La Aurora Escogidos Belicoso

When I usually go into a humidor out of town, I usually try to find something different than I do not have access to on the homefront.   To my surprise, when I walked into W.Curtis Draper in Bethesda, MD, I was surprised to see the La Aurora Escogidos Belicoso.   I wasted no time in sampling this cigar.   After completing this initial cigar experience, I walked away with a very positive feeling on this blend.   I’ll even go as far as to say that this might be the best blend under the La Aurora umbrella.

It is worth noting that this version of the Escogidos was used to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of Drapers.  According to the tobacconist at Drapers, these cigars had been aging for over 18 months, so they were ripe to enjoy.

Blend Profile

One thing worth noting from the start.   The blend of the La Aurora Escogidos Belicoso is different than the core (Robusto-size) La Aurora Escogidos.   On the surface, the biggest change is that this does not contain a Cameroon wrapper.   I asked Jose Blanco, Sales Director of La Aurora about the blend and here are the details he provided me:

Wrapper: Brazilian
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Brazilian, Nicaraguan, Dominican

Vitolas Available

As mentioned for this specific blend, the La Aurora Escogidos is available only in a Belicoso vitola.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For this cigar experience, I defaulted to a straight cut into the Belicoso tip of the cigar.   On the dry draw, I did have a little difficulty picking out exactly what the flavor was.  After thinking about it, I settled on “chocolate”.  I wouldn’t categorize it as a rich chocolate but more like “just enough chocolate flavor”.   It was then on to fire this cigar up and see what it would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

Upon the initial draws, the Escogidos took on a flavor profile of strong earth notes.   I also was able to detect some hay and a little bit of spice in the background to start.   As the cigar progressed in the first third, it definitely maintained flavors of earth with wood in the background.  Toward the end of the first third, the wood was taking on more of a tone of cedar spice.   I also picked up a few notes of toast at this point as well.

When the Escogidos entered the second third, it took an unexpected turn.  At this point, I began to detect hints of citrus.   The sweetness soon begins to increase  in intensity.   At the same time, the sweetness morphed from citrus into more of a buttesrcotch/caramel sweetness.  By the halfway point, it became the dominant flavor note – overtaking the earth, cedar spice, and toast notes.

Toward the last third, the Escogidos the spice took on more of a peppery taste.  The pepper and butterscotch sweetness took turns as far as what was the dominant flavor note.  The nub was lukewarm and soft, but it did not produce any harsh flavors.

Burn and Draw

Overall the burn of the La Aurora Escogidos Belicoso gave me a sharp burn.  The cigar did seem to burn a little hotter than I would expect.  Despite the warm burn, as mentioned above the nub was not harsh.   The Escogidos also seemed to burn at a good rate as well.   Meanwhile, the draw was excellent.

Strength and Body

Overall, I did not find the La Aurora Escogidos to have a lot of strength – it definitely falls into the medium category here.  As for the body, this the flavor notes were very robust.  I’m inclined to say this has just enough body to cross into the “full” category.

Final Thoughts

This La Aurora Escogidos had a healthy dose of complexity.  The flavors were very good that it produced.   This was everything a limited run cigar should be.  If you are in W.Curtis Draper in Bethesda, I’d recommend making it a point to stop there and pick up this one – especially before they drain their inventory.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium
Body: Full
Assessment: Memorable

Disclaimer:  The cigars for this experience described in this assessment were purchased at W.Curtis Draper in Bethesda, MD.