At the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, La Aurora Cigars launched the seventh installment of its Preferidos series, the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged. The foundation of this series revolves around a series of perfectos (although many of the offerings in the series now include parejos) packaged in a uniquely shaped tubo with each installment highlighting a different wrapper leaf. With the Double Barrel Aged, La Aurora switched the direction a bit. While the perfecto shape its corresponding tubo are still there, the focus shifts from the wrapper leaf to the aging process for the cigars. Today we dive deeper and take a closer look at the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged.

According to La Aurora Cigars, the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged uses tobaccos aged for a minimum of three years before being rolled. The cigars themselves are aged in rum barrels an additional 90 days after being rolled – thus the name Double Barrel Aged.

As mentioned, the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged is the seventh installment in the Preferidos Series. For completeness, we list the installments of the series with the wrapper type highlighted in parentheses. One interesting note is the Preferidos Double Barrel Aged is the only installment not to be named for a gem or precious metal.

• Preferidos Gold (Dominican Corojo)
• Preferidos Platinum (Cameroon)
• Preferidos Ruby (Brazilian Maduro)
• Preferidos Sapphire (Connecticut Shade)
• Preferidos Emerald (Ecuadorian Sungrown)
• Preferidos Diamond (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Preferidos Double Barrel Aged (Ecuadorian Habano Double Aged)

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the La Aurora 1903 Preferidos Double Barrel Aged and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Double Anejado
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Brazilian, Cameroon
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (La Aurora SA)

Vitolas Available

The La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged is available in one size – a 5 x 54 perfecto a.k.a. double figurado. The cigars are packaged in 8-count boxes.

While currently the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged is offered in perfecto format, recently La Aurora did showcase parejo line extensions as a part of a special humidor being auctioned off at ProCigar’s charity auction.  These sizes included a Corona, Robusto, and Toro. It is unknown whether these line extensions will be marketed.

Appearance

The La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged had a medium brown color with a slight orange-like tint to it. There was some oil on the surface of the wrapper. This was a rugged looking cigar. The surface was slight bumpy and while the wrapper seams were well hidden, there were several prominent visible veins. The Preferidos Double Barrel Aged had an open footer, but a sharp taper that converges to a tip at the head of the cigar.

The band features a lion at the center of the band on a background consisting of yellow, orange, and silver color scheme. Above the lion is the text “LA AURORA” in black font. Below the lion is the text “DOUBLE BARREL AGED on an orange ribbon-design in black font. Below that ribbon is the text “HECHO A MANO – CASA FONDADA 1903” in small silver font. Toward the right of the band, it says “REPUBLICA DOMINICANA” in orange font on a silver background.

The La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged comes in a brown-metallic tubo shaped like a perfecto. There is a simulated band on the tubo that is close in design to the actual band design.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

I started my cigar experience with a straight cut to remove the cap of the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged. I used my Credo Special T cutter with the 36 ring gauge hole to get an ideal cut. This allowed me to get a smaller ring gauge cut and to take advantage of the tapering of this cigar. I then moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco, leather, and citrus. I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, I was ready to light up the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged started out with notes of natural tobacco, citrus, and wood. Early on the natural tobacco and citrus notes moved to the forefront. The wood notes settled into the background where they were joined by a mix of earth and leather notes. The wood notes diminished significantly during the first third. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced additional layers of white pepper and citrus.

As the Preferidos Double Barrel Aged moved into the second third, the earth and leather notes became more prominent. During this stage, some white pepper notes surfaced on the tongue. Toward the latter part of the second third, the earth and leather notes started to creep into the forefront. While the citrus and natural tobacco were relegated to secondary notes, the natural tobacco notes started to diminish greatly.

Finally, the last third saw the earth and leather notes in the forefront. Meanwhile, there was still some citrus and pepper in the background. As for the natural tobacco, it had dissipated. This is the way the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged came to a close. The resulting nub was firm the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged had a burn that performed well, but the tapering of the cigar had an effect in terms of controlling the burn. As a result, I did find this cigar needed some touch-ups along the way to keep the burn path straight and the burn line relatively straight. While the touch-ups did the trick, I did find this cigar needed more touch-ups than I prefer. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose nor flaky either. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

The draw of the Preferidos Double Barrel Aged performed quite well. I found the tapering toward the head had no adverse effects on smoke or flavor flow. Going into this smoke, I had heard of draw problems – but I had no issues. In the end, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor form.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged is a cigar that started out medium.There was a slight increase in the intensity level of the strength along the way, but in the end, the cigar still remained in the medium range of the spectrum. In terms of body, there was a lot of weight to the flavors of the Preferidos Double Barrel Aged. The Preferidos Double Barrel Aged started out medium to full and increased in intensity rapidly. By the second third, this cigar was in full-bodied territory. While the increase in body leveled off during the second half, the cigar still was delivering full-bodied flavors.

In terms of strength versus body of the Preferidos Double Barrel Aged, I gave a significant edge to the body.

Final Thoughts

Simply put, the La Aurora 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged had its positive points, but this cigar simply lacked “wow factor”.  The Preferidos is an iconic series of cigars and conceptually I loved what La Aurora was doing with this cigar in terms of the aging. But I was expecting something more flavor-wise. To me, the flavors were just satisfactory.  In terms of price, this is not an inexpensive cigar – coming in at $21.00 for a short perfecto. My recommendation is that if you have an opportunity to try this cigar before purchasing, then definitely do so.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Citrus, Earth, Leather, Wood, White Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full (1st Third), Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 88

References

News: La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Edition Double Barrel Aged Unveiled at 2016 IPCPR
Price: $21.00
Source: Miami Cigar and Company
Brand Reference: La Aurora

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop