La Aurora Emerald

I've been inspired by Josh to take things up a notch. My friend has been putting together a rather impressive blog (joshsbeerblog.blogspot.com) describing and rating micro brewed beers throughout the country and has lately been enjoying some of the more expensive brews out there. When someone posts about three bottles of beer that cost him a combined $35, you know he's committed to his hobby. Up until now, I've been focusing mostly on the more "economical" cigars out there. Don't get me wrong, I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are smokes available for $5 that run circles around other $30 sticks. When it comes to cigars, high price does not necessarily equal high quality. However, there is no denying that those expensive cigars are out there and I can't keep ignoring them if I hope to sample everything the market has to offer. So after a particularly stressful week at the office, I stopped by Watch City Cigar in Waltham, MA and indulged a little.

Friday evening I sat out on my porch with a Woodford Reserve bourbon Manhattan and a La Aurora Emerald cigar. The length of this torpedo shaped stick is 5 inches, the ring is 54, and the price was $22. (I always mention the cost of each cigar because it factors into my overall rating by helping to determine the value and my money's worth.)

La Aurora is the oldest cigar made in the Dominican Republic and has been the best selling brand within the country for years. The fillers are made from Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos and the dark Cameroon wrappers are from West Africa. The Emerald Aurora is part of the Preferidos 1903 edition line. This particular stick is now rolled in limited quantities. In fact, no more than 100 are produced per day. The selected tobacco leaves have undergone a 4 year process from the curing to the first stage of naturing. This is followed by another year of aging in oak rum barrels, only then is the tobacco used for the manufacturing process. Afterwards, the finished product is taken to the aging room for an additional 6-8 months before packing.

The cigar comes in a nice looking green aluminum tube. Being a sucker for presentation, I added on a few bonus points for the appearance category here. I've also always been a big fan of these torpedo shapes and feel that too few companies make such a cigar. The funneling shape usually means that the cigar was contructed with some complexity to it. I do not expect a consistent flavor out of this one.

The cut is fine and since the cigar comes to a point at the end, toasting and lighting is relatively easy. I'm also pleased to find that as the cigar works its way to the increasingly larger part, the burn remains even without any help. The draw is smooth and the smoke is full.

The first part of the smoke really pops with spicy tobacco flavors with some strong pepper as well. The flavors are almost as bold as what you would expect for the finish of a cigar. And no I didn't accidentally light the wrong end.

After a little while, the smoke develops a smoother texture. There are now some very dark creamy tastes along with a hint of coffee.

For the next part, some bitter flavors emerge paired with faint wood notes. The smoke is still nice and full at this point and I haven't had to address the burn at all.

After looking over my notes while approaching the end of the smoke, I realize just how complex this cigar actually is. In a 5 inch stick, they managed to combine 3 distinct flavor combinations with a practically flawless transition. Exactly what I'm looking for.

The cigar finishes off with the same bold spiciness that it started with. Ultimately, it ended up being it's mildest in the middle of the stick with increasing body in each direction. Very unique. I really enjoyed this one and definitely feel the price was justified. I don't typically spend that much on a single cigar but I think I'll put a couple in my humidor and hold onto them for a special occasion.

Overall Rating: 96

Rockey Patel Vintage 1992

Rocky Patel is often boasted about in all the big review magazines. My favorite cigar store, 2 Guys Smoke Shop, in Salem, New Hampshire also crowned this one their "Cigar of the Year" award in 2005. It's made with 5 year old Honduran tobacco fillers and a 10 year aged Ecuadorian sun grown wrapper. For tonight's smoke, I went over to my local store and bought a Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 natural Churchill. Length is 7 and ring is 48. Cost was $8.50.

What bothered me from the get go on this one is the look of the cigar. While there weren't many visible imperfections, it's one of those machine rolled sticks that end up having a square shape to them. I've heard arguments that this is done purposely for the sake of flavor but I don't buy that. It just doesn't have that natural cigar feel to it, especially when you to to take a puff and it feels like a popsicle stick in your mouth.

Another problem I have with these square shaped cigars is that they never seem to cut smoothly. This one is no exception as the cutter feels like its trying to go through a piece of wood. However, it does toast and light relatively easily and I'm able to get it going without too many problems.

