TX Duo Review - La Aurora Small Batch No. 006 (2011/25)

[Çnote]

Why recreate the wheel?

https://halfwheel.com/la-aurora-small-batch-no-006/446887/

I grabbed these specifically for Duo for reasons that should be blindingly obvious. I should have grabbed the box.

Burned like a dream. Incredibly smooth start to finish. Marzipan and brioche, spices. Very vibe. Unfortunately nothing really hung on my palate in such a way as to have sensible tasting notes, but way above expectations. Didn't taste old and mellow, still extremely punchy and working on coming together.

Let's say a solid 90 with a large upside.

@Capn_Jackson is catching up but I can't wait to read his notes on this.

[Capn_Jackson]

One of the more unique-looking sticks I’ve ever smoked. It has a “rope” of tobacco leaf spiraling around it. I unfortunately broke that a little bit, and hope it doesn’t unravel… Spoiler alert, it did not.

Cold draw has sweet tobacco, caramel, coffee, and a little salt. Light-up has a big blast of pepper in the retro, but a very good bit of caramel in the draw, and spicy honey on the finish. Nice opening, other than the pepper blast.

The pepper comes and fades throughout the first half. It’s a bit much for me at times, like having too much black pepper on eggs. Then at other moments it’s a nice honeyed graham cracker, with notes of almond and sandalwood. There was some creaminess in the beginning that fades after a few minutes in. Would’ve been nice if that had stayed around.

Pepper fades about the time I get to the widest part of this perfecto, which makes me fear that it’ll come back as it tapers down again. We’ll see. Some creaminess comes back in, and nuts… almond this time. Marzipan. Lemon curd. Tangy wild honey. Bits of earth. 

Nuttiness takes a bigger seat at the table as I go past the halfway point, but now it’s cashew, more like coffee with cashew crème. Doesn’t stick around long in the finish. Earthier coffee and sweet hay vibes in that finish. 

Takes on a slightly bitter nutshell taste toward the end, but with some buttery sweetness and creaminess back at last. Some black pepper again, but not as much as I feared. Toward the nub, holiday bread vibes, nutmeg, dark molasses.

Solid smoke, but too much heat for me in the skinnier parts of the perfecto. I’ll give this an 87, but I’ll bet five years’ more rest would put it in the 90’s.

[Çnote]

4 hours ago, Capn_Jackson said:

five years’ more rest would put it in the 90’s.

Ridiculous, it’s already 14 years from rolling.

Sorry you got my punchiness as a distinct black pepper. Mine came off better integrated, but I bet you also retrohaled more than I did.

[Capn_Jackson]

53 minutes ago, Çnote said:

Ridiculous, it’s already 14 years from rolling.

Sorry you got my punchiness as a distinct black pepper. Mine came off better integrated, but I bet you also retrohaled more than I did.

Wow, I didn’t know it was that old! Yeah, I guess that pepper is just going to be there no matter the rest.

I retro every puff, involuntarily, so that is likely why the pepper was more prevalent in my notes.

A very interesting smoke, lots of great nutty vibes.  With it already being 14 years old, I could actually see that one being a 20-year-old beauty.