REVIEW: La Aurora Guillermo Leon Signature

Today's review is my last in the series of new releases from the distributor Miami Cigar Company. The Guillermo Leon Signature was released at this past year's IPCPR show and is the newest product to come from the oldest factory in the Dominican Republic-- La Aurora. The cigar carries the name of the the Vice President of La Aurora,Guillermo Leon (@GuillermoLeon_ on twitter.) I had been emailed a press release about this cigar directly from Guillermo, noted below:

“Obviously, this cigar is personal for me. It is part of my family’s legacy for the past 107 years. In this cigar, I wanted something with deep complexity yet also a stronger smoke than most of our offerings. I think this is something that will please today’s smokers.” -- Guillermo Leon

From the sticks I have smoked recently, I think Miami Cigar Company and La Aurora have really been on point. I am excited to try yet another new cigar from them, so...on to the review.

Specifics  
Vitola: Gran Corona
Length: 6
Ring Gauge: 47
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habana
Binder: Double binder, Corojo and Cameroon
Filler: Dominican, Peruvian, Nicaraguan and Brazilian
Price: $8
Smoking Location: Explorer Lounge
Beverage: water
Manufacture's Website: http://www.miamicigarandcompany.com/ 
Manufacture's Website: http://www.laaurora.com.do/

Pre-Light 

The first thing that caught my eye while looking over my La Aurora Guillermo Leon was just how smooth and evenly colored on the wrapper was. The color was light brown with just a hint of redness, when the light hit it at a certain angle. The veins that were in the leaf were minimal and smooth to the touch. I smoke a lot of "ugly" broadleaf cigars, so seeing this stick was quite a change. The pre-lit aroma was of earthy tobacco with hints of hazelnut closer to the open foot. The cold draw taste proved my nose correct and tasted heavily of hazelnut. It's the holiday season and during this time, we have some baskets of mixed nuts around the house for snacking on. Maybe this helps my palate pick up these flavors more. Who knows?

First Third

After evenly lighting my La Aurora Guillermo Leon, I was easily puffing large volumes of smoke from the cigar. The smoke was thick with a creamy texture which lightly coated my taste buds with earthy, woodsy flavors. Along with those flavors, there was just a hint of warm spice on the finish that tingled just a bit. I'm more than likely going to repeat this in every section, but the construction on this cigar was top of the line. The burn was razor straight and the ash was more solid than I have seen on any other stick this year. I'm not sure if it's to do with the double binder, but I only ashed this cigar 3 times and, every time, I think it could have held on for longer. The body was in the mild range.

Second Third

The second third of my La Aurora Guillermo Leon brought on a change in the flavor profile of my cigar. The hazelnut flavors I picked up so strongly initially in the cold draw were now back and as potent as ever. On the finish, I started getting kicks of sweetened coffee which created a very nice compliment on the front. The spice and woodsy flavors I had before dissipated, but what did not dissipate was the large clouds of smoke this cigar produced on every draw. Again, the smoke was very creamy. Mix the smoke with the hazelnut and coffee flavors and it began to taste like something you would get from your local coffee shop, not a cigar shop. Like mentioned above, the construction was perfect. The body stayed in the mild range.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third can be described in one word: smooth. Now that I've told you how it went in one word, let me entertain you with a few more details. The flavor profile stayed pretty much the same as the second third, with the hazelnut and coffee tastes. I felt, however, that the cigar blended out better in the final third, without much changing, rather just melted together. The body maybe picked up slightly into the medium range, but I would say it was a mild medium if that makes sense. Again, prefect burn and solid ash.

My final thoughts on the La Aurora Guillermo Signature? This is a very easy cigar to smoke. The smoothness in the texture of the smoke is easy on the taste buds and the mild body never effected my system. The flavor profile, especially in the final third where the stick shined for me, was a great blend of strong flavor that left me feeling satisfied. 
 
Would I buy it again? Just like the other sticks I've smoked from Miami Cigar Company and La Aurora, I would buy this stick again. I think this could be a great cigar to hand out to almost anyone from an experienced smoker to a newbie.

