La Aurora 107 Maduro

The La Aurora 107 Maduro has been a long awaited cigar by La Aurora Cigars.  Back in 2010, the original La Aurora 107 was launched.  This cigar was released to celebrate La Aurora’s 107th anniversary, thus the cigar was appropriately named.  That cigar received a high amount of fanfare from cigar enthusiasts nationwide.  It was shortly after the launch of that cigar where word came that there would be a maduro companion to that cigar.  It’s taken a little bit of time, but the La Aurora 107 Maduro has finally launched.  Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the La Aurora 107 Maduro.  I found this to be a very good cigar, and a great addition into the La Aurora portfolio.

The initial 2013 launch of the La Aurora 107 Maduro has been offered to Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) retailers.   The plan is for the cigar to have a full national launch to all retailers at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas.

Without further adieu, let’s break down the La Aurora 107 Maduro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

For this maduro, La Aurora has opted to go with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.  This has been a popular choice for a maduro wrapper by La Aurora as we have seen this used on the La Aurora Preferidos Diamond and the La Aurora Cien Anos Edicion Especial.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

The La Aurora 107 Maduro is being released in four sizes.

Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Corona: 5 1/2 x 43
Toro: 5 1/4 x 54
Belicoso: 6 1/4 x 52

Appearance

For this smoking experience, I went with the Robusto vitola. The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper to the La Aurora 107 Maduro Robusto has a dark roasted coffee bean color to it.  It definitely has an oscuro quality to it.  The wrapper has a smooth feel and slightly oily complexion.  The wrapper seams and veins are visible upon close examination.

There are two bands to the La Aurora 107 Maduro. The primary one has a red, gold, orange, and white pattern. The center of the band contains sketch of a lion.  There are gold medallions surrounding it to the left and right.  Above the lion it says “LA AURORA” in red font.  Below the lion it says “107” in red font.  Red, orange, and gold adorn the trim and back of the band.

There is a secondary band sitting below the primary band. This secondary band is red and gold. The text “MADURO” is in gold font on a red background that covers most of the band. There is also gold trim and adornments going around the band.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up my La Aurora 107 Maduro, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap. It was then on to the pre-light draw experience. The dry draw notes were excellent – providing a mix of roasted coffee and pepper. To a lesser extent I picked up some cherry and wood notes as well. With a solid pre-light draw, it was now time to light up the 107 Maduro and see what the overall smoking experience would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The start to the La Aurora Maduro 107 provided a very strong blast of black pepper. Once the pepper settled down it was joined by notes of coffee and grass. By the five percent point, the coffee notes were primary. The pepper notes were close behind – and the grass flavors played more of a secondary role. The retro-hale followed a similar pattern. In this case, the pepper on the retro-hale was more of a red pepper. It was stronger to start and then dialed back for a good chunk of the smoking experience.

Around the ten percent mark, the La Aurora Maduro reached its sweet spot. The coffee notes turned into a very rich and sweet mocha flavor. Without a doubt this was the best part of the smoking experience – and in all of the samples I smoked, this apex occurred around this stage. The mocha notes then dialed back and lost some sweetness. The mocha, pepper, and grass notes were all on par and remained like that throughout the first half.

In the second half, the grass flavors were replaced by more of a nut flavor. The mocha flavors transitioned to more of a cocoa powder. The nut and pepper notes took over in the second half while the cocoa notes became secondary. By the last third, the pepper notes took over. I found the end of the La Aurora 107 Maduro to be spicy, but not harsh. The resulting nub consistently was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The La Aurora 107 Maduro scores very well in the construction attributes of burn and draw. The burn line remained straight from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was tight and white in color. The ash had no noticeable flaking along the way. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

The draw had a touch of resistance to it – which I find to be ideal. This was a very enjoyable and low maintenance cigar to puff on.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, the La Aurora 107 Maduro does have a little kick to it, but at the same time this is not a nicotine bomb. Overall, I assessed this cigar to be a medium to full strength smoke. As for the flavors, they have some nice depth to them. This cigar easily qualified for a full-bodied smoke in my book. Overall, the body of the La Aurora 107 Maduro is going to have a moderate edge over the strength here.

Final Thoughts

I mentioned above the La Aurora 107 Maduro is the third Connecticut Broadleaf cigar to be released by the company in the past twelve months.   Both the La Aurora Preferidos Diamond and the La Aurora Cien Anos Edicion Especial are top-notch smokes in my book.  It seems like La Aurora is doing some very nice things with Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper cigars- and the 107 Maduro is no exception here.  I’d recommend this cigar to an experienced cigar enthusiast – and in particular those who have enjoyed some of the other La Aurora Connecticut Broadleaf offerings.  This might be a little too much cigar for a novice enthusiast unless someone is looking to graduate to something fuller.  As for myself, this is a solid smoke – and one i would put in my regular smoking rotation.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 90

Source: The cigars for this assessment were provided by Miami Cigar and Company. The samples were initiated by Miami Cigar and Company in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the samples, but in no way does this influence this review.