One of my favorite brands is La Aurora. As the longest standing Dominican Republic based cigar company, they are synonymous with quality smokes. In fact their Aurora 107 Belicoso is a strong contender for my cigar of 2010.

Their new release, the Guillermo Leon, is named after their Vice President of Sales who hopes to carry on the family tradition of excellence.

As soon as I caught wind of its release I was already excited to try this smoke out. The Guillermo Leon cigar is made in the Dominican Republic from a four country blend and features a double binder which is a first for the La Aurora company.

At first glance I must admit this Corona Gorda is pretty impressive looking cigar. The seams are near perfect and there only one or two veins visible. For the most part it is firm throughout but there is a soft spot nearing the foot.

The label is more modern than most cigars with a bold use of a metallic grey and a bold red. I like it a lot.

Upon toasting the foot I got a great earthy flavor with a slight peppery undertone. The draw is quite open with a wee bit of resistance.

With each pull I am getting an ample amount of smoke that is leaving some bite of spice on my lips. The burn line has started off a little wild though. So far the rusty grey ash is holding steady.

Ten minutes into things I am still getting great woodsy and earthy flavors. The burn line has now settled and I am right in a medium body zone.

Rounding into the second third of this Corona Gorda I am really enjoying this cigar. It is really smooth but far from bland. There is sweetness that is now showing up to counter balance the earlier earth notes. This cigar has a distinctive complexity with the spice jumping in and out of the flavor profile.

Two thirds into this smoke the cigar has gone out on me twice. I let it sit briefly on each occasion and I was disappointed it needed a relight.

Nevertheless this is an enjoyable smoke. This cigar presents a good balance of different flavors with range of medium to a light full body in strength. The construction wasn’t perfect but Guillermo Leon Corona Gorda is still worthy of being added to your rotation.