The La Aurora Preferidos Diamond is our throwback review for the month of May. Every month on the 1st we will be doing a review of a cigar that has been on the market for at least 10 years. It gives us at The Barrel Burner a chance to look back at cigars in an age when cigar blogs are mostly about reviewing what is new.
Preferidos collection is hand-crafted in small batches by expert torcedores with over 15 years of experience. There are currently six regular production preferidos; Sapphire (Connecticut), Ruby (Maduro), Platinum (Cameroon), Gold (Corojo), Emerald (Ecuador) and today’s review Diamond (Broadleaf).
Cigar Review: La Aurora Preferidos Diamond
Size: 5 x 54
Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Republic
Fillers: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Factory: E. Leon Jimenes Tabacalera
Release Date: October 2012
Production: Regular
Box Size: 8
The Cigar: Packaged in black tubos the cigar has an elegant look while feel nostalgic as well. When the Preferido was release the tubos were cutting edge but today it feels dated. Inside sits an ugly broadleaf wrapper that you just know is going to be delicious. The band feels oversized for the shape and in 22+ years La Aurora hasn’t correct the appears of Broad Leaf being two words on the band. In the hand the cigar is velvety and has a balanced weight to it.’
The Taste: The cold draw serves up notes of BBQ potato chips with hints of chili powder, brown sugar, onion powder, smoked paprika and cayenne. It’s as the cigars were rolled and a bag of chips was used ala shake n bake. The aroma from the foot and wrapper is similar though not quite as potent as the cold draw.
Once we toast and light th nipple of the La Aurora Preferidos Diamond notes of paprika are still visible where it is joined by earth, cayenne pepper and a touch of cedar. As we progress into the thicker part of the ring gauge the cigar develops a subtle cacao and rich espresso notes. The retrohale sees the addition of some licorice notes to round things out in the first half.
As we reach the 54 ring gauge part of the cigar notes of espresso are dominant with a touch of hickory and earth. The finish of the cigar holds on to some cacao from the first half while the retrohale still sees nuances of licorices.
Moving into the final third of the cigar as the ring gauge starts to pull back down the notes of smoked paprika, brown sugar and cayenne make a return with elements of licorice making their way to the palate.
Conclusion: The first thing that came to note when I opened up my 4 pack I purchased from Small Batch Cigar was, “wow, these are no where near as dark was they were when they first came out.” Granted boxes are color sorted and they do vary from box to box as it is the nature of tobacco. But appearance aside these are even more of a flavor bomb then I remember them to be. While they are way to expensive for the size we do not factor price into our final score.
The La Aurora Preferido Diamond is the quintessential cigar for summer barbecue season with its BBQ flavor profile. It is the perfect pairing for carving something up that just came out of the smoker or laying in the hammock after a post cigar meal.
Score: 95
Price: $27.25 (Before any local or state taxes)
You can find the La Aurora Preferidos Diamond at Small Batch Cigar and if you use the coupon code BARRELBURNER you can save 10% off your order (some restrictions may apply)
