First Impressions: La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Maduro Ruby Toro

I first discovered the 1903 Preferidos line at my local lounge, where they had just stocked the perfecto tubos. I got the Diamond (Broadleaf) and fell in love with the blend. And since then, I’ve purchase lots of the Diamond. But someone on a forum had mentioned that they liked the Ruby as well as it had a Brazilian wrapper, so I bought a 10-pack off Atlantic. I’m going to purchase more. Right now they’re at the ridiculous price of $44.95 for a 10-pack, so I might as well stock up.

I’ve been a huge fan of Brazilian wrappers. Whether Mata Fina or Arapiraca doesn’t matter to me. I will try a cigar if it has a Brazilian wrapper. And when that person from the forum mentioned that the Ruby had a Brazilian wrapper, I just had to get some. And I haven’t been disappointed. Even though I’ve had the cigars for just a week, the way Atlantic shipped them gave me the confidence that they’d be just fine to smoke this soon. I wasn’t wrong, BUT a few more weeks of lay-down time will make this cigar even better.

As for this cigar, it’s pretty awesome, even at this early stage. The Arapiraca wrapper provides some nice red pepper spice while the DR binder and filler provide a contrasting smoothness that grounds the cigar. Compared to the Broadleaf, this is a much brighter-tasting cigar with toasted nuts, baking spices, cinnamon, some light grassy notes served up on a base of delicious red pepper spice. Even though there’s spice, it’s not a spice bomb. But neither is the spice in the background. It’s somewhere in between, and it’s very pleasing.

I’ve smoked a couple of these so far and one of the things I was concerned about was the burn rate. With both sticks, it took just a little over a half hour to get through the first half. But once I got to the second half, everything slowed down – way down. But another effect is that the nicotine shot through the roof at the beginning of the final third. Good thing I had some water on hand because I was getting dizzy.

And by the final third, the cigar goes full tilt. Through the first half, the cigar is a solid medium. But as soon as it hits the second half, the strength and body start to ramp up. So, by the final third, it drops the hammer.

I love this hobby. I’ve talked about desert island sticks. For a long time, my desert island sticks were the Padron ’64 Family Reserve and the Drew Estate Undercrown Maduro. But over the past year, I’ve discovered incredible sticks that rival those two. The La Aurora Preferidos line are right up there!