By Vasilij Ratej
For me personally, La Aurora Puro Vintage 2008 Limited Edition 2021 is a mild to medium-bodied cigar. It is very rich in flavor and my two examples were wonderful to enjoy. The tobacco dates from 2008 and there are 6000 boxes of 8 cigars per box worldwide.
What Manuel Inoa says about this tobacco
The Product Manager of Oettinger Davidoff, Basel, Luca Corpina, asked the master blender of La Aurora, Manuel Inoa, about the tobacco. "The cigars have to rest in the maturing room for at least 8 months," replied Manuel Inoa. "The 2007 (LE 2018) and 2008 (LE 2021) cigars have the same blend, but they are different harvests." So if you are lucky enough to have the cigars from both vintages, you can try to find out the difference.
A cigar test is subjective
Note: How the cigar tastes is influenced by personal taste preferences, taste memories, the shape of the day, what you have eaten or drunk before. Even the lighting mood in the room has an influence on the experienced taste. The notes described here therefore do not have to match your own impressions.
Fact Sheet
Format: Salomones (length: 165 mm / ring size: 50)
Tobacco: Wrapper: Dom. Republic / binder: Ecuador / filler: Brazil, Dom. Republic, Nicaragua
Price: Status May 2022: CHF 24.50 / box of 8 CHF 196.00
EUR unknown
Personal impressions of pleasure
Recommended acclimatization: 4 days in the humidor with the box. If you can get hold of individual cigars: The cigars have no cellophane. Therefore, pack them in tubos or in a zipper bag and then in the humidor.
First half / Tongue, palate: sweetish / soft grassy / nutty / soft cocoa (bittersweet) / wood / creamy
Retronasal: gently grassy / nutty / gently peppery / gently cocoa (bittersweet) / coffee beans
R+ ZiZo vacuum technology: gently grassy / gently peppery / coffee beans / tart
Umami: roasty
Strength 2/5
Second halfThe cigar develops little and remains almost stable linear. Strength 2/5, max. 3/5
Conclusion
The quality of the tobacco is great and the rolling of the cigar also shows a very good draw. The burn is ok; you have to correct the wavy burn and the slightly crooked burn with the flame from time to time. This criterion scored 3 out of 5 points for my two cigars.
The cigar is great to enjoy. It is completely uncomplicated and has a really great taste. Both cigars were linear when I smoked them. This means that the aroma spectrum did not develop much further. That was the second criterion for which I gave it 3 out of 5 points.
BUT:
The richness of aromas is really great! Sweetish / gently grassy / gently peppery on the nose / cocoa / coffee beans on the nose / wood / creamy and slightly acidic (R+ technique) - it was a real treat for me!
I was surprised by the rather mild strength of max. 3/5. If you look at the filler tobacco, you would expect a much stronger cigar and perhaps also a development in the smoke. Here again the filler: Brazil, Dom. Republic, Nicaragua.
BUT:
Because all the tobaccos are from the 2008 harvest, then it is not surprising that the cigar was mild (for me personally); the nicotine breaks down over the years. It is interesting that American blogs state a different tobacco blend. Who knows...
ALSO:
If you're lucky enough to buy this 2021 edition: Go for it. There are only 6000 boxes of 8 cigars worldwide.
As always, "If the cigar tastes good to me, then maybe to you. But if you don't like it, then there's more for me!" 🙂
Resources on the topic
- Buy cigar: Google Search > or with Davidoff Switzerland
- Helpful Cigar Tips: From "retronasal", to "umami" to the difference in cigar storage between Non Cuba and Cuba.