Would I buy a box?  I personally tend to lean towards more medium-full body cigars, so I'm not sure I would buy a full box of these for myself to smoke. But if you are a mild to medium body cigar smoker, I don't think you'll find to many better than this one in that profile.

Dan

REVIEW: La Aurora 107 Lancero

I fell a little behind on my reviews last month (I had spent most of my time on my other project cigarexplorer.com), so by now I'm sure I'm close to last on reviewing the much talked about "Twitter cigar". Just in case you have been living under a rock and have not heard about this stick, the La Aurora 107 is a popular blend from Guillermo León (@GuillermoLeon_ on twitter) that had so many requests for it to be made in a lancero vitola, that "the dream became a reality". A lot of those requests came to Guillermo via  twitter, so it only seems fitting that the name of this cigar is The "Twitter cigar".  

OK, now that we have that out of the way, let's get on with the important part...the review.

Specifics 

Vitola: Lancero

Length: 7 Ring Gauge: 40
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00
Smoking Location: Explorer Lounge
Beverage: water
Manufacture's Website: http://rediscoverlaaurora.com/

Pre-Light

My La Aurora 107 lancero was a great looking cigar. The wrapper was a nice oily, medium brown color with only one noticeable vein. For it's slender size, this cigar had some serious weight to it. I could tell by pinching the stick from head to foot that is was evenly packed, and packed about as full as it could be without bursting. The prelight aroma was interesting because, at first, all I could smell was earthy tobacco, but after a few whiffs I started to get a orange peel scent. The pigtailed head clipped easily and the cold draw tasted of clean tobacco. One thing to note for certain is, even with how packed this cigar was, the draw was exceptional and required no effort.to pull air through the stick.

First Third 

I lit my La Aurora 107 lancero with a single torch and like in the pre-light, was impressed with just how easy the cigar was drawing. Lanceros, due to there size, can be a bit tight on the draw if not done by someone with some serious skill.  It is obvious to me that La Aurora has some talented rollers. The cigar produced a lot of smoke and burned very well. The initial flavor was mostly earthy tobacco, but just on the front of each draw, there was a kick of black pepper. The ash of the cigar was typical of a small ring gauge and held on for just over half an inch before falling into my ash tray. The body started out in the medium range, but the flavor strength was very full.

Second Third   

The second third of my La Aurora 107 Lancero really changed up the flavors on me. The slight black pepper kick is now completely gone and the earthy tobacco now took more of a clean richer tobacco flavor. To add to that change, the most noticeable difference was the flavor in the finish. After exhaling each puff, I could taste a very distinctive orange peel flavor that was not present in the first third. This sweet flavor mixed in with the rich tobacco, playing very well together to a created a very interesting and enjoyable smoke. Again, I have to rave about the effortless draw on this stick. I can't stand a cigar with a tight draw and this was definitely not one of them. The body was that same as the first third -- medium.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my La Aurora 107 Lancero was very similar to the second. The flavors were maybe just a little less strong than they were before, but I would not call them weak in the slightest. I was still getting a nice rich clean tobacco taste on the front, with the sweet orange peel on the finish. The cigar never got hot and, even after the photo above was taken, I picked the stick back up and smoked it further to the nub.

My final thoughts on the La Aurora 107 Lancero? This is a nicely flavorful and expertly constructed cigar. The blend of natural tobacco tastes mixed in with the sweet orange peel notes made for a relaxing and almost palate-cooling smoke. The thing I can't say enough about this cigar is just how effortless it was to smoke. This is the easiest smoking lancero I have smoked in awhile, and maybe even ever. I could pull huge clouds of smoke out of this stick with just the slightest draw. To me, that really adds to the smoking experience.

Would I buy it again? At 7 bucks a stick, I would for sure buy this cigar again. I think this stick is worth more than that. If I can find more, I will definitely pick some up.

Would I buy a box?  I don't think I could smoke this cigar everyday, but I do think it would be a great cigar to share with others. For that reason, I could see myself getting a box if they were available.

Dan