Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge / MSRP $6.80
This cigar actually came out in 2010...really! The La Aurora Corojo was shown off at the 2010 IPCPR show and I believe some boxes actually shipped as I was able to buy them at Maxamar in Orange, California, a month or two after the show. I even reviewed it...and really enjoyed it as I remember. But there was one problem in the eyes of La Aurora...it had packaging that was basically the same as the original La Aurora line, with the simple addition of a secondary band. And that was thought to be too ordinary for today's market and likely to be overlooked, so they ceased shipping it so they could have a mulligan on that part, re-releasing the Corojo at the Las Vegas IPCPR this August. Everything else is the same as far as I know...Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper around an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from Dominicana and Nicaragua. Why review it again? Well, first I want to see if this one is indeed the same...or at least if it hits me in the same way. Also, Jason from Miami Cigar & Co. sent me this with a bunch of other samples of this year's releases and my assumption was that they were for review...so I'm doing my part.
The wrapper was a medium-brown withe maybe a touch of red under certain lighting. There were several medium to large veins and the leaf was fairly oily to the touch. The new banding is nicer than the old, straddling a line between classic old-school banding and more modern designs quite well. The only problem I see is that the background of the main band is white, while that of the secondary band is more beige...it looks like they were not really made to go together, but were more or less thrown together. On the wrapper, I got a sweet aroma with some natural tobacco and hay notes; the foot gave off a touch of molasses along with some earth. After employing my Xikar VX, I got a very nice and open cold draw that had a nice molassesy flavor along with a lingering spiciness on the lips.
The Corojo took a little more effort to light than I had really expected, making it a good candidate for a double or triple flame lighter. I got a nice syrupy sweetness right off the bat, along with just a pinch of cayenne pepper on the retrohale. It was a decidedly medium-bodied smoke with a lot of flavor riding on it and a short, clean finish. As I continued puffing, I got flavors of natural tobacco, cedar and citrus on the palate, along with roasted nuts and the aforementioned cayenne pepper on the nose. Regarding the pepper, it was not strong...just enough to notice at this point, but not painful in the least.
The spice increased a bit as the second third started burning and I found myself remembering what I liked so much about this smoke...it is a slow burner in regards to flavor, starting off good, but subtle, then increasing the amount of cayenne throughout. Not a spice bomb to start with, but it will get your taste buds singing by the halfway mark. Construction was very good...the burn line remained straight and the draw was almost perfect. The only issue I had was with the ash, which tended to be flaky, littering the screen of my iPad as I typed this review.
As the final third started off, the pepper burn was increasing still, although it was a little surprising that it was all centered on the palate with no nasal burn to speak of. While the La Aurora Corojo does not have a huge amount of complexity with ever-changing or nuanced flavors, what it delivers is very pleasing to my palate. The ramping up of flavor intensity provides for great enjoyment as the final third is better than the first...something that you just don't find all that often. The body never got past the mid-point and there was not much nicotine strength, making this a good cigar for a wide range of smokers. I am very glad to see this one come back and predict it will be found in my humidor quite often.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
This cigar actually came out in 2010...really! The La Aurora Corojo was shown off at the 2010 IPCPR show and I believe some boxes actually shipped as I was able to buy them at Maxamar in Orange, California, a month or two after the show. I even reviewed it...and really enjoyed it as I remember. But there was one problem in the eyes of La Aurora...it had packaging that was basically the same as the original La Aurora line, with the simple addition of a secondary band. And that was thought to be too ordinary for today's market and likely to be overlooked, so they ceased shipping it so they could have a mulligan on that part, re-releasing the Corojo at the Las Vegas IPCPR this August. Everything else is the same as far as I know...Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper around an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from Dominicana and Nicaragua. Why review it again? Well, first I want to see if this one is indeed the same...or at least if it hits me in the same way. Also, Jason from Miami Cigar & Co. sent me this with a bunch of other samples of this year's releases and my assumption was that they were for review...so I'm doing my part.
The wrapper was a medium-brown withe maybe a touch of red under certain lighting. There were several medium to large veins and the leaf was fairly oily to the touch. The new banding is nicer than the old, straddling a line between classic old-school banding and more modern designs quite well. The only problem I see is that the background of the main band is white, while that of the secondary band is more beige...it looks like they were not really made to go together, but were more or less thrown together. On the wrapper, I got a sweet aroma with some natural tobacco and hay notes; the foot gave off a touch of molasses along with some earth. After employing my Xikar VX, I got a very nice and open cold draw that had a nice molassesy flavor along with a lingering spiciness on the lips.
The Corojo took a little more effort to light than I had really expected, making it a good candidate for a double or triple flame lighter. I got a nice syrupy sweetness right off the bat, along with just a pinch of cayenne pepper on the retrohale. It was a decidedly medium-bodied smoke with a lot of flavor riding on it and a short, clean finish. As I continued puffing, I got flavors of natural tobacco, cedar and citrus on the palate, along with roasted nuts and the aforementioned cayenne pepper on the nose. Regarding the pepper, it was not strong...just enough to notice at this point, but not painful in the least.
The spice increased a bit as the second third started burning and I found myself remembering what I liked so much about this smoke...it is a slow burner in regards to flavor, starting off good, but subtle, then increasing the amount of cayenne throughout. Not a spice bomb to start with, but it will get your taste buds singing by the halfway mark. Construction was very good...the burn line remained straight and the draw was almost perfect. The only issue I had was with the ash, which tended to be flaky, littering the screen of my iPad as I typed this review.As the final third started off, the pepper burn was increasing still, although it was a little surprising that it was all centered on the palate with no nasal burn to speak of. While the La Aurora Corojo does not have a huge amount of complexity with ever-changing or nuanced flavors, what it delivers is very pleasing to my palate. The ramping up of flavor intensity provides for great enjoyment as the final third is better than the first...something that you just don't find all that often. The body never got past the mid-point and there was not much nicotine strength, making this a good cigar for a wide range of smokers. I am very glad to see this one come back and predict it will be found in my humidor quite often.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
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