Wrapper: Nicaraguan with Mexican San Andrés rope
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, USA Pennsylvania
Size: 4.5 x 38/60 Perfecto with Shaggy Foot
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $16.50
Quantity Released: 137 boxes of 10
Released: January 2025
Factory: La Aurora S.A. Dominican Republic

La Aurora aged these cigars 14 years before release.
My cigars received 2 months of naked humidor time.

BACKGROUND:
From Cigar Aficionado:
“The shaggy foot. Exposed binder and filler protrude from the foot for the shaggy effect. La Aurora doesn’t normally make this type of cigar.
The rope. A rope of tobacco binds the wrapper and it’s not just for looks. It’s intended to be smoked along with the other components. This is not only unusual for La Aurora, it’s unusual for the entire industry.
The low production numbers. At only 137 boxes, which means a run of merely 1,370 cigars total.
The age. These cigars are purportedly 14 years old with some 19-year-old tobacco in the blend. Tobacco that old is atypical for the industry.
‘The outer rope is Mexican San Andrés tobacco that the company says, “plays a fundamental role in the smoking experience,’ as it was put in place to add hints of pepper and sweetness.”

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I bought five cigars. I gave two away. I smoked one as soon as I got it. I wasted the possibility of a damn fine cigar. I didn’t clue into that these are one of a kind small batch sticks. I didn’t want to use the remaining two for the review. One is good enough. I’m going in…blind.

Smells nice. But so does every cigar…unless you’re nose blind. And since the odds of you finding one of these babies for sale is null and void, I shall skip over this section.

The draw is deceptively simply fine. The cap is the size of my prehistoric foreskin and too small for my PerfecDraw…that is unless you are a young whipper snapper of only 70.

The draw is baking spices, black and jalapeno peppers, cedar, sassafras, creamy sustainability, and dark chocolate with a hint of black coffee.

L Arurora’s intent is that we are to smoke this cigar with the twisty Mexican San Andres rope still installed. A reimagination of our younger years.

Spicy start. Unable to distinguish the blend, at this point, from any other cigar with 14 years of aging.

Alrighty then…it finds another gear. Creamy root beer float, chocolate pudding, black and red pepper, a touch of graphite, and hazelnuts. Nothing new in the flavor department from a million other cigars. But…a sly complexity sneaks Sally through the alley. Behind that is the sense of subtle refinement.

Construction is excellent. The cigar has a fly by night appearance. It looks like it was woven by caterpillars. At the rate it’s burning, this might easily be a 90-minute march.

Strength wasted no time. It hit its mark with medium/full in less than 4.4 seconds. Empty stomach. Only water to dull the pain.

The blend suddenly turns into sippin’ whisky. I working on instinctuals, not actuals.
Bassist Carol Kaye isn’t responding to my correspondence. She turned 90 a few days ago. Not good news when your heroes still left standing become minimalistic in their numbers. She always said that she remembers me. But with her wide influence, I’m guessing she says that to everyone. I wish her well.

15 minutes in (1”) and the cigar is fantastic. Holy craperino. It is like an aged OpusX.
I have no idea if the rope is making a difference. My betters would know. But it is interfering with the char line. I expected that. As every cigar I’ve smoked with this fandango design had identical issues. And then of course, it corrects itself.

If this blend can maintain a boner for the duration, my fervent recommendation is you buy as many of La Aurora’s next release as you can which is scheduled for this May: Small Batch Lot No. 007. It is a small Robusto measuring 4.5 x 50 that uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a dual binder of Cameroon and Dominican. With fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Peru. La Aurora had more patience this time around, and instead of releasing a cigar only aged 14 years, the 007 will have 21 years of aging…and only $15.00 each.

In the late 90’s, my power blues trio played around Phoenix incessantly. Sometimes, we played for hundreds of people; other times, our first set saw only 12 wannabe drunks. Rather than waste the good stuff, we jammed on 1-4-5 blues shuffles. If I wasn’t playing out 3-4 times per week, getting up to go to work in the morning with 3 hours of sleep, it would have been fun. And the money was good too. In the spirit of jamming, we sometimes merged songs together. There was one in which we played the theme from 007 and then morphed into Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes.” It was always a crowd favorite.

Dark chocolate, super creamy, candied hazelnuts, rich espresso, tart plum, toasted bagel, basil, mild black pepper spiciness, and freshly hewn cedar.

I remove the cigar band. Turns out it has a mild opacity. I didn’t know that. I also didn’t know that this petite cigar would be a nearly two-hour journey. Imagine how many fingers were crossed that this cigar, over its 14 years, would maintain its structural integrity. Imagine how many didn’t make the cut.

The halfway point slides into home at the one-hour mark. Strength hasn’t moved. My lucid brain thanks thee. The blend is beautifully rich and satisfying. Can it, will it…stay the course?

I met bassist Tiran Porter of The Doobie Brothers in the mid-80’s at a club in Santa Cruz. The man had a three-piece instrumental band. He sat with me during a break and spent the entire 20 minutes complaining about Michael McDonald. Tiran rejoined the band in ’87.

1965. I was in the car with my mother. Bod Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” came on the radio. I loved the song. My mom recoiled in horror. She had always been a supporter of my music. My first thought was she was going to take my bass away. I calmed her down by rubbing her forehead and feeding her cheese.

I’m ready for summer barbecues with my new travel humidor. I just don’t have room for my two 500 count humidors. I snagged this baby for its simplistic perfection. It is not a guitar case. It looks like a Pelican rifle case. It is TSA approved. The four latches require the power of Titan to open and close them. There are two places for adding your own padlocks for security. I bought five Spanish cedar trays from Amazon for $20 each. Naturally, Charlie Schink found them later for only $13.50 each from 1st Class Humidors. Unless you are storing petit coronas, at best this is a 300-count humidor. The point is I can store this thing out of foot tripping distance. It is made by Yosemite. I paid $200 for it at Cigar Page. I chose to buy the cedar trays because without them, your cigars end up in total disarray from the act of moving it.

The blend is so smooth that despite its flavor wheel components, it is more about its refinements. You don’t come across a cigar like this very often.

I allow the structural ash to hang…tempting fate. I place a Teflon frying pan on my exposed lap. I want the money shot. Normally, I charge a cigar with a Lewis and Clark exposition team to find my shimmering naughty bits. Fortunately, my gonadal region is safely next to my shoes.

And then the ash collapses missing my nether regions by a country mile.

I skip ahead. In public, I saunter.

The cigar tapers down to its last breaths. The strength never exceeded medium/full. Meanwhile, the body went full Indian. A beautiful cigar experience.

If you can find them, tell no one. Buy them all. Let them sleep for a month or two despite having all that age on them. They need to breathe a bit. And then dry box them for 24 hours. Good luck.

RATING: 97

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, la aurora cigars, La Aurora Small Batch Lot No. 006 | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, phil kohn