La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Gran Toro

La Aurora, the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar company, really likes celebrating its anniversaries. The company has done so for its 100th, 107th, 110th, 111th, 115th, 120th anniversaries, not to mention a plethora of cigars that pay tribute to 1903, the year La Aurora was founded.

For its 115th anniversary, La Aurora released two different blends. One was for a regular production line, while the other was used for two different limited edition vitolas. The limited edition blend used an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and Brazilian and Dominican fillers.

As for those two limited edition vitolas:

• La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Belicoso (6 1/4 x 52) — $19 (Boxes of 15, $285) — 3,000 Boxes of 15 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)
• La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Gran Toro (6 x 58) — $19 (Jars of 30, $570) — 800 Jars of 15 Cigars (12,000 Total Cigars)

In May 2019, I reviewed the Gran Toro and was very impressed with it. Here’s how I concluded that review:

If you get the same cigar that I smoked—and that seems like a bigger if than it should be given the general confusion here—you will get a great cigar. For all of the head-scratching nonsense that was caused by the rollout of this line, the actual cigar itself is very good. It’s complex and balanced with a fuller profile than what is typically found in a La Aurora cigar. At $19 you aren’t getting any sort of value, but that doesn’t take away from the cigar or the score. And while I might not have very much confidence of what the actual blend is, I do know that it is very good and I suppose that’s all that counts.

• Cigar Reviewed: La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Gran Toro
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: La Aurora Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Brazil & Dominican Republic
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 58
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $19 (Box of 15, $285)
• Release Date: March 2019
• Number of Cigars Released: 3,000 Boxes of 15 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 3

For those who believe that the yellow or brown color of cellophane is indicative of how old a cigar is, this particular La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Gran Toro will once again prove that it is an inaccurate measure. This cellophane is crystal clear, and while it does feel a bit weird, I suspect that’s because it’s slightly larger that it needed to be and so it hasn’t conformed to the cylinder of the cigar as most cellophane does. Once removed from cellophane, I’m somewhat concerned by how firm the cigar is; there’s more or less no give. The cigar itself has a darker-than-average brown hue, though the colors lack the vibrance typically found, almost like the saturation is turned down slightly. Even more, I notice how well the oily surface of the wrapper mutes the texture. There are veins, but they are hardly visible until I’m looking very closely at the cigar. The wrapper smell is medium with muted leather, some sweetness and ammonia. The foot is a bit stronger with a sweet floral smell, earthiness, mild amounts of wood, creaminess and acorns. The medium-full cold draw has an even sweeter flavor—more a sugar candy than floral—along with a bit of pear. It, too, is muted, and I can smell the ammonia from the wrapper.

While the cold draw’s resistance was somewhat open, I’m happy to report that once lit, the thicker cigar’s draw is right where I’d like it to be. There’s plenty of smoke with damp woods and leather leading creaminess, black pepper and a touch of herbal flavors. It’s very much leaning into the earthy part of the flavor wheel and, for most of the half, a bitter version of that. After about an inch, nuttiness fades, leaving earthiness, leather, white pepper, saltiness and a touch of creaminess behind. The profile gets more bitter thanks to the flavor of dry fall leaves, though the largest change is that nuttiness reappears and eventually, right around the halfway mark, becomes the strongest flavor. The finish is somewhat similar, though the earthiness has a damp profile, the leather is stronger, the sweetness is gone, and there are some added vegetal flavors. Retrohales are more enjoyable with a buttered white bread flavor on top of the earthy profile. Unfortunately, retrohales finish with a harsher pepper that pairs with the dry flavors and produces a combination that I’m less fond of. The flavor profile is quite full with an extra amount of thickness. Body is full and strength is medium-full. As is common for the ring gauge, the draw is more open than a standard 5 x 50 robusto though it’s not causing any issues. It’s difficult to figure out which construction element is the best: the even and thick ash formation or the smoke itself, which is cool in temperature and plentiful in volume.

Entering the second half, the La Aurora 115th Anniversary Limited Edition Gran Toro keeps on chugging, though there aren’t many notable flavor changes. Of all things, the first major change is that the burn rate has mysteriously slowed down. It doesn’t seem to be related to any other combustion changes, as things remain excellent in that regard. As the final third begins, the nuttiness quickly disappears. It leaves behind dry earth, sesame seeds, creaminess and some white pepper. At times, I find some brown mustard accents, but it continues to be a lot of dry earthiness. The finish has saltiness, harsh earth and some vegetal flavors, though like before, there’s not much difference between when the smoke is initially in my mouth and the first 30 seconds after it’s left my mouth. Retrohales are also very similar to the first half of the cigar: the bread flavor remains the strongest of the bunch, beating out creaminess, leather, white pepper and some very mild strawberry sweetness. The finish sees the creaminess and dry fall leaves pick up, along with some mild fruitiness. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-plus. Construction remains excellent, though right around the final third, the temperature of the smoke slowly ticks up.