Cigar Review: La Aurora Preferidos Cameroon Lancero

Alright, y’all, here’s the last of the original group of lancero reviews: the La Aurora Preferidos Cameroon Lancero.  I’ve decided to continue this series so I’m breaking them up in groups.  This first group consists of this La Aurora, the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Lancero, the Oliva Serie V Lancero, and the EO Cubao No. 3 Lancero.  After this review, I’ll post a head-to-head comparison and then declare a winner from this group.

La Aurora is known for being the oldest cigar company still producing cigars.  The Preferido line, mainly associated with those pretty little tubes, is their top-of-the-line offering.  This lancero falls into that line, just without the tube.  At 6 7/8″, this cigar falls on the short side of the lancero range.  It’s a 40 ring guage.  La Aurora has long been rolled in the Dominican Republic and this cigar is no different.  Wearing a Cameroon wrapper, the binder and filler are Dominican tobaccos.

Appearance: The band is the standard pictured above.  It’s a nice looking band, just one that you’re so used to seeing it becomes familiar and unstriking.  What I love about this cigar is the deep brown richness of the wrapper.  It’s got some prominent veins with a very light tooth, but the color of this wrapper is just beautiful.  I love the sleek look of a lancero, though if you’ve read my other reviews in this series, you know that the lancero is my favorite size.  The cap is perfectly done and the foot shows an good even bunch.

Taste: At first draw, this cigar started cool and sweet. It quickly kicked into a nice full leather with some spice; kinda tangy.  This is definitely on the full side of the strength radar.  The flavor, when you relax in between draws, eases back and forth between leather and wood and definitely keeps your palate guessing as to what’s coming next.  Wish I could say there was more to it, but it’s somewhat straight forward.  Towards the end, though, it starts to become harsh, a little bitter even.  I put this down with about two inches left as the strength and harshness stopped being enjoyable.

Aroma: Holding the unlit stick to my nose I get a mild sweet tobacco smell.  Nothing too delicate or different.  The smoke was that great cigar smoke smell that your wife loves so much.

Construction: Running my fingers across this, it’s a firm stick and consistent in its feel.  Again, the foot shows an even bunch.  The wrap was well done.  It lit quickly and burned well.  Not great, but good enough.  The ash was tight, but wouldn’t hold firm for very long.

Overall Impression: Well, at $9-10, I’m a little torn.  The construction and quality of this stick is very good.  It burns well, draws well, looks good, etc.  I’m a full-bodied cigar lover, so I didn’t mind the strength, but this seemed like it was strong just to be strong.  I wanted to like this cigar more than I did end up liking it.  With the stick going badly at the end, plus the higher price tag, I just can’t give this more than I did.

Cigar Rating:

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1. 

   Cris says:

   May 15, 2009 at 9:33 pm

   bring it on!
2. 

   JasonT says:

   May 17, 2009 at 4:09 pm

   Bummer. I really liked the few robustos I have smoked. It is one of my favorite cigars. Sad to see the lancero not living up to it’s billing.
3. 

   Se7en_Vandalay says:

   May 18, 2009 at 10:10 am

   I haven’t tried any of the Preferidos. I keep hearing mixed things. It’ll be interesting to watch for the head-to-head comparison. Thanks for the review Ricky.
4. 

   http://beachvacations.gofreeserve.com/corfu-beach says:

   February 2, 2012 at 8:52 pm

   It is practically impossible to discover knowledgeable males and girls during this subject, nevertheless you sound like do you know what you are discussing! Thanks