Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is a medium brown color and looks very rugged with some raised veins and some jagged seam lines. I’ve come to expect this from this La Aurora series and I am fine with something looking like this. There appear to be two well applied caps on the head. There are two bands with the first being the standard La Aurora band and the second band carrying the Cameroon designation. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of barnyard and slight white pepper. The foot gives an aroma that reminds me of smelling red NyQuil as it gives off a slightly sweet medicine flavor that isn’t objectionable, as I like it. The pre-light draw gives me a smooth leather, but what really catches my attention is a hit of spice and heat that I get on my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto has a shiny, copper like wrapper. Almost all major veins protrude from the wrapper. The cigar feels packed full of tobacco with a firm even give throughout. The head appears to be finished off with a shallow single cap. Nosing the wrapper tells cedar, barnyard and white pepper. Nosing the foot gives a mixture of mixed nuts and white pepper. Cold draw reveals lip tingling dry white pepper, cardboard paper and dry wood.

First Third

Initial draws bring a mix of cedar, nuttiness and coffee. After a few draws, the nuttiness goes away and the cedar and coffee are up front with the addition of some mild black pepper in the background. The retrohale carries a nice mix of peppery cedar. At an inch in, the mix of cedar and coffee is really nice with that mild black pepper bringing a nice finish. At an inch and a quarter in, the cedar transitions to a general wood note while the coffee and pepper remain. The strength in this third was just below medium.

First Third

First third starts off with what I tend to expect from Cameroon wrappers, that is a profile being sweet and spicy. Notes of medium bodied sweetened cream, black pepper and roasted mixed nuts. Quarter inch in, a slight wood bitterness develops, creating a deeper earthiness. Retrohaling provides greater depth of black pepper and roasted mixed nuts. The finish is lengthy, with notes of dry wood, cardboard, black pepper and wood bitterness. Strength is nearing medium-full and body is at a solid medium.

Second Third

As the third begins, the wood is now a mild oak mixed with some coffee and there is still a mild black pepper in the background. The retrohale is a nice warm oak. At a half inch in, the oak becomes a little darker while the coffee note continues. The pepper is now very faint in the background. At an inch in, the coffee drops out while the oak becomes a slight bit darker again. There is a slight bit of creaminess in the background while the pepper has completely left. As the third comes to a close, the dark oak gains a bit of a toasty note. The strength in this third is right at medium.

Second Third

The cigar proves to be quite linear. Not a bad thing what so ever. Still the same tasting profile surrounded by medium bodied sweet cream, black pepper, roasted nuts and slight wood bitterness. The retrohale still has deeper notes of black pepper and roasted mixed nuts. The finish still is long, with dry wood, cardboard, black pepper and wood bitterness. Strength increases to a consistent medium-full, and body stays medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the dark oak continues with a slight toasty note. At a quarter inch in, some bitterness joins which pushes out the toasty note. The retrohale is a straight oak. At a half inch, some mintiness joins with the oak and bitterness. At an inch in, the bitterness and mintiness mellow while the oak remains up front. This is how the cigar finishes. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Final Third

The last third provides some minor changes with the cigar being less sweet and slightly more spice driven. Further, the wood bitterness increases, but never enough to overwhelm the other flavors. The retrohale is exactly the same with stronger and tasty notes of black pepper and roasted mixed nuts. The finish becomes less complex, now with primarily a long and lingering dry wood and wood bitterness. Strength and body is still medium-full and medium, respectively.

Burn

I had to do one major touch up in the first third where half of the wrapper refused to burn. The rest of the way, the burn line got a bit wavy but always corrected itself. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Burn

A solid burning cigar with slight flowering ashes averaging 1.5 inch self tapped ash marks. The burn was long and cool the entire smoking experience with never a need to revisit my lighter.

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than what I prefer, but never caused an issue with the smoking experience.

Overall

Even though price doesn’t factor into our scoring it’s worth noting that this cigar provides a lot of good flavor for its price point. Some really nice transitions were experienced as well. This is the second cigar I’ve smoked from the series, with the Corojo being the other and this excelled just like that one did. It’s also one of the better Cameroon offerings I’ve smoked. Strength never got above medium, so lots of people may find this an ideal daily smoke. If you like Cameroon, or even if you haven’t found one you like, this is a must try and I can definitely see myself revisiting this frequently.

Draw

The draw although very good, was a bit snug for my liking. Since the cap was singular and shallow, it did not give me much room to get a proper cut.

Overall

The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto met my expectations of being a consistently good cigar without much complexities and transitions. Having smoked through a good array of the offerings (Connecticut, Corojo, and now the Cameroon), La Aurora does an excellent job of delivering a consistent and tasty profile, great construction and the added bonus of being budget friendly. This is an easy recommendation for anyone who especially wants to know what a proper Cameroon wrapper tastes like.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$0.84

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.57

Cost/Point

$0.88

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto