The Good Stuff: I was one of the very many people intrigued as rumors began to fly about a possible Liga Privada in “A” format. Not that I am an “A” kinda guy, but that’s a huge departure from anything currently in the Liga Privada line. Not to mention that I am an open Liga Privada Fan Boy. That won’t make this review biased though, trust me. After about a years worth of rumors Jonathan Drew confirmed that they would in fact be making an “A” sized Liga Privada, and began to hype it up with some Jonathan Drew style tweets and Facebook posts.

I just had to put the "A" next to a Dirty Rat for size comparison. And for laughs.

As time went on, we discovered this wasn’t a real release, but instead a special type of product. What I mean by that is, Drew Estate actually created the Liga Privada “A” as a special promotional product.  The “A” is actually a tweaked T-52 blend. More than likely they needed to refine the blend and mellow it out a bit to fit the format. I’m glad too, I don’t think I could handle a straight up 9 inch T-52. These cigars will not be available to purchase, instead, they will be given out at certain Liga Privada events due in part to the limited amount of T52 leaf as well as Drew Estate wanting something special as a thanks to it’s customers. Plus, in my opinion, I don’t think the format is easy to sell. I was actually on Smoke Inn’s radio show “Kiss my Ash Radio” this passed weekend with Erik Espinosa from EO Brands and he made mention that he was actually present some time ago when he and Jonathan Drew opened the first box of Liga Privada Unicos “A”. That being said, I think it’s safe to say these will be readily available at Liga Privada Events.

I don’t smoke “A” sized cigars often at all. But there is a reason for it. “A” sized cigars were created to honor celebrations. This is a special treat sort of size, to be smoked to celebrate special occasions. With good reason too, they are normally 9” long and usually take around 3 hours to smoke.  That being said, lets get started!

Size: 9 ¼” x 47  -  Wrapper:  Connecticut Stalk Cut Habano  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  -  Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican – keep in mind this is just an assumption, knowing that it’s a tweaked T-52 blend.

Prelight: This is a GIGANTIC cigar. It almost feels too heavy to hold and wants to fall from my hand when I hold it near the head of the cigar. That goes with all “A” sized cigars I guess. They aren’t the most practical cigar, but they aren’t trying to be. Once you get passed the size of this cigar you are greeted with the beautiful T52 style wrapper that we have all grown to love. The wrapper is incredibly oily with medium to dark browns and oranges mixed in. The construction is perfect with only a very few larger veins. Usually veins of that size would run the entire body of a robusto sized cigar. I just though it was funny that the Liga Privada Unicos “A” had 2 longer veins stacked one after another, and they still only ran about half the body of the cigar.  Anyways, the wrapper and the entire cigar in general is very solid and durable. There aren’t any soft spots on the entire cigar. The cap is very similar to the pig tailed, rounded cap that the Dirty Rat carries, only twice the size. And the band is identical to the  Unicos Series bands that all the Liga Privada carries, blue and gold with a gigantic “A” on them.

The body of the cigar gives off a nice, strong cedar and sweet tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar gives off nothing more than a very subtle spice. The cap clipped extremely easy and clean using my Liga Privada Double Bladed cutter. The cold draw was interesting, instead of greeting me with a nice pepper I was expecting, The “A” let loose this crazy strong cedar and sweetness which got me interested in just how “tweaked” this blend really is.

First Smoke: Right away the Liga Privada Unicos “A” kicked out the flavors I expect from the T-52. Cedar, spice, sweet tobacco, and cocoa. One thing was still missing, the pepper. In all honesty I’m glad too, a 9 inch pepper-bomb just doesn’t seem like it would sit too well with me. Despite the distance in which the smoke must travel, the draw was perfect and plentiful. It only took me my normal 2 puffs to get a mouthful of thick, white smoke. The burnline is a bit wavy and thick, but nothing too concerning, white the stationary smoke, as with most Liga Privada blends, is crazy. This cigar is spewing out tons and tons of thick, cedar scented smoke as it sits in my ashtray. The ash left behind is somewhat flaky, and really dark grey with spots of lighter grey. It only held on for about two thirds of an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The sweetness has really started to pick up into the second third of this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. By this point, I’d be finishing a robusto format cigar, but this cigar is still keeping my attention by adding a ton of spice and the sweetness I mentioned to the already sweet mashup of cocoa, and cedar. The burnline has completely corrected itself and is burning dead even now. The retrohale is BADASS coating with an absolute blast of cedar each time I do it. I am feeling a very slight nicotine kick after the second third, but no where near what I was expecting form a Liga Privada blend.

Finish: Switching it up again, I started to get this nice, subtle floral flavor during the last third of Drew Estate’s Liga Privada Unicos “A”.  The sweetness has mellowed out quite a bit, and I am left with a really smooth cedar, cocoa, coffee and floral mixture. Surprisingly for the size I’m really not picking up much more than a really slight nicotine kick. The burnline has been perfect since the second third, and I haven’t had to relight, or even touch up this cigar once. All in all it took a few minutes shy of 3 hours to take down this beast of a cigar. It’s crazy how the final picture looks similar to the length of a “First Smoke” robusto picture. This thing is huge.

