LA AURORA’S NEW LIMITED EDITION CIGAR IS AN ODE TO ITS FIRST

Preferidos No. 1 is a contemporary smoke with a early 1900s pedigree.

In 1903, La Aurora debuted as the first premium commercial cigar brand in the Dominican Republic when it released a hand-rolled puro called the Preferidos No. 1.

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of that moment, company president Guillermo León, a fifth-generation member of the founding family, recently introduced a limited-edition re-creation of that very smoke.

Not to be confused with the 120th Anniversary Toro, Gran Toro, Churchill, and Robusto (all regular parts of the La Aurora portfolio), the Limited Edition Preferidos No. 1 replicates the figurado shape that launched the company. Like the original Preferidos, it’s an all-Dominican 6 x 58 double perfecto. However, the contemporary version boats a vastly improved new blend consisting of a Dominican-grown Cuban-seed Habano ’92 wrapper, an Olor De Valle Cibao binder, and a filler mix of Olor, Piloto Cubano, Corojo, and San Vicente tobaccos.

Priced at $40 each—or $400 for a black-lacquered presentation chest of 10, of which only 2,500 have been produced—the cigar comes encased in a hinged metal tube accented with replicas of amber and Larimar stones indigenous to the Dominican Republic. A complex shape achieved by craftspeople with decades of experience, the Preferidos No. 1 recalls the skills of La Aurora’s original six torcedors—in fact, even today, only a half-dozen individuals are entrusted to roll this figurado. The clipped foot makes this medium-plus strength stick easy to light, and its sweet, earthy aroma evolves into flavors of wild oats, white pepper, and lightly toasted fresh bread, which subtly intensifies as you reach the cigar’s thicker portion. A lovely honeyed sweetness, meanwhile, lingers throughout.

By Richard Carleton Hacker