La Aurora 100 Años Returns To U.S. Market With New Look
After a hiatus in regular production that’s lasted years, La Aurora has put its 100 Años brand back into steady rotation—and it has a new look as well.
The brand was created in 2003 to celebrate a century of La Aurora making cigars in the Dominican Republic (though officially released in March 2004). The cigars have always been made in limited quantities, but in the last few years, production had been scaled back to nearly nothing as the company re-assessed its portfolio and took over its own distribution.
Now that 100 Años is back, the all-Dominican blend is the same, including the Dominican Corojo cover leaf (Dominican wrappers are a rarity in the cigar world). According to the company, the cigars are medium-to-full in body, however not all the sizes have returned. As of now, the Preferidos and coronas are not being made, but the three debut sizes are: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 50 ring gauge ($17); Belicoso, at 6 1/4 by 52 ($20.50); and Churchill, at 7 by 47 ($19.50). In addition, there is a fourth size called Robusto Selección Especial ($17.75) which shares the same dimensions as the Robusto but is clad in a dark Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. A Lancero is also available as part of a limited-edition sampler, which shipped in November.
Although the sizes and blend are the same, the packaging is different. The original 25-count dress boxes, which showed a portrait of a lion in repose, are now minimalist, 20-count wooden boxes imprinted with a streamlined 100 Años logo.
“It's an honor to pay tribute to the cigar that received the award for the best Dominican cigar in the world in 2004, La Aurora 100 Años,” says Johnny Oliva, creative lead at La Aurora S.A. “In this box redesign, some iconic elements of the line were considered, such as its emblematic band with the lion with crossed paws atop the hill and the sunrise honoring our name in the background. With this touch of nostalgia, we aimed to highlight the box finish with a high-gloss, luxurious walnut wood style to celebrate this great Dominican product.”
The line achieved prominence when the Belicoso size earned the No. 2 spot in Cigar Aficionado’s first Top 25 list in 2004. Now that the new packaging is finished, the cigars will be previewed at this month’s TPE trade show in Las Vegas before they ship in February. The Churchill is expected to ship at a later date. Only 500 boxes of each size are being produced per year.
