Merry Christmas!
I realize it is a little late in the day but I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. My present to you is this little video about what Christmas is really all about.
La Aurora 107 Short Cigar Review
This sample comes from Miami Cigar & Co. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuador | Binder: Dominican Republic | Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua | Box of 21: $114.00 | Single: $6.34 | Robusto | 5 ½″ x 43
0/3: This is the La Aurora 107 corona, a cigar that I have smoked a number of times but only feel like doing a short review for right now. I have reviewed the La Aurora 107 before and I liked it. They are good cigars and I can honestly tell you that I have not heard anyone say anything truly negative about these cigars.
This cigar feels a little soft to the touch. A little veiny but not too pronounced. The wrapper is a little oily to the touch and it is pretty obvious that these cigars are well made.
1/3: One of the things that I like about smaller cigars is that it seems, to me at least, that the flavors are more concentrated and that is what I am getting with this cigar. While I liked the other vitolas that I tried the corona seems to be the best fit for me. Spice, buttered toast and some woody notes make up the bulk of the flavors for me.
2/3: This cigar seems to be a little stronger than the other vitolas as well. While not full bodied I would peg it in the medium-full bodied range. The flavors are still very strong during this third and it is a very enjoyable cigar.
3/3: While the final third stays pretty much the same as the previous two thirds I am not disappointed because the flavors were very enjoyable. Add to the mix the fact that this cigar has a good draw and burn there is nothing negative that can be said about it.
4/3: Very solid cigar, definitely my favorite size of the La Aurora 107s. And they smoke quickly too. So, if you find yourself with a lot of 30 minute to hour long gaps of time fill it up with one of these cigars.
4.5 points
Undercrown Cigar Review
What the heck is an “Undercrown” anyways? As far as I can tell, before Drew Estate got it’s hands on the name the only other time in the history of mankind this term was used was for the creation of a clothing company that is “The brand for champions.” Alright, that is kind of disappointing. I was hoping that the term Undercrown had some sort of medieval history about it; maybe the Undercrown could have been an English king in exile. Even though there is no link for this name to anything historical I think it still makes sense.
According to the Drew Estate legend this cigar is the product of the creativity of their torcedores who were told they could no longer smoke as many Liga Privada cigars as they wanted. So, they did what any other enterprising employee would do and used the same tobacco to make a different cigar: the Undercrown. My only problem with this story is that just because the torcedores put the tobacco in a different cigar doesn’t mean they are smoking any less of that tobacco. I wonder what new cigars the torcedores will come up with once the bosses over at Drew Estate cut the torcedores’ personal supply of Undercrowns.
They’re solid cigars. The first one I smoked was at a cigar lounge in Fullerton and even though the air was more smoke than oxygen the cigar was pretty amazing. And it makes sense that it would taste so good when you look at it: perfect shape, the wrapper is smooth to the touch, it’s oily, evenly packed and no raised veins. Another reason why it isn’t a shocker I liked this cigar is because those industrious torcedores over at Drew Estate were Wile E. Coyote enough to put some of that delicious T52 Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut tobacco into it. And I loved the T52.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Otapan Negro Último Corte
Binder: T52 Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut & Cured Habano
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Cuban Seed
Price:$167.00/Box of 25 | $35.50/Pack of 5
Coronal Mass Ejection Torch!
Isn’t all tobacco that is used to make a cigar cured? Don’t know why that was put in there but, hey, I just report in Cigar Stats.
When a cigar produces a tactile experience akin to smoking a pixy stick I love it. It’s almost like the flavor molecules have granulated and you can pick out each individual flavor granule. This is one of those cigars and some of the flavor granules I am picking up include: somewhat sweet spice, meat, yeasty sweetness as well and some cherry.
Pretty much the same during the second third but with some chocolate added into the mix. And that is fine. The flavors are still very good and the Undercrown is one of those easy going smokes that provides a lot of flavor.
As you near the end of this cigar the spice retreats into the background and leaves an earthy tableau in its place. Chocolate, meat and some sweetness for character. Each puff reveals some nuances to the flavor profile that puts a nice spin on the flavors I mentioned. Sometimes the flavors are more chocolaty and then at other times they are more meaty. I hate to say that the granulated effect has worn off now and in its place is creamy smoke, which is better than fine.
Ironically, this was the cigar that my friend found too strong when he first started smoking it. Personally, I think this is right in the middle of the medium bodied range. Keith, over at Tiki Bar Online, pegs this as a full-medium bodied smoke, which I think gives more credence to the thesis that strength is subjective. The draw was good and the burn was good as well, requiring a couple of minor touch ups at the end. Drew Estate’s Undercrown is a complex cigar with good smoking characteristics and enough variability in the flavor profile to keep even the most jaded cigar smoker interested for a couple of hours.
92 points
Strength can be Subjective
You have a friend who is asking you about this or that cigar. You know that this cigar is right smack in the middle of the medium bodied spectrum and that is what you tell him. But then, much to your chagrin, your friend doesn’t like the cigar because it is too strong. What happened here?
One thing that could have happened was that your friend is a newer cigar smoker and their idea of medium bodied is your idea of mild. After they have smoked more cigars and become accustomed to the strength of different cigars their perceptions might also change.
Another thing that might have happened here is that your friend just hasn’t had enough to eat throughout the day. Cigars, like liquor, affect you differently based off of how much you have had to eat during the day. If you are smoking a Joya de Nicaragua Antano in the morning and on an empty stomach you are not going to like it all that much unless you have some serious amount of tolerance built up. Even then, it is the rare person who can smoke a cigar with that kind of heft without feeling much if any of its strength.
On the other hand some cigars just affect people differently. Some people might be able to smoke a Camacho Coyolar without any problem but when they light up a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel they tend to get a little queasy. My guess is that there is something unique going on with a person’s physiology to account for a difference like this. Some people can drink a lot of whiskey but when they drink a little vodka they get sick, same thing with cigars. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the only way you are going to be able to find out about these differences for yourself is by smoking more cigars.
So, what is the point of all this? Well, I guess the first point would be to be self aware. If you know how you react to different kinds of cigars you will know what cigars to pick in the future. This would hopefully prevent you from picking a cigar that is just too strong or too weak for your taste.
Having a better grasp of strength in cigars will also help you give better recommendations to your friends. For example, your friend asks you about this cigar you know to be in the medium-full bodied range. You like it and it is comfortably within your strength range but your friend, who has been smoking a couple of cigars a week for a couple of years, probably would not like this cigar because he sticks with cigars medium bodied or milder. What you could do in this situation is tell your friend to smoke this medium-full bodied cigar after dinner; hopefully, the meal will help ameliorate the affects of a strong cigar.
Basically, the moral to this story is that the more you know about your and your friend’s cigar smoking preferences the better the smoking experience for everybody.
