Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today, we look at the La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age (Toro size). This is a cigar blend previously assessed in May 2019 with the 2017 edition in the Salomon size.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Colombian, Dominican (Cibao Valley), and Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: La Aurora S.A.
Toro: 6 x 54

Earlier in 2023, La Aurora would make the fourth release of its La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age series.
The name Hors D’Age is French for “beyond time”. This is a cigar that La Aurora says goes through a 12-year cycle from the time the tobacco seeds are sowed to the time it reaches consumers. As a part of that process, the cigar itself spends extra time in the aging room. In this case, the La Aurora Preferidos 2021 was aged for two years.

The cigar is a 6 x 54 Toro that features an Ecuadorian wrapper and binder over Dominican, Colombian, and Nicaraguan fillers. A total of 700 15-count boxes will be released. There have been various sizes of the Hors D’Age released over the years. The 6 x 54 Toro size has been released in the past.

The La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age made its debut in 2018, and there has been a 2019, 2020, and 2023 release since then. Each cigar has analogous blend components but differs by vintage. The following is a list of the La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age releases.

2018: La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age 2017
2019: La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age 2018
2020: La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age 2019
2023: La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age 2021

The La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’age 2021 opened with notes of bread, fruit, cedar, and natural tobacco. Early on, the fruit and bread notes moved to the forefront with the cedar and natural tobacco settling in the background. There was an additional layer of sweet natural tobacco and black pepper on the retro-hale. During the second third, the bread took over as the primary note. The fruit receded into the background, joining the cedar and natural tobacco. In addition, some black pepper emerged on the tongue and increased in intensity. There wasn’t much change going into the final third, but there was more pepper, and the flavors got somewhat muddled.

The cigar started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. This progressed to medium to full by the second half for both attributes. Both the burn and draw were higher maintenance than I preferred. The burn required frequent touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The draw was slightly loose, and as a result, I had to be more cognizant of the combustion rate.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The La Aurora Preferidos Hors D’Age scored a respectable 87 points. It’s definitely down from when I smoked the original Salomon in 2019, which landed a 91. I didn’t find the flavors as good, and the construction was not at the same level. In a world of inflated scoring by cigar media, 87 points might seem low, but as I said, it’s still respectable. The problem is that this is a $30.00 cigar – and it simply did not perform like a $30.00 cigar. I’ve had better from La Aurora, and I know La Aurora can do better here. Priced at $30.00 and only earning 87 points falls short of expectations. This cigar is a pass.

Summary

Key Flavors: Bread, Fruit, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Good