La Aurora Preferidos Sapphire (Connecticut) Review

Cigar: La Aurora Sapphire
Vitola: No. 2 perfecto 5" x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican/Brazilian Bahia/Cameroon
MSRP: ~$16.00

Initial Impression/Prelight
The La Aurora Preferidos Sapphire was wrapped in a velvety smooth high grade Connecticut Shade wrapper, light gold in color with almost no veins and only a hint of oil. The perfecto shape is symmetrical and appears well-made.

I smelled light hay from the wrapper, and got a sweet tobacco taste and light spices from the pleasantly firm prelight draw.

I smoked several cigars for this review (some with the old bands and some with the new, as you'll notice from the pictures), and each had been resting in my humidor at 65% for at least 3 months.

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1st Third
The Sapphire opens up creamy, and with a nuttiness that reminds me of macadamia. I tasted some bright earthiness as well. The smoke was very white, and a firm gray ash held to almost the halfway point of the cigar. Medium flavor and mild-medium strength so far.

2nd Third
Rich, toasted nut remained the dominant flavor, and smoke stayed buttery and smooth. A touch of pleasant woodiness crept in near the halfway point when the ash finally dropped, and I got some light baking spices as well.

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Final Third
My favorite section of these is always the last, and the baking spices picked up quite a bit, now joined by a flavor I find meaty and rich. Maybe that's the corojo binder showing itself some. The smoke became even more rich and creamy, and the spiciness warmed my mouth and gave my lips a little tingle especially in the last inch and a half. The flavor remained solidly medium, and the strength ticked up to about medium as well.

Overall Impression
This cigar is one of my all-time favorites and it ticks all the boxes for me. The double-tapered perfecto reminds me of the old-time cartoon cigars so I get a little rush of nostalgia each time I pick one up. The construction here was perfect, with a good draw, dead-on burn, and a firm ash that hung on for over 2 inches at a time. The profile is creamy, with nuts and light, mellow woodiness giving way to that beautiful mouth-warming spice towards the end. The smoke is rich and smooth, and I can smoke these any time of day due to the medium strength and flavors.

This is one of those cigars that I nearly always break out my classy toothpick holder for so that I can take it all the way down to the nub. This is an easy box-buy recommendation.

Note - I smoked several samples for the review, but apparently didn't take good pictures of any one. This is the same cigar with the new-style band for the nub photo.
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