Early in 2020, La Aurora Cigars announced it was releasing its first all-Nicaraguan cigar. The cigar would be released under the 107 brand and was appropriately dubbed the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua. The cigar would be the creation of La Aurora’s Master Blender Manuel Inoa and would allow Inoa to answer the challenge of whether or not he could develop an all-Nicaraguan cigar. While the cigar is 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos, the cigar is still produced in the Dominican Republic at the La Aurora factory. Originally, the La Aurora Nicaragua was released for the international market outside of the United States, but in October, the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua would make its way to the U.S. market. Today, we take a closer look at the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua in the Robusto size.

The La Aurora 107 line is one that has been around for over a decade. The line made its debut in 2010 and it was released to pay homage to the 107th anniversary of the La Aurora factory, which is the oldest cigar factory operation in the Dominican Republic. Around the time the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua was launched for the international market, the La Aurora 107 brand underwent a slight rebranding of the lines. These did not involve blend changes, but new names.

• La Aurora 107 Ecuador (original La Aurora 107)
• La Aurora 107 USA (original La Aurora 107 Maduro)
• La Aurora 107 Nicaragua (no name change)
• La Aurora 107 Cosecha (limited release – no name change)

Without further ado, let’s break down the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Not much of the details of the tobaccos incorporated into the blend have been disclosed other than the fact that the tobaccos are all Nicaraguan, and the wrapper used is a Habano wrapper. As mentioned, the cigar is produced at the La Aurora factory located in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: La Aurora S.A.

Vitolas Offered

In the U.S market, the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua is offered in three sizes. A Churchill size is offered in the international (non-U.S.) market. Each size is presented in 20-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 5 3/4 x 54
Gran Toro: 6 x 58
Churchill: 7 x 47 (Non-U.S. market)

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Habano wrapper of the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua had a medium brown color with some subtle mottling on the surface. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on the surface of the wrapper. There were some visible veins and some minimally visible wrapper seams. The cigar itself had a slight Cuban-style box-press to it.

There are two bands on the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua. The primary one has a red, gold, orange, and white color scheme. The center of the band contains a sketch of a lion. There are gold medallions surrounding it to the left and right. Above the lion, it says “LA AURORA” in red font.  Below the lion, it says “107” – in gold font on a red circle with dark trim. On the right side is the text “SERIE 107 ANIVERSARIO” in red font on a gold stripe. The band has gold trim and on the lower part of the band is the text “HECHO A MANO EN REPUBLICA DOMINICANA” – also in gold font.

Partially resting under the primary band is a secondary band that is all brown with gold embellishments and trim on the lower part of the band. Just above the embellishments is the text “NICARAGUA” in gold font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience of the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto. After the cap was removed it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The dry draw delivered a mix of dusty earth, natural tobacco, and cedar. The cigar produced a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At that point, it was time to light up the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto commenced with notes of earth, fruit, natural tobacco, baker’s spice, and a combination of black and red pepper on the tongue. Early on, the natural tobacco, baker’s spice, and earth moved to the forefront with the fruit and pepper notes secondary. There was a sweetness and testiness to the natural tobacco. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto, the natural tobacco and earth notes remained primary. The natural tobacco lost a bit of its sweetness and testiness. The baker’s spice diminished in the background. The pepper notes slowly increased during the second third, eventually overshadowing the baker’s spice in the background.

The last third of the cigar experience saw the pepper notes join the natural tobacco in the forefront. In the background, the earth, baker’s spice, and fruit notes provided some complementary notes. As the cigar experience of the  La Aurora 107 Robusto came to a close, the cigar had a slightly soft, but cool nub.

Burn

The La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto had excellent construction and this was reflected in the performance of the burn. This was a cigar that maintained a straight burn path. There was a slight jaggedness on the burn line, but the cigar never started to meander. The resulting ash was light gray. This wasn’t an overly firm ash and had a light amount of flaking to it. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The excellent construction of the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto also reflected on the draw. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance to it – which made things ideal. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

Manuel Inoa has proven in the past he could blend a powerhouse cigar when it comes to both strength and body. The La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto wasn’t the most powerful cigar Inoa has blended, but this is no lightweight either.  In terms of strength and body, the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto delivered a medium to full experience. There was a nominal increase in terms of intensity increase for both the strength and body, but in the end the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto stayed in the medium to full range.

When looking at strength versus body of the La Aurora 107 Nicaragua Robusto, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted