La Aurora Preferidos Hors d’Age 2022 LE and Puro Vintage 2014 Head to Stores

Some new cigars from La Aurora are beginning to arrive at stores, as the company recently shipped its new Puro Vintage, and today began shipping the Preferidos Hors d’Age 2022 LE.

The La Aurora Preferidos Hors d’Age 2022 LE uses an Ecuadorian wrapper and binder, while the filler tobaccos come from the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Nicaragua. According to the company, every leaf in the blend has been aged for at least 12 years, which gives the cigar “a harmonized beauty filled with spicy notes complemented by delicate flavors,” with the company noting that wood, cinnamon, nuts, citrus, and roasted coffee make appearances between the flavor and finish.

“From seed to cigar, the journey for this release began 12 years ago,” said Manuel Inoa, master blender of La Aurora. “As a result, we named it Hors d’Age which is taken from the French cognac designation, literally translating to ‘beyond age.’ And just as Hors d’Age cognac is arguably some of the highest quality cognac in the world due to its age, we set out to create an annual release that was also of the highest quality thanks to expert aging and blending.”

It comes in just one vitola, a 5 3/4 x 54 toro, that is priced at $30 and offered in 15-count boxes priced at $450. Only 650 boxes were produced for this release.

The Hors d’Age Series debuted in 2018 with the Hors d’Age 2017; the following year, the La Aurora released the Hors d’Age 2018. After skipping an Hors d’Age 2019 version, the Hors d’Age 2020 was released in 2022, followed by the Hors d’Age 2021’s release at TPE 2023. While the harvests have changed, the blend and aging requirements have been consistent from release to release.

The Preferidos Hors d’Age 2022 LE will arrive at stores on the heels of the Puro Vintage 2014, which began shipping on April 10. That cigar is a a 6 1/2 x 50/60 salomon that uses tobacco from the 2014 crop. Specifically, the blend uses an Ecuadorian Havana-seed wrapper, a Brazilian binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Nicaragua. The company described the profile as offering “dark woody notes, leather, walnuts, and rich nuances of wild honeys, all complemented by the elegance of the bitter taste from dark cocoa and hints of dried tropical fruits,” in a press release announcing the cigar.

It is priced at $26.50 per cigar and $212 for a box eight cigars. It’s also a limited edition, with 1,000 boxes produced by the La Aurora Cigar Factory.

Two more new releases from La Aurora, the Cazadores Maduro and Cazadores Nicaragua, began shipping at the start of April. The Cazadores Nicaragua, which is described as mild-medium, uses a Nicaraguan wrapper over an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers, while the Cazadores Maduro uses an Indonesian maduro wrapper over an Indonesian binder and Dominican fillers from the Cibao Valley. They join the Cazadores Claro, which debuted in 2018 and uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper.

All three blends are offered in the same three sizes:

• Cazadores Robusto (5 x 50) — $4.50 (Box of 20, $90)
• Cazadores Toro (5 3/4 x 54) — $4.75 (Box of 20, $95)
• Cazadores Gordo (6 x 60) — $6.50 (Box of 20, $130)

“With the success of the claro wrapper we knew we could expand the Cazadores line and offer a Nicaragua and Maduro wrapper option at a price point that could continue to introduce Manuel Inoa’s blends to a budget-conscious audience. And ultimately introduce this audience to the La Aurora Family” said Ed McKenna, ceo of La Aurora USA, in a press release.

All of the cigars are produced at the La Aurora Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic.

Images courtesy of La Aurora.