Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 50
Wrapper : Sumatra Ecuador
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian
Binder : Corojo
Hand-Made
Price : ~$6 each
As the assortiment of non-Cuban cigars in my local stores is quite limited, I seize every opportunity to pick up cigars I haven’t tried yet. I stumbled across this half-empty box of La Aurora 1495 Robusto back in November, purchased and buried it quite deep in my humidor. One week ago, I thought it was finally time to review this cigar, I smoked 4 cigars since then and they all had the same flavor profile and construction properties.
1495 is the first line created by La Aurora and its master blender Jose Blanco. It is named to celebrate the founding of Santiago de los Caballeros, a city in the Dominican Republic.
Appearance : Rating: 
Firmly packed without any soft spots, La Aurora 1495 is wrapped in a Colorado leaf from Ecuador featuring moderate veins. The band is very attractive and easily comes off without damaging the wrapper.
Construction : Rating: 
Clipping the cigar, I discovered a perfect draw. Lit with 2 wooden matches, it starts with a razor-sharp burn line. The first ash is light grey and holds for over 2 inches. However, after tapping off the first ash the burn line begins a series of zigzags and the ash becomes flaky. This doesn’t interfere much in the smoking experience though.
Flavor : Rating:
The presence of corojo in both binder and filler announces some serious power in this cigar. Pre-light, it smells like spice and it tastes like spice; wetting the cap is like licking some ground black pepper. Do I need to tell you how is the pre-draw? Once lit, the cigar immediately starts producing thick clouds of smoke. The flavor is dominated by the black pepper, and it’s really overwhelming. I usually love spicy cigars, but I could barely handle the first inch. Fortunately, things get more interesting at this point. In a rather balanced and entertaining way, flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon and cedar are progressively deployed while the earth serves as a background. The cigar is medium- to full-bodied until the end which does not bring any additional harshness. Nubbed.
Value : Rating:
At $5-7 per single, it’s a very good cigar to have in regular rotation, especially if you’re in love with strong sticks.
Overall Rating : Rating:
I’m definitely not regretting the half-box purchase that I did and will not hesitate if I can pick up some more. It has my kind of flavor profile and also pairs well with hard alcohol such as whisky or cognac. However, I can’t heartily recommend this stick if you prefer cigars that are on the milder side.
This post was written by Denis aka Inspector, who founded CigarInspector.com back in 2007. Click here for his latest articles and more information.