Once I start smoking, the stick does burn quite nicely. The ash ends up falling off rather early but the cigar still seems to burn evenly throughout. The draw is nice and the fullness is certainly there. This is somewhat surprising for one of those square sticks but good since I can now focus on the flavors of the smoke rather be distracted by the construction.

Rocky Patel calls their cigars medium to full bodied and that is actually quite accurate. There are definitely some bold notes right from the start but they aren't quite overpowering. There are some spicy leathery flavors as well as a strong nicotine presence which I like.

After a while, some earthy tones become more prominent. The problem is that nothing much comes along with them and for a while the cigar takes on a rather simplistic personality. I've always been somewhat annoyed by cigars who seem to have flavor transition just for the sake of having them but don't actually offer great flavors all around. I'd rather stick to one enjoyable taste than shift in and out of mediocre one.

For the final third of the smoke, the flavors finally kick back into gear. Some nice spicy notes come back and a great pepper flavor turns me back on to the cigar. For the last part, it actually fades in and out quite well between bold spicy smoke and more mild almost sweet flavors. If only the entire cigar had been like this, it would have easily ranked as one of my favorites. The last few puffs end on a very bold note and one last sip of scotch finishes everything off quite nicely.

I'll certainly say that Rocky Patel makes a nice cigar. A few weaknesses bring down the overall score (poor cut, awkward shape, boring tastes in the middle) but it's certainly something I would smoke again and I will definitely end up trying the rest that this brand has to offer.

Overall Rating: 83

New York

Whatever happened to the days when people passed around cigars for celebration? My Dad brought a box with him to the hospital when I was born (he refrained from lighting up in the room........I think). I used to have a neighbor who would offer them to anyone as congratulations for promotions, graduations, or anything. You just don't see that as much anymore. Now it's always "Hey let me buy you a beer" or "Have a glass of champagne". In fact, last year when we all took my friend George to Foxwoods for his bachelor party, everyone was so focused on getting drunk that most of them shoved me away when I broke out some Cusano 18 year robustos. Inexplicable. I know my brother reads this so I'm putting this out there. When I eventually get engaged, screw the tequila shots til I pass out. I just want to smoke Cubans til I get mouth cancer. THAT'S a party.

So I was very pleased a few weekends ago, while in Long Island at an engagement party for my friends Josh and Kelly. They had a nice setup as well as some good food and drink (Excellent wine choices). But what pleased me the most was seeing them pass out the cigars toward the end of the night. Unfortunately, the upcoming long drive kept me from sticking around to enjoy it there, but I had it the next day.

Somehow, I managed to lose the label to the cigar. This is a big deal for 2 reasons. The first is that I collect all labels off of my cigars and love saving them. I hope to eventually combine them all into a frame to hang in my living room as a display of my unhealthy addiction. The second is that I had never had this cigar before and do not remember the name of it. I only recall that it was rolled in New York. I think New York may have been in the name but I'm not sure. I keep track of everything I smoke and if you check here every so often, you'll see that I always note the origin of the wrappers and fillers. Eventually I plan to use these ratings to figure out what country has the best tobacco and then move there (who am I kidding? It's Cuba). I asked Kelly if she could get me the name and origin information of the cigars her family handed out that day. She never got back to me on it. So this review is basically a few words on a cigar that I thoroughly enjoyed yet have no idea what it is. You can thank Kelly on that one. The lesson here? Women ruin everything.

It was a dark cigar, and pretty bold in taste. Probably a maduro of some kind. They seemed to be kept pretty well too. It was nicely pliable, the cut was perfect, the light was easy, and the draw was nice and smooth. The fullness of the smoke faded in and out through the different parts of the cigar, but overall it was pretty good.

The tastes were as you would expect for a maduro. Lots of spiciness, leather, and nuts. It was a relatively simple smoke so the transition of flavors wasn't really there but I would argue that the initial tastes were good enough so complexity wasn't really needed especially since it pandered to my bold preferences.

Overall, I would buy a box of these cigars if I knew what the Hell they were. Perhaps one day Kelly will come through for me. Until then, I'll have to hand out a rating to this nicely constructed stick and hope that I eventually will get to try it again.

Overall Rating: 84