Liga Privada T52Liga Privada T52

Liga Privada T52

The Liga Privada line is extremely exclusive, and sometimes near impossible to get your hands on. Although most cigars that take that road end up selling just because of the hype, the Liga Privada line has the flavor, experience, construction, and overall product to back the hype up and then some.

The Good Stuff:As stated before the Liga Privada line of cigars is extremely exclusive. Drew Estate puts mass amounts of time and effort in each one of their cigar blends, the Liga Privada is the cream of the crop. The Liga Privada was originally created strictly for the sole enjoyment of the Steve Saka, the President of Drew Estate. Steve wanted a blend that he could call his own private reserve, and only cherish for his own personal enjoyment. Each Liga Privada is custom blended to perfection using only the most premium Nicaraguan tobacco farmed from the Drew Estate tobacco farm in Esteli, Nicaragua amongst 6 other regions of the world.. Not to mention each Liga Privada is then hand rolled only by the best hands in La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate.

Up until this point the Liga Privada No. 9 and the T-52 are the same. The main difference between the two lies in the distinct wrapper the T-52 carries. The Liga Privada No. 9 comes wrapped in a very dark, oily Maduro like Oscuro Wrapper, Where as the new T-52 comes wrapped in a stalk-cut Habano wrapper just a shade lighter than the Liga Privada No. 9, making for a much more bold, and robust smoking experience.

Liga Privada T52 and No. 9

Liga Privada T52 and No. 9

If you’d like to find out more on the Liga Privada No.9 feel free to check out the review I did here. It’s an older review, so unlike this one it doesn’t have all the pretty pictures and my pallet was still used to infused, but there is a lot of good research there. From what I can gather unlike the No. 9 the Liga Privada T-52 is only available in Robusto (5 x 52) and Toro (6 x 52). I was lucky enough to get my hands on the toro.

Size: 6 x 52  -  Wrapper: Stalk Cut Habano  -  Filler/Binder: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican - Brazilian Mata Fina

Liga Privada T-52

Prelight:The habano stalk-cut wrapper isn’t one that I have encountered often, if not ever before. It is very dark brown with flourishes of cherrywood. The texture is really toothy and rough with many thick veins. It almost looks like a cat’s tongue up close. And the density is beautifully thick, and hard. I don’t think I will have any problems handling this cigar, its far from fragile. The Liga Privada T-52 has a very rounded, tough double-cap.  The only construction flaw that I can spot is a thick, bump just before the band of the cigar. Hopefully this won’t hinder the smoking experience. I am a huge fan of the simplicity of the Liga Privada’s bands. The band on the T-52 is almost identical to the No .9 except gold instead of silver. It is all white, with small metallic details and writing. One of the quotes actually reads “Hecho Exclusivament Para El Jefe” or “Made Exclusively for the Boss”. The wrapper gives off a light mossy scent where as the foot of the T-52 smells very earthy, mossy, and cedar-like. The cold draw matched the scent of the foot almost precisely. Very woodsy, almost like sucking on a stick of wet cedar. I will be cutting this cigar with my Palio double bladed cutter, and lighting it with a vector single flame torch.

Liga Privada T-52

First Smoke:The Liga Privada T52 took quite a bit of convincing to get lit under my single flame torch. I expected a very small draw due to how tightly packed this cigar is. To my surprise my mouth was soon full of large amounts of thick, heavy smoke with little, to no effort at all. The smoke was very dense, and just kinda hung around with a strong cedar like aroma. I really wouldn’t be at all surprised if me neighbors couldn’t tell the difference between the cigar smoke and an actual fireplace burning. The stationary smoke was incredibly large too, this is something to keep in mind if you plan on smoking the Liga Privada in public places. The flavor the Liga Privada started off with a huge punch of pepper, and then transcended into a very cedar like taste with hints of earthy, mossy flavors and grape. Smoking the Liga Privada T-52 tastes much like sucking on a plank of cedar wood. The burn line started out pretty consistent, and the ash was very tightly packed in its off grey, speckled white color. I got about an inch in a half into this smoke before the ash finally gave way. One thing to note though is the ash fell a great distance before landing in my ashtray. Most of the time when this occurs the ash almost explodes on impact. In the case of the Liga Privada there was almost no destruction to the ash log, it was that tightly packed.

Liga Privada T-52

Halfway There:About halfway in I started feeling the nicotine hit me. This is an extremely bold cigar vs. the no.9 which is a good thing. The flavors are still very consistent with cedar taking center stage only to be accompanied by creamy hints of leather, and soft fruit with the great tobacco aftertaste we have grown to love. In the case of the Liga Privada T-52 the after taste wasn’t bad at all, and only lasted a few seconds then disappeared. The burn line is pretty consistent up to this point with a few vein traces here and there.

Liga Privada T-52

Finish:Just before hitting the band I reached that thick bump in the cigar that I noted before. This did in fact throw off the burn just a bit, but not enough to require any touch-ups of any kind. Towards the end of the cigar the pepper taste made its return, but not nearly as powerful as it was at the beginning. Outside of the pepper the exact same flavors were picked up all the way through the Liga Privada. Some cigar smokers may frown upon this consistency in flavors but I for one love it. The ash held tightly through the entire cigar only dropping three times, which in my opinion is awesome for a Toro. The final stretch of the cigar packed a bit more punch than expected, again this is one characteristic that sets the T-52 away from the No. 9. The Liga Privada T-52 took just a little over two hours to finish.

Liga Privada T-52

Overview:The Liga Privada T-52 was one of the many cigars released in 2009 and it just may be top on my list for the “best of the best”. With its complex profile, bold strength, great aroma, and perfect flavors the Liga Privada T52 is a sure fire winner. Due to the exclusiveness of this cigar if you are ever lucky enough to stumble upon them, buy them! But all of them! and if you aren’t happy with them, rest assured they have  a home with me. I would recommend this cigar not only to any aficionado, but to anyone who is blessed with the opportunity to get their hands on them.

Liga Privada T-52

Drew Estate Egg Maduro

This is a pretty interesting cigar. Unlike most standard cigar shapes, Drew Estate’s “egg” actually bubbles out in the middle to form an egg looking vitola.

Drew Estate Egg Maduro

The Good Stuff: If you can look past the extremely strange shape of the Natural Egg Maduro you will notice that it, alongside all cigars produced by Drew Estate sports flawless construction, as well as a complex blend of only the finest natural tobacco leaves farmed in Drew Estate’s own tobacco farms in Esteli, Nicaragua. I am not entirely too sure why on earth they came up with this cigar, maybe just for novelty? I’m not convinced outside of a “different” experience that there is actually any science in the shape. Drew Estate is the king of  different and unexpected.

Size: 6 x 42/70/42  -  Wrapper: Natural Maduro  -  Origin: Esteli, Nicaragua

Drew Estate Natural Egg Maduro

Prelight: The first thing I noticed what the weight of this cigar. I expected it to weigh a lot more than it actually did due to the massive build up of tobacco in the center. But alas, it weighed slightly more than a similar length standard cigar. Hopefully this means it’s loosely packed and will have a nice, wild draw. The wrapper is a very dark, creamy chocolate color. The head and foot sport an extremely small ring size. There is no doubt on my mind that this will be an interesting smoke. The wrapper smells very natural/dry/leathery with a touch of cocoa. The cold draw is VERY loose, with slight tastes of mocha, and caramel spice.

Drew Estate Natural Egg Maduro

First Smoke: I’m pretty excited about the EGG, its not every day that you get to smoke something as interesting as this. I’m also a big fan of Drew Estate’s Natural line, so if its anything similar, it won’t be less than stellar. The foot of the cigar took to my flame rather well, lighting up really quickly. Getting the first draw off the EGG however was a chore in itself. I had to hit the crap out of this cigar to get my first draw. You could actually hear the wind ripping through the center of the EGG. Once the draw came however, it was on! The EGG produces a massive freakin’ draw with plenty of lingering thick smoke. Retrohaling this cigar was a breeze. The EGG carries with it a very sweet, natural taste, with hints of cashew, coffee, graham cracker, and leather. The cap is extra sweet on this one. I enjoy sweet caps, but I know a number of cigar smokers do not. The burn line is extremely wavy straight from the start, but with a construction such as this you can’t expect it to burn perfectly. This is a pretty tasty cigar, it resembles the “Natural Root” to a tee. The EGG smokes more stationary than any other cigar I have ever seen. Not to mention each time I go in for a draw the front of the EGG blows smoke rings. It’s actually pretty interesting. The smoke isn’t bad smelling at all. Very creamy tobacco/coffee scent.

Drew Estate Natural Egg Maduro

The picture above is entitled “the dying crane”. There has been rumors going around that you can actually make it through a whole EGG without the cigar ashing. As you can see above almost instantaneously I am having an ash issue. The foot of the cigar is already trying to break free. We’ll see how the rest of the cigar holds up.

Halfway There: As soon as I started to actually hit the “egg” part of the EGG I am smacked in the face with a strong, spicy, pepper taste. It literally comes out of no where. It’s accompanied by a subtle citrus flavor. Each time I put the EGG down it takes about five to six extremely strong puffs to get my first draw. This is semi-annoying but it comes with the territory, and the massive draw almost makes up for it. Because you have to hit the cigar so hard you can feel it heat up VERY early on a lot more than it should, not to mention the EGG is already pretty awkward to hold. Just after I passed the center of the cigar the pepper flavor balanced out and almost disappeared. We are back to natural/graham cracker/ coffee. This cigar is incredibly smooth.

Drew Estate Natural Egg Maduro

The above picture is entitled “the elephant and the empty bottle of Chimay”. I am really surprised that the ash is still holding on. Even the foot that was giving me problems is hanging in there.

Finish: Oddly enough, there was no plugging, no tar build-up nothing. The cigar smoked creamy, smooth, and consistent all the way though. There was little no signs of any aftertaste. What resided was only that of a faint cardboard taste. And with cigars, a soft cardboard after-taste isn’t bad at all. I felt little to no signs of nicotine. The coffee notes carried all the way through, but the consistent graham cracker, natural taste is what won the flavor war. One of the most interesting characteristics of this cigar is this:

Drew Estate Natural Egg Maduro

That’s right, the ash actually lasted the ENTIRE length of the cigar. Pretty interesting, even the troubled foot is still on there. About 3/4′s of the way through I stopped resting the cigar on the ashtray. I really just wanted to see how far this thing would go. Very surprising.

Overview: Drew Estate’s Natural Egg maduro is a fun smoke. It’s very smooth, sweet, and pleasantly scented. The cigar itself too about two hours and ten minutes to smoke, so prepare to ge acquainted with this cigar. I would smoke another one for sure if I happen to stumble across it. This cigar is really just the novelty. You can get similar draw, tastes, and burn out of the Natural Dirt Torpedo, and the Natural Root. I would recommend this to a seasoned smoker looking for something a bit different to have a some fun with. But I don’t see this becoming part of my regular rotation anytime in the near future.

Natural Egg Maduro and Chimay Blue

This Natural EGG maduro was paired with a nice bottle of Chimay blue, trappist ale.