La Aurora Untamed | Cigar Review

By The Katman on March 24, 2015 • ( 0 )

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 “Robusto”
Body: Full
Price: $7.50 MSRP/$6.75 by the box if you shop around/$7.00 by the 5 pack

Today we take a look at the La Aurora Untamed.

It was released in the fall of 2014.
It is a regular production cigar to be found everywhere.
The cigar is produced at the E. León Jimenes Tabacalera.

According to La Aurora, this is their big step towards the 21st Century and to keep up with the New Breed blenders of boutique cigars.

From Cigar Aficionado:
“We started the blend a year ago,” said Jason Holly, a product developer for La Aurora. “It’s on the high side of medium bodied, or the low side of full, depending on what kind of smoker you are. But it’s still the strongest blend that La Aurora produces.”

“The blend draws its strength from a dark, near-black Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Dominican binder and a filler that consist of three different types of Dominican tobacco. There is a Nicaraguan component in the filler as well.”

This is not a pretty cigar. It is covered up by exotic main and foot cigar bands. But one can see it is very oily with a bunch of toothiness. Seams are a mess. Lots of wrinkles. Big honkin’ veins. And an incredibly sloppy double cap. The cigar is extremely airy. Could float away any moment.

I clip the cap and find aromas of cocoa, coffee, sweetness, wood, spice, and new leather.
Time to light up.

The draw is excellent. And a blast of pepper seizes me by the throat. Very dark chocolate ensues after the pepper blast. Then a healthy dose of wood and coffee follows.

The red pepper is all consuming at the moment. Then comes the creaminess and settles the pepper right the ass down.

It is a pugly ugly cigar but it sure tastes damn fine.
The char line is going to give me problems. No touch up yet but it’s coming.

More transitions to nuttiness and toastiness with a dollop of oil on the lips.

Surprisingly, as light as the cigar feels, it is burning very slowly.

I hate to admit it but this cigar has a definite boutique quality to it. The flavors have the je ne sais quoi or “It” factor.

The strength is a strong medium body.

Right off the bat, the flavor profile is not messing around and the cigar takes off like the supersonic Concorde. (Oops, that crashed.)

The La Aurora Untamed needs its first char line touch up. This cigar was definitely not given to #9 rollers. Maybe #4?

In spite of that, I am truly digging this cigar. I was erect and present; ready to not like it based on the MGM art work.

Part of the cap comes loose. I am NOT chomping. Just a gentle sip now and then.

The second third begins after 15 minutes of smoke time.

And then a wallop in the puss with a PB&J sandwich. A giant spoonful of peanut butter and grape jelly. The creaminess is still near the top of the list but the cocoa and coffee move behind the PB&J.

I think La Aurora had every right to say that this blend would be a big step forward for the company. It has bits of Pepin Garcia, Giolito, Farkas, and AJ within the wrapper’s innards.

The stick is moving towards medium/full.

That undefinable strength that hits you in a guttural way from Illusione is right here in the La Aurora Untamed.

A smokiness BBQ campfire note is available for your dissection now.

“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

That sums it up perfectly for this La Aurora blend. It hits you with the hidden punch to the kidney while you are defending your ugly mug.

There is a nice growth in character. It keeps the experience interesting. Complexity settles in. Nice balance. Long finish.
Each puff provides an inside look to a different flavor. I like that.

The La Aurora Untamed reaches medium/full.

The cigar is so out of round I am having difficulties in posing the cigar for the photos. I was sent 3 samples and I picked the best one for the review.

It creates quite the quandary. Such a marvelous tasting cigar that looks like hell.

I reach the halfway point.

Flavors are still the same complex profile.

The strength moves to full body.

Here they are once more: PB&J, creaminess, spice, earthiness, cocoa, fruit, smokiness, toasty, and leather.

The La Aurora Untamed price point. The robusto is only going to be a 45 minute smoke at best. And if compared to good boutique brands/blends, the asking price of $6.75 is well worth it.

I check Cbid and they aren’t having any of it. So the retail market is the price you will pay. But honestly, if I had done a blind taste test on the La Aurora Untamed, I would have first called it a boutique blend. And second, I would say that it was a $9 cigar.

The La Aurora Untamed comes in 5 sizes:
Belicoso 6.2 x 52 $8.54, Corona Gorda 6 x 47 $7.42, Gordo 7 x 60 $9.88, Toro 5.5 x 54 $8.08, and the Robusto I’m reviewing. Those are CI box prices. Famous Smoke? Same pricing.

2” to go. Very nice cigar.

I want to thank Sarah Reyes of Miami Cigar & Company for sending me samples. She also sent me the Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro and Habano which I will get to in the next few days.

I just took a tumble. I over reached to empty my ashtray in the little waste basket and the big business chair I sit in fell over on top of me. Took my breath away. Ouch. My back. I’m going to need to turn my electronic implant in my spine up to Stun when I finish the review. Ouch.
Where am I? What’s my name? Who’s my daddy?

It is at this point that the La Aurora Untamed becomes as smooth as my tushy. Flavors mellow out considerably.

I just notice blood on the floor. I landed on a cigar cutter I took with me in the fall and it split my leg open. Nice. Tied it off and will go the ER for stitches when I’m done here. Now that’s devotion.
And Charlotte is going to kill me. She just spent Sunday washing the carpet in this room. You know..with one of those big honkin’ Hoover things. She is going to kill me. The adventures of reviewing in real time.
I lay newspaper down so I don’t soil the carpet any more than I’ve already done. Who says being a cigar reviewer ain’t dangerous? I need to get one of those panic buttons you see on TV for old people.

Back to the La Aurora Untamed. The char line has really behaved itself since the early mishaps. Still a bit jagged but more than acceptable.
Again, for a full bodied cigar, it is incredibly smooth.

As funky as the wrapper is, I haven’t had a single issue with it this whole time.

The last third begins.

The flavor profile becomes an amalgam of all the listed flavors.

Would I purchase the La Aurora Untamed? You betcha’.

Since the cigar was released last fall, there are already a gazillion reviews. But this will be the only one in which the reviewer spilled blood for his art.

I’m glad this is not a limited production boutique blend. I don’t have to watch as every other cigar smoker with bucks in their wallet buys up all that limited run stuff while I sit here sucking my thumb.

The La Aurora Untamed finishes up nicely. Although, a healthy dose of nicotine kicks in. But I’m not sure if I’m swooning from the nicotine or the massive loss of blood.

Good thing the sight of blood doesn’t bother me. I would have hated it if I passed out during the review.

I most definitely recommend this cigar for your humidor. I plan on buying the Corona Gorda when I have some shekels in the bank.
Off to the ER.