La Aurora Robusto

Score: 8.5

By The Reverend Dr. Hurricane Meyn

Every year when the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival rolls around, I find myself faced with the same quandary: what cigar should I smoke while enjoying the plethora of musical acts and the incredible food choices? (As usual, I couldn’t decide between Crawfish Monica and the fried soft shell crab po-boy – so I had both.)

I’m sure many of you have faced the same dilemma. You don’t want to stroll around smoking your lawn-cutting throwdown cigar, but neither do you want to risk having any of your highly treasured and expensive sticks drenched by tropical rains, snuffed by gale force winds, or knocked from your hands and trampled by some inebriated tourist who’s had a few too many Sazeracs on his first trip out of Enid.

For such events, and there are plenty down here in The Big Easy, I stock my humidor with a cache of premium cigars in the medium price range that won’t make me cry should tragedy strike. At the top of my Festival Cigar List is the tried-and-true La Aurora Robusto.
Confession time y’all. I’m an all day sucker for anything wrapped in the rare, toothy Cameroon leaf, but the La Aurora Robusto, at about $3 per stick from Famous Smoke Shop, is consistently as good as – if not better than – much more expensive Dominican cigars with the same wrapper.

On this particular day, the La Aurora in question displayed the high quality construction I’ve come to expect from this Dominican gem. The wrapper had no major flaws and was thinly veined. The cigar had a very pleasant aroma and just a slight give when pressed between the fingers – a very important characteristic in a cigar that is going to be enjoyed walking about al fresco. The roll must not be so loose as to burn unevenly or too quickly when fanned by gusty winds. The stick clipped nicely with by Wenger Swiss Army Knife cutter, and the flame was accepted easily upon lighting.

The Cameroon wrapper supplied just the right amount of spiciness as the Dominican filler fueled the flavor of the mild-medium bodied smoke that suggested subtle hints of vanilla and toasty wood.

Brothers and sisters, this is an understated cigar, not one that will wallop you over the head with any particular essence nor overpower anything you might be eating or drinking. The La Aurora Robusto is an accompanying smoke that enhances food and drink. The ash was more white than gray, and the burn was even despite a gusty wind.

To sum it up, The Rev says you can believe that the La Aurora Robusto will make any outdoor event even more enjoyable.

Peace, Love and Smoke,
The Rev

Appearance: 8
Construction: 9
Burn: 8
Draw: 9
Aroma: 8
Flavor: 9
Final Score: 8.5

Also visit: The Reverend’s NOLa Church of Smokes at SocialCigar,com