La Aurora to Open Teaching Center La Aurora Cigar Institute in the Dominican Republic

La Aurora announced the opening of a teaching facility as part of their La Aurora Cigar World in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dom. Rep in February. The institution’s aim is to educate and teach about the world of cigars in a didactic manner, through a group of recognized professionals who will communicate and disseminate the Dominican tobacco culture.

Guillermo León, President of La Aurora comments: “The next opening of La Aurora Cigar Institute will undoubtedly be one of the major projects of our company in a very special year, in which we will celebrate its 113 years of existence through five generations. It is a bet on innovation through the creation of a unique institution at global level that will assemble great recognized professionals for the sole purpose of sharing their knowledge and spreading the Dominican Tobacco culture”.

The Cigar Institute is endorsed by the Tobacco Institute of Dominican Republic. On the initial stages, Ángel Daniel Núñez, ex President of General Cigar Co, Benjamín Menéndez, who has been linked to the world of tobacco for 62 years, holding the position of Senior Vice President at General Cigar, until his retirement in 2013, and Guillermo León, current President of La Aurora, will be among the lecturers.

The courses imparted at La Aurora The Cigar Institute will be targeted to regular consumers, cigar sommeliers, tobacconists as well as journalists and salesmen of the tobacco sector.

Type of courses and programs

All courses are planned to place special emphasis on all aspects related to the understanding of the different tobacco plant varieties, soils, organoleptic characteristics, blends, cigar tasting and pairing between cigars and different agro-food specialties.

The Aurora Cigar Institute will start by offering two types of courses: Course I and Course II. Completion of those two courses entitles to receive the certificate of “Expert in Dominican Tobacco.” Course I (priced USD 950)runs for three days and deals with theoretical topics such as: history of tobacco, the economic and social importance of tobacco in Dominican Republic, climate and tobacco-growing areas in Dominican Republic and how the tobacco plant is processed. On the practical part, the students will learn about elaboration of cigars, selection of tobacco, cigar tasting and pairing.

Those participants wishing to continue will proceed to Course II (USD 1,100), which lasts also three days. In this course, students will find that the theoretical contents revolve around more specialized issues, such as: Dominican tobacco varieties and flavors and aromas of the different geographical regions of Dominican Republic. At the practical level, students will be exposed to a seminar on blending, cigar elaboration and pairing.

Lastly, for those persons who have a limited amount of time, The Cigar Institute has developed modular courses (USD 50 each) and an educational program that will be imparted daily. These modules are designed to connect the student with the world of the Premium Cigar, providing students with a basic knowledge that can be upgraded with total freedom and flexibility in accordance with their availability. This program has a lecture time duration of two hours and a half.

The costs for the courses I and II cover three teaching days, including lodging, meals, cigars, internal transportation and instructional materials.

More information about the Cigar Institute can be found at www.laauroracigarworld.com