La Aurora Untamed Extreme

Established in 1903; La Aurora was the first cigar factory of the Dominican Republic and in 2014 at IPCPR the company released Untamed. The cigar which was dramatically different than anything released by the company before wound up winning the best Dominican cigar from the Dominican Cigar Review. The Dominican Cigar Review panel of experts concluded that due to Untamed’ s perfect balance between flavor, body and superior construction it deserved a 5-star rating and the award of Best Dominican Cigar in the year 2014.

The Extreme takes that cigar and ramps up the blend to a full-bodied experience. In fact when I have seen Jason Wood or Hector Paz of Miami Cigar & Company over the past few months the cigar has become my weasel cigar when they hand out samples.

Cigar Review: La Aurora Untamed Extreme
Size: 5.5 x 54 (Toro)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: USA, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic
Strength: Full

The Look: The dark Connecticut Broadleaf doesn’t look like it is a natural maduro. The coloring is a bit to even and perfect which probably means the wrapper went through a process to get it this way. Thankfully this is only for appearance as it does not change the flavor of the cigar in my opinion. Outside the coloring, the wrapper is rugged looking with a few veins and a flawless roll. The cigar is firm to the touch with no soft spots and a well packed foot. The band is a step outside the norm for La Aurora with its gorgeous looking gold lion, and a foot band that denotes the word Extreme.

The Notes: The cold draw serves up notes of coffee, meat and nuts. In fact on the cold draw there is a lot of similarities to the of the La Aurora Preferidos Diamond. The foot of the cigar has some pepper that tingles the nostrils with a touch of earth.

On the initial light of the cigar there is black pepper that almost makes it seem like the cigar came from another factory that Miami Cigar & Company works closely with. As the pepper fades the cigar begins to pick up some citrus notes and for me the cigar tastes like a steak cooked medium rare.

The second third of the La Aurora Untamed Extreme continues to serve up notes of pepper and while the meat notes remain they begin to give way to a subtle sweetness. The cocoa like sweetness begins to become dominant around the half way point as the pepper moves to the background and some citrus also joins the mix.

The last third of the cigar sees the cocoa notes take on more of a dark chocolate feel to the profile. The citrus that teased in the middle third has faded away. The finish of the cigar has gone from moderate in length to slightly long with elements of leather, pepper and a touch of espresso.

The Burn: I’ll admit I was worried that the burn of the cigar would be difficult due to the rugged looking wrapper that adorned the cigar, but it burned relatively even and I never once entertained reaching for my lighter. The cigar which burned slow had a thin combustion line and light color ash that held for half the cigar (see note in bullet points). The cigar remained lit from first light to last puff.

The Finish: Having once worked for Miami Cigar & Company I’ve smoked my fair share of cigars from La Aurora and by the end of my 3 year tenure with the company I was pretty burned out on the brand. The one thing that stands out about the Untamed Extreme is how different it is from anything the company has released to date despite some similarities to the Diamond Preferidos. It is so much different that I feel as if the company has stepped out of the past they were living in and created a cigar that is modern. Full bodied even by the standards of other counties the Untamed Extreme is balanced with both flavor and strength making it my favorite La Aurora to date. There is no second guessing that this cigar is ferocious and king of the La Aurora portfolio.

Score: 94
Price: $9.29 @ Two Guys Smoke Shop

Bullet Points

• It amazes me how much the cigar tasted like the Preferidos Diamond on the prelight draw.
• Once the cigar is lit, there continues to be some similarities with much more strength
• While answering a phone call I absent-mindedly tapped the ash along my ashtray. Despite the picture below all my samples held for at least the first half of the cigar.
• The artwork for Untamed was overseen by Jason Holly of Viva Republica who works closely with both Miami Cigar and La Aurora.
• It is also believed that Holly worked closely with La Aurora Master Blender Manuel Inoa to get him outside his comfort zone and create the Untamed and Untamed Extreme for the American market.
• The box which the cigar comes in pretty heavy in comparison to other boxes.
• Smoking time was just over 2 hours
• I paired the cigar with the usual Cuban coffee.