(Size: 4″ x 50 — Time: 50mins)
La Aurora are the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar brand – far outdating the Cuban relocation brands. Founded in 1903, the company is now a major player on the island, even owning banks! Their cigars are still the company’s passion though. A couple of the La Aurora brands will be available on the UK market in the not too distant future (the Aurora and Preferidos lines), and I was lucky enough to get a sneek peak (Preferidos Platinum review to come in the next couple of weeks).
The La Aurora Aurora Rothschild is a wonderfully proportioned cigar – many may say its too short, but it looks great at 4″ in length and 50RG. When they are released in the UK they should be very reasonably priced, so I was interested to find out if this is going to be a good value cigar, or just a cheap cigar?
Appearance /15
I’ve already touched upon what I believe to be the Rothschild‘s beautiful proportions, and the wrapper’s not too shabby either. It had a couple of veins on, but maintained a nice lustre. The band also looks good – managing to be classy by understated (something which is rare on a cigar from outside of Cuba, in my experience). 13
Smoking Characteristics /25
This cigar took a little bit of lighting to get going, though the blame should largely lie upon my lighter, which died upon me. A swift run to the shop over the road from the pub, and I had a cheap bic lighter (which wasn’t quite up to competing with the wind…) In fact, the poor light probably worked in its favour, as it was able to demonstrate what a great burner it was – within minutes it had evened itself up beautifully, and stayed even from top to bottom. Aside from the great burn… the draw was excellent, absolutely spot on; and it produced good volumes of smoke, which were pleasantly aromatic according to those on the next table. Unfortunately, while quite attractive, the ash was quite flaky and broke easily when tapped (wasn’t sure how far to push it). 23
Flavour /25
On lighting, the first flavours which come straight at you are predominantly honey-like – sweet, but with herbal undertones. Around the end of the first third, some mineral-ness came in, which I can’t say was especially pleasant, but nothing too drastic. Soon, though, this went and a herbally leather formed the foundation until part way into the final third. Following a brief flavour which was rather like a weak cafe latte, the flavours became less pleasant (hints of licquorice even). That said, this cigar never got hot or bitter. 22
Overall Impression /35
Given what I understand the price is likely to be, this will be a phenomenally priced cigar. Despite that, it’s not without its failings – mainly a fairly mediocre second quarter (yes, I know I usually talk thirds), a less pleasant finish, and a lack of that something extra which marks out a great cigar. On the plus side, it didn’t become harsh at all and the construction seemed to be excellent, with a great draw being a solid pro in my book. 31
Grand total… 89/100
The Cigar Monologues 