora, and started my own tradition of smoking a Puro Vintage 2003 whenever a granddaughter is born (I can only have two more granddaughters kids!). Of course, the significance of all this La Aurora talk is that my daughter’s name is Aurora, so I’ve always been partial to the brand, even if there are quite a few cigars in their range that aren’t to my taste. The Cien Años is a cigar that I really enjoyed. The pefecto shape is really cool and fun to smoke, and it burned perfectly down to a finger burning nub. I really enjoyed this smoke on several levels, the cigar was great, and I made me think of my family and friends. Can’t ask for much more than that.

The latest issue of Prime Living Magazine should have hit the shelves in Texas, wherever fine magazines are sold, and in the Gentleman’s Room section you’ll find an article on the Macanudo Estate Reserve. You can read the magazine online if you are outside of their distribution area, or get to the article on their website. Also, if I had one complaint about the House of Emilio, it would be their website theme. I can’t tell you how off-putting that silly background is, the whole concept seems like it was stolen from another site…:-) On another note, the folks at The Cigar Cork sent me a sample of their cigar tube. I kind of tried to talk them out of it, but they were persistent. Now I need to figure out how to actually test and review it. I suppose I can put a cigar in it and leave it roll around the floor of the car for a few weeks and see what happens. If I carry this thing in my front pants pocket I’ll either get looks of disgust or admiration, neither of which I’m comfortable with…it’s a nice tube, certainly large enough for a 60 ring cigar, so stay tuned for more on that. Their retail presentation with the holders and actually selling cigars in them is pretty spiffy. Anyway, today is another beautiful spring day, and I’m not going to spend it sitting at my desk! Enjoy your week.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Cork, cigars, Emilio, joya de nicaragua, La Aurora, Nomad, Prime Living

by CigarCraig | February 15, 2015 · 10:20 am

La Aurora Untamed, La Palina and Recluse: All Maduro, All Dominican, All Tasty!

The La Aurora Untamed is a new release from the oldest cigar maker in the Dominican Republic, and is a departure from the norm in a few ways. As it’s name suggests, the Untamed is a strong cigar. It’s got a dark, rustic Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper surrounding Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The packaging is also a departure from the traditional and classy presentation of the rest of the La Aurora line, with a noticeably agitated lion’s head roaring in front of what appear to be bloody scratch marks in black, red and foil. It’s a striking band that some consider tacky, but I rather enjoy it. The cigar is made for my palate. I’ve had a very long history with La Aurora, going back nearly 20 years to my very first box purchase, and my experience has run the gamut from not caring for certain cigars at all, to absolutely adoring certain blends. This Untamed, at least in the robusto size (I’ll certainly try more sizes), is a contender for my overall favorite, at least in the normally affordable range. I can’t count the Preferidos or the Puro Vintage lines, as they are special, either because they taste great, or because of events surrounding them that evoke pleasing memories (I’ve smoked Puro Vintage 2003s whenever granddaughters were born, I only can only have two more granddaughters…). The Untamed is strong, bold, and loaded with rich, sweet, earthy cocoa and espresso flavors that I love. I seriously dig this smoke, box worthy in my early opinion. Thank you to Jason at Miami Cigar and Co., and Gabriel Piñeres for providing these samples.

Taking a nearly 180° turn from the unapologetic, in-your-face nature of the La Aurora, Friday I decided to wrap up the week with a La Palina Black Label robusto that had been in the humidor for a while. In it’s uncellophaned state, I felt it was time to spare it any further risk of wear and tear and smoke it up. This has a Brazilian maduro wrapper, another wrapper I really like, and is more refined and delicate in flavor, sophisticated, perhaps. This cigar is made in the Dominican Republic also (PDR factory? Working from memory, not always a good thing for me to do), and has Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf in both the double binder and the filler. I really enjoyed this perfect smoking cigar for it’s complexity, it kept me guessing as opposed to having a bold flavor throughout, and was entertaining to smoke.

Wrapping up a string of Dominican maduros, yesterday I took a long afternoon walk with the Recluse Draconian Sidewinder #3 from Iconic Leaf. This one has an Ecuador maduro wrapper, I’m guessing Habano. The cigar is a formidable 7″ x 57, and is their proprietary Sidewinder shape which is a round/box press hybrid with a head reminiscent of a blunted woodworking tool one might use to make mortise joints, or square off a hole, or perhaps recess a hinge. What’s great about this cigar is it’s self cutting, a gentle squeeze pops the cap, which you peel away and it looks like you have it a cut with a brand new guillotine cutter. This cigar fell somewhere between the La Aurora and La Palina cigars in terms of strength and complexity. It was solidly in the medium bodied range, with nice dark coffee flavors and great construction. I’ve been a fan of these guys from the beginning, they are innovative and make exceptional cigars. This one was a good 2 hour smoke, and the head of the cigar was much more comfortable in the mouth than a 57 ring cigar “in the round”. this particular example had been in my humidor since the 2013 IPCPR show. Interesting to note, I took a walk that was about two and a quarter miles, and when I got home I had about four inches left that I was able to enjoy in the porch. Seven inch cigars are a commitment.

