La Aurora Corojo Double Corona (rolled in 2010) review

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This is the first stick of my third and last box. From the Dominican Republic, this DC has a ring gauge of 50 and is generally well constructed for an inexpensive stick. However, in the previous two boxes, taste has been all over the place, with a few being quite bitter, most being fine and a few being awesome. We'll see where this one stands

On this particular stick, construction is good although the corojo wrapper is a bit veiny and seems dry to the touch. Aroma at cold is slightly sweet and musty leather. Draw shows a bit of resistance which is perfect.

After lighting, the smoke is very airy/wispy and dry. I feel my mouth going dry from the astringent character of the smoke, which is frequent with this cigar. Core flavor is fresh cedar and light leather at this point, with additional flavors coming in and out along the first third. These are mostly sour cherry and celery salt, with a baked bready cookie (unsweetened biscotti) appearing gradually. I can feel a little bit of black pepper taste on the palate as well near the end of this first part. A slight but constant astringence/bitterness, somewhat like eating a granny smith apple, stays in the background throughout the cigar without being unpleasant. Foot smoke starts light, with fruitiness and biscotti aromas dancing around me.

In the second third, smoke is getting thicker and sligtly creamier with flavor reminding me a bit of a Punch Punch without the sweetness or richness. Flavors evolve slowly with bits of sour cherry near the end of the second part. There are light peppery cedar and leather notes on the retrohale.

The second third exhibits very rich foot smoke with smoky cedar and oak, leather and dusty cocoa. The flavors themselves remain similar with a woody/leathery core and fruity notes, with a bit of dark coffee on the palate. The cigar goes out on itself with about 1 1/4 inch remaining and I decide to leave it at that.

A nice 1h45 experience on this mild fall Monday after having suffered last week's polar vortex. Not overly complex in its evolution, as with many NCs, but definitely enjoyable. Wishing all the northern emisphere BOTLs a beautiful winter to come!

[bradbrennan]

sounded like a pretty decent stick, nice!

[Ramrod918]

Well done review, thanks

[earthson]

This is one NC I return to again and again. Often reminds me of a Havana Partagas (cream, green pepper, and spice). I'd agree about the flavor evolution, however, which is why I'll usually smoke a robusto over this DC.