Review: La Aurora 107 Maduro Gran 107 (2011)

The La Aurora 107 Maduro was formally announced shortly after IPCPR 2010. After a fairly successful La Aurora 107 launch, Guillermo León, José Blanco and the Miami Cigar & Co. team sought to capitalize on the line’s popularity. Unfortunately, the cigar continued to remain a mystery through much of 2011, as the delays continued to pile up.

At IPCPR 2011, boxes and cigars were on display, but no samples were given out. Over the next few months, the delays continued amass and by late 2011 it seemed the earliest we could see the cigar would be February of 2012.

However, in November of 2011, Cigar King received 49 boxes of a prerelease version of the La Aurora 107 Maduro, in the 7 x 58 Gran 107 vitola. The cigars had been made to celebrate the launch and for whatever reason, despite none of the rest of the line shipping, Miami Cigar & Co. shipped the Scottsdale, AZ retailer their limited amount.

Through the early parts of 2012, it became clear that February was an optimistic release date and the launch was pushed back to April and then later to IPCPR 2012. Earlier this week, Miami Cigar & Co. confirmed that the blend was changing. The version that Cigar King received actually used the same tobacco as the regular Serie Aniversario 107, but the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper was fermented differently. Rumors surrounding the entire 107 Maduro, not just this size, have always been that the wrapper never burned correctly.

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While the blend for the regular production version is still undecided, it will not be the same blend here and the expectation is it will not be the same wrapper.

Miami Cigar & Co. hopes to have the line at IPCPR 2012, although Jason Wood told halfwheel that they aren’t setting any sort of release dates until they have the cigars in hand.

When they finally are released, the vitolas available in the final 107 Maduro release will be the exact same as in the regular 107 blend excluding the limited edition Lancero and Puro Vintage and the recently announced Sumo Short Robusto.

They will be:

• Corona – 5 1/2 x 43
• Robusto – 4 1/2  x 50
• Toro – 5 1/2 x 54
• Belicoso – 6 1/4  x 52
• Gran 107 – 7 x 58

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The boxes of the La Aurora 107 Maduro Gran 107 look like this:

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 Maduro Gran 107 (2011)
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: E. León Jimenes Tabacalera
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
• Binder: Dominican Corojo
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 58
• Vitola: Gordo Extra
• MSRP: $8.15 (Boxes of 21, $171.95)
• Release Date: November 25, 2011
• Cigars Released: 49 Boxes of 21 Cigars (1,021 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 1

The La Aurora 107 Maduro Gran 107 is huge in the hands with a strikingly gorgeous very dark brown wrapper that is mottled and slick with oil. Given how squishy the cigar is when squeezed, questions about filling are definitely warranted. It seems very light when held, especially considering the size. The Oscuro wrapper smells strongly of barnyard, hay and chocolate.

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The first third of the Gran 107 Maduro starts out quite slow with a little bit of spice on my tongue that lasts no longer than fives puffs then dies down. Flavors are faint to start with notes of dark chocolate, cedar, leather and just a tiny amount of black pepper every now and then. There is really not much else to it flavor-wise, sadly. Strength is around medium. The draw is loose, the burn is off, and I had to relight a few times.

Sadly, flavor-wise, the second third of the La Aurora 107 Maduro changes not at all. Same boring profile, same concentration, same crappy burn and draw. The major change comes in the wrapper, which split down about a third of the total length of the cigar around the time the second third began. Strength in the second third is still a solid medium, and the Gran 107 Maduro does not seem to want to get any stronger.

The final third actually gets worse, although I did not think it was possible. The La Aurora 107 Gran 107 Maduro starts getting a bit bitter, and the other flavors (still unchanged, mind you) start mellowing out. About halfway through the final third, the wrapper comes apart in my hands and unravels off of the piece I had left. So really, I was left holding the binder and filler in one hand, and the wrapper in the other. Shortly thereafter, it seems like a good time to quit, although honestly, I probably would have quit pretty soon after that regardless of the wrapper, since the bitterness seemed to only be increasing.

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Final Notes:

• The wrapper is Oscuro, yet it’s called a Maduro. Here’s a great article explaining the differences.
• The 107 blend was originally released in 2010 to commemorate La Aurora’s 107th Anniversary.
• I was shocked at how pliable these cigars seem to be. When I first got them in the mail, I assumed that they were just wet (I could literally pinch my fingers together), but after dry boxing them for a week, there was no change, so I am assuming they are just woefully under filled. Here is a photo of what I am talking about and remember, this is AFTER ONE WEEK of dry boxing.
  
• The finish on these is incredibly short, to the point that you can taste almost nothing immediately after the smoke clears your mouth. It was quite disconcerting, and extremely noticeable.
• The general consensus amongst people who have smoked them is that these are very wet.
• Frankly, the construction of the La Aurora 107 Maduro Gran 107 cigar is so terrible, it almost defies the description. The draw was extremely loose, which I expected from such a large ring gauge that seemed under filled, the burn was all over the place, and it kept going out on me, despite my best efforts to keep it lit.
• Here’s the split in the second third:
  
• Sadly, this lasted about as long as I expected (and would have been a longer smoke if it had not literally fallen apart on me at the end), and the final smoking time was just over 3 hours.
• If you would like to purchase some of these cigars, they have a few left, and you can call Cigar King directly at 1.800.669.7167 or go to their website to purchase directly here.

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The Bottom Line: There really is no nice way to say: this cigar pretty much sucked in every way imaginable — so I am not even going to try. The construction was awful, the flavors were boring and monotonous throughout the entire three hours I smoked this monstrosity, and it literally fell apart on me at the end. I actually like the 107 blend, especially the Lancero, and I am looking forward to trying the 107 Maduros in smaller vitolas and the final blend. While I reserve judgment on the entire line until I smoke some of the reblend (and of the different sizes), but as it stands now, I can’t even come close to recommending the 2011 version.

Final Score: 45

Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.