Guillermo León Belicoso (Prerelease)

For those of you that don’t know, during the IPCPR trade show in New Orleans last month, La Aurora released a brand new line of cigars, named after the vice-president of the company, Guillermo León.

León, who also co-owns the company with his family’s corporation, had this to say about it:

Obviously, this cigar is personal for me. It is part of my family’s legacy for the past 107 years. In this cigar, I wanted something with deep complexity yet also a stronger smoke than most of our offerings. I think this is something that will please today’s smokers.

The Guillermo León has a habano wrapper grown in Ecuador,  and a very interesting double binder with both an undisclosed corojo and Cameroon tobaccos. The filler is from four different countries: the Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua and Brazil. The Guillermo León will also be released in four different vitolas, with prices ranging from $7.60 for the Corona to $9.80 for the Gran Toro:

• Guillermo León by La Aurora Corona (5 1/2 x 42)
• Guillermo Leon by La Aurora Belicoso Gran Corona (6 x 47)
• Guillermo Leon by La Aurora Belicoso Belicoso (6 1/4 x 52)
• Guillermo Leon by La Aurora Belicoso Gran Toro (6 x 58)

• Cigar Reviewed: Guillermo León by La Aurora Belicoso
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: E. León Jimenes Tabacalera
• Wrapper: Habano Ecuador Vuetta Arriba
• Binder: Cameroon & Corojo
• Filler: Brazil, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Peru
• Size: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Belicoso
• MSRP: $6.50 (Boxes of 20, $130.00)
• Date Released: September 8, 2009
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production

The wrapper is a gorgeous medium red-brown color, beautifully constructed with no veins showing. It is quite smooth to the touch, and the wrapper smells of sweet chocolate, cinnamon and pepper. It is very firm when squeezed, and the cold draw is of a very sweet oak and chocolate.

The Guillermo León starts out sweet, with very little spice present, and flavors of oak, chocolate, hay and a strong nuttiness.

In the second third, the flavors shift a bit, with some coffee and cinnamon entering in the mix. The spice that was present in the first third has reduced to almost nothing, leaving this a fairly mild cigar for the first two thirds.

However, during the final third, the spice picks up a bit, as do the flavors of oak, coffee, chocolate and nuts. There is an undertone of sweetness throughout the background of the cigar that is just wonderful as well.

There is plenty of great creamy smoke with this cigar, and the draw and burn were excellent. It is at most a medium strength cigar, but there is a bit of spice that combines with the sweetness to make a more interesting smoke.