I came across this article at Barron’s website today: Nanny Doesn’t Like Cigars which is well worth the read. There are a couple points that I think are off the mark though. I don’t think the Nannies want to do away with smoking because of the health issues, I’d say it costs more to keep people alive longer than it does to have them die early from smoking related disease. Consider people living for one third of their lives on social security, medicare, etc., has to be more expensive than “treating” tobacco related diseases. Also, I think they are more concerned with seeing people doing something enjoyable, if it were just nicotine that is bad, I have no problem banning tomatoes and eggplant, both of which contain nicotine. I don’t like them, they must be banned. Sounds ridiculous, right? But it’s the same thing. The government should worry about more important things than trying to put people out of business and regulate what we do with our free time. Down with the pleasure police! Everything in moderation, raise your children to know the difference between right and wrong, and join Cigar Rights of America!

Off of my soapbox and on with my Sunday. I may have to visit a shop for a smoke today as it’s cold, the wind has had it’s way with the plastic on the back porch…and it’s cold…Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Rights of America, cigars, La Aurora, La Palina, Recluse, Untamed

by CigarCraig | January 18, 2015 · 10:14 am

Finishing Up the La Aurora Preferido Coronas and Bernie Parent at Goose’s

Thursday evening I smoked the Ecuador (Sumatra) La Aurora Preferidos corona. While this was an exceptional cigar, it had a hint of bitterness that put it in fourth place flavor-wise among the ones I’ve smoked thus far in comparison. That’s not to say it wasn’t better than many cigars out there, it just didn’t hit my palate as favorably as the others. The construction was perfect and no oozing tar! I’ve got the Maduro (Brazil) and the Broadleaf coming up, I hope I didn’t set the bar too high and set myself up for disappointment.

Friday night I took a break from the La Aurora’s to visit Goose’s Tobacco Outlet and Cafe in Limerick, PA. Goose was hosting an event in his Montecristo Lounge featuring Bernie Parent and his BSB No.1 Cigars by Rocky Patel. You may recall I had the good fortune to have been present at the launch of this line back in December of 2012 (here, and RIP Luca who hosted that event) and have had the pleasure of smoking cigars with Bernie on numerous occasions. I’m not saying we’re buddies or anything, but he pretends to know me when we meet. Rocky Patel account exec Mark Weisenberger was also on hand, taking grief from Bernie for being a Rangers fan. One of the coolest things about this event was that the great Bernie Parent, with his ’74 and ’75 Flyers Stanley Cup rings, the goalie who “Only the Lord Saves More” than, was hanging out, smoking cigars, answering questions and telling stories. I picked up one each of the three 40th Anniversary cigars, which come in a numbered box with an autographed puck, and four each of the Broadleaf wrapped Conn Smythe, the Habano wrapped Vezina, and the box pressed, Sumatra Lord Stanley, all in the toro size, and all named after trophies Bernie has won (all three back to back, which has never been repeated, not even by Wayne Gretzky). I smoked the Conn Smythe as I was in the mood for a nice, sweet broadleaf and the cigar was exceptional. Sweet, cocoa and black coffee flavors and it burned well, although perhaps a bit on the moist side. I ended up buying the box at my wife’s suggestion, which allowed me to enter to win special luxury box tickets to the Flyers/Rangers game with Bernie and Mark. I fully intend to win this, by the way! Goose’s put on a great event, I came home with a ton of great cigars and a lighter wallet, and some great memories. Photos from the event below.

Yesterday I wrapped up the La Aurora Preferidos Corona project, smoking the Maduro in the afternoon, then the Broadleaf later in the evening. The Maduro is a Brazilian wrapper which corresponds to the Ruby in the Preferidos line. I found this to be a nice, smooth cocoa maduro with no rough edges. I did get the bit of tar build up that I got with the Corojo, but I clipped it off and everything was dandy after that. I did have a couple occasions where I had to relight it, but that wasn’t the fault of the cigar, I had a couple distractions while smoking that led me to ignore it long enough for it to go out. Like it’s brethren, another great corona.

