As you can tell from my recaps of day 1, day 2 and day 3 the time spent with the La Aurora family was a chance of a lifetime that left an impression on me that I will not soon forget. It has taught me that learning about tobacco is a never ending process and while you may all trust my reviews of cigars I still have a lot to learn. I will be taking what I learned to help make this a better website for you to visit. There are certain aspects of the trip that really caught my eye that did not make it into the previous postings so I will leave you with my final thoughts and tomorrow I shall return with a review.

• The Dominican Republic is a poor country for the most part. The amount of homeless is alarming and the way of living is dangerous. I think one really needs to visit the Dominican Republic or other cigar producing countries to see how dependent they are on tobacco. With growing legislation against tobacco we face the danger of ruining the lives of people around the world. If you smoke cigars or are understanding of smoking cigars you need to stand up for your right to do so when they try to pass legislation. We need a united front on this battle because if we lose not only will it effect you, it will effect entire countries.
• I’ve heard stories from others that on various cigar trips there is a sense of fear of the workers as the owners make their way through the factories. At La Aurora I was amazed at the interaction between Jose Blanco and Guillermo Leon and their employees. There was a sense of camaraderie at the factory that was amazing. Smiles as they pass through the halls with pleasantries exchanged it was just really good working conditions even with the heat. The amount of people that tobacco goes through at these factories make me realize that many of the MSRPs of these cigars are warranted. Especially if you consider the time that La Aurora spends aging their tobacco before it gets to you the consumer.
• Based upon the new website La Aurora has set up it appears there are 2 new products coming out this year. The one we as a group sampled on our trip that was a winner and will debut at IPCPR in August. I liked it as much as if not more the 107. Now granted a lot of variables were in effect this weekend that made smoking a cigar ideal. I will reserve final judgment once I receive the finished product but it appears that La Aurora is on the right track to making some great new sticks.

Thanks for reading!