After dinner, and before the Flyers game, I tackled the final, and most anticipated, La Aurora Preferidos corona, the Broadleaf, or Diamond. I find it curious that they chose to name these differently from the line of perfectos. Instead of putting Diamond, Ruby, et cetera, on the bands, they used the actual wrapper name. Nothing that bothers me too much, and perhaps they wanted to distinguish the coronas from perfectos. I kinda like it from a cigar nerd stand point. The broadleaf was very different from any of the rest of the examples in the line. The wrapper gave this cigar a very pungent, almost cloying flavor, and I was torn between loving it and being annoyed by it. I ended up loving it. It was also very different from the BSB Broadleaf from the night before. It had a palate coating quality much like licorice, not the flavor, but the texture. Very interesting and entertaining cigar to smoke, and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

Summing up the experience of smoking the six La Aurora Preferidos Coronas, and thanks to Jason Wood and Gabriel Piñeres for getting these to me, if I were asked to put these in order of preference, I’d have to go, from top to bottom, Broadleaf, Connecticut, Cameroon, Maduro, Corojo and Ecuador, and that doesn’t mean the ones on the bottom of the list aren’t great, it’s just a combination of how they hit my palate and based solely on one sample of each. The experience was great, the size, 5½ x 42, was very nice, especially in the colder weather (which, no doubt, lead to the couple of tar issues I had). I believe these can be purchased via mail order, in addition to in the northeast region, I’ve seen that at Atlantic Cigars, with whom I have no affiliation, for around $43. Not a bad deal.

That’s all I have today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Bernie Parent, BSB No.1, cigar, cigars, Conn Smythe, coronas, La Aurora, Preferidos, rocky patel

by CigarCraig | January 14, 2015 · 8:56 pm

Another Marcus Daniel Kiev and Some La Aurora Preferidos

Sunday afternoon I decided to tackle the Connecticut Shade version of the Marcus Daniel Kiev Gran Parejo, which is a large 6½ x 57 shade wrapped cigar. The cigar is pretty, and it smoked very nicely. It was very mild for the first half, almost to the point of being off-putting, making me wish I had selected something else. It eventually picked up to near medium with a smooth, mellow flavor profile. This is a cigar that needs to be paid attention to, the flavors are there, but they aren’t jumping all over the palate. Based on the pricing on the website, $1032.75 for a box of 25, I’d definitely take a pass, there’s no way these are $45 cigars, but I’m happy for the opportunity to have sampled them, and it’s my fervent hope that my recently retired friend who brought these back was given them by the store owner and didn’t pay that ridiculous amount for them. I’m admittedly frugal, and there are very few cigars that would get me to open my wallet that far, if any. If you find yourself in Olde Naples, FL, stop in and check out the store, it sounds like a nice place to have a smoke, and he seems to have a good selection of other boutique cigars and realistic prices.

I decided this would be a good week to dig into some samples of the La Aurora Preferidos Coronas that are making their ways to shelves in the NorthEast part of the US. There are six varieties, representing the six wrappers used on the regular Preferidos line. I wrestled with what order to smoke them, should I do what I usually do and start with the darkest first and go from there? My wife pointed out that that may set me up for disappointment, given my proclivity for the maduro leaf. Then I wondered if I should go alphabetically. I decided to go with the opposite of what I’d normally do and go light to dark. I started with the Connecticut. I’ll preface this by saying these are all 5½” x 42 coronas, a very elegant size as far as I’m concerned. They also all have the wrapper designated on the band, which is handy. The Connecticut was a terrific example of a smooth and creamy cigar. It burned perfectly for the better part of and hour and a half, building nicely in strength and flavor.

I like a Connecticut shade wrapper, Ecuador or US, but it’s not on my go-to wrapper list, basically above Indonesian and Criollo in preference, so things are looking very good for me enjoying the rest of the Preferido Corona offerings. Next in line was the Corojo. Naturally, the Corojo should be a little stronger, and it certainly had a stronger flavor, which was unique and interesting. Again, the construction was perfect, however I had to wipe some oozing tar of the head at the halfway point as I began to get an off taste. Once the goo was gone, it was back to tasting pretty darned great. Another winner, although I’ll switch from the punch to a straight cut for the rest of the series.

Tonight I went with the Cameroon corona. Cameroon is an interesting wrapper with a distinctive flavor, nutty maybe? The first La Auroras I bought, a box of Bristol Especiales back in 1995, had Cameroon wrappers and I recall they ended up not being great, almost vegetal and they had some construction issues. Granted, I didn’t have the storage experience that I have now, and probably had no business buying a box of anything at that point in my cigar journey. The box was about $40 and my daughter (who’s name is Aurora) may still have the box, that certainly figured into my purchase. That being said, this Preferidos Cameroon was spectacular. Well balanced and loaded with Camerooniness! Three for three! So far the Preferidos Coronas have all been wonderful. Many thanks to Jason Wood of Miami Cigar and Co. and Gabriel Piñeres of Creativas for sending samples as well as sponsoring Day 14 of the 12SDoCG.

I’ll continue working through the last three, the Ecuador (Sumatra), Maduro (Brazil) and Broadleaf (Connecticut), taking a break on Friday to head out to Goose’s in Limerick, PA to attend an event featuring the great Bernie Parent and his line of Rocky Patel cigars. Bernie is a legend in Philadelphia sports, he’ll be there with his Stanley Cup rings from ’74 and ’75. He’s a hoot, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy several cigars with him over the last couple years. With that, I’ll wrap this up and get to watching the Flyers game.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, La Aurora, Marcus Daniel, Miami Cigar and Co, Preferidos