Overview: I have a short attention span. Very. I blame the internet and technology for that. That being said, I never really got bored while smoking this Liga Privada Unicos “A”. It had just enough change ups to keep my attention, but at the same time was smooth and seamless enough not to overpower me with each jump. I think finding balance in a cigar as big as this, and keeping the cigar’s complexity has the be an incredibly difficult task for the blender, and Drew Estate did a hell of a job with it. The cigar wasn’t as powerful as the other blends in the Liga Privada Line, with good reason. I don’t think I could handle a 3 hour T-52 It would leave my crying on the floor. Although this isn’t a cigar I’d smoke often, I really enjoyed it a lot. And in terms of the format, it’s not made to be consumed often. As stated, it’s a celebratory cigar. And I really think it’s a great addition to my humidor when I want something special and have a few hours to burn, pun intended.

Pairing: I said it many times, and will say it again, Winter is the season for beer. With all the awesome porters, stouts, and Christmas ales it’s a wonder why I’m not trashed from morning to dawn. St. Bernardus isn’t a stranger to this blog. In fact, it’s one of my favorite breweries out there. This Christmas season Abbey Ale hits the mark on all accounts. It’s strong (10% ABV), sweet, flavorful, and well balanced with fruity, malty flavors and just a hit of spice. Needless to say it went perfectly with the Liga Privada Unicos “A”. At about $13 a bottle, it’s not something you can drink everyday, but when you find it, pick it up. It pairs great with any full bodied, full flavored cigar.

Prelight: Cigar #6 starts off with this absolutely beautiful, extremely toothy wrapper. This bad boy is oily! Bits of oil were rubbing off on my fingers every time I hold the cigar. The wrapper is a really dark, and consistent dark-chocolate brown. The construction on this cigar is immaculate. The only visible veins are very slight, and smooth. They blend so well in with the cigar they were hard to even find. Despite how lightweight this cigar is, it seems incredibly durable with very little give heading up towards the round double cap.

The wrapper of this cigar gives off a really nice cedar aroma while the foot lets loots a really, really deep spice. The cap clipped with extreme ease using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw is really interesting. It starts with just a ton of pepper, spice, cedar, and some sweet raisin. Strange I know, but if the cigar bears as much flavor as the cold draw I know I’ll be impressed.

First Smoke: Cigar #6 lit and toasted really quick, and really easy. This cigar starts off with a ton of pepper. After the pepper simmered down a bit the cigar’s real flavors kicked in. Starting out with a ton of cedar, some really sharp spice, sweet tobacco, and this really interesting grape/plum flavor I pulled from the aftertaste. The burline started out completely solid, and razor sharp producing a very beautiful, tightly compacted white ash. Despite the beautiful ash, it only held on for about an inch before taking a dive right into my lap.

Halfway There: Going into the second third of cigar #6 and the pepper has completely faded leaving room for this cigar to really take off. The deep cedar flavor is still the main flavor backed by subtle spice, sweet cinnamon, and that strange plum flavor I pulled early into this cigar. At first, I thought the wrapper on this cigar was Connecticut Broadleaf, but the more I smoke it, the more I find myself leaning away from that. Stalk Cut Habano maybe? It just doesn’t have to same sweet characteristics that Connecticut Broadleaf normally does. Anyhow, getting back into it, the retrohale on this cigar is really sharp and spicy, I don’t find myself doing it too often at all. Not to mention the fact that I can already feel a bit of the nicotine from this cigar.

Finish: The complexity of this cigar never stops amazing me. Into the final third of this cigar the pepper flavor from the start of the smoke made a brief reappearance. The main flavor is still this plethora of cedar. My mouth taste’s like I have been chewing on a black of cedar. At this point the Plum flavor is really taking off too. What a neat mixture of flavor. The body has really started to jump up as well.  I am scared to get up and walk around. There was a little harshness in the end, but nothing that I didn’t mind smoking through. All in all this cigar took about an hour to take down. Probably too fast for me to call it the cigar I am about to, but that’s just part of the game.

Overview: This was a damn good cigar. Extremely complex, bold, strong, and interesting. It really kept me on my toes. Not for the faint of heart. Just make sure you have a nice meal, and something to drink handy before taking on whatever cigar this happens to be. (on a side note, all these blind reviews are paired with water. Since I don’t know what they are I don’t want to risk pairing them with something that could ruin the experience. )

So now, for the part that makes me look like a complete dumbass. What did I think this was?

First off all, I really want to say this is a Nicaraguan cigar. It had all the characteristics, but the flavors were so interesting that I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a crazy mix of tobacco in there. What Nicaraguan cigar did I think it is? Well, I really couldn’t get over the wrapper. It looks like something I am so used to be the experience didn’t match. That being said, my first guess is this is some crazy Liga Privada blend. The wrapper REALLY identified with the wrapper seen on the T52. The rest of the experience didn’t, but with all the experimenting that Drew Estate has been doing lately, and Brooks’ ability to get ahold of just about anything, it wouldn’t surprise me. Second guess? Viaje. I haven’t had the pleasure of smoking too many Viaje, but this is something that would definitely fit within their line. Flavorful, strong, and different. Now lets see just how far off I was.

And the cigar is, Tatuaje’s Fausto. Is this cigar even out yet? Brooks doesn’t mess around.

Tatuaje’s Fausto is a new blend being released this year. New blend? Kinda. If any of you remember the extremely limited T110 blend that Pete made for R. Fields in Hawaii then this cigar shouldn’t been unfamiliar to you. The Fausto is the same blend form the T110, only in different sizes. After all the success of the T110 Pete wanted to eventually turn it into a fully produced line. The Fausto is a damn strong cigar. This is a full ligero cigar composed of Jalapa and Estelí grown Nicaraguan tobacco. At least I got that part right. And the wrapper? Ecuador Habano Maduro. Again, I was close!

If you want to find out more about this cigar, and see a great review of it, head over to this link to check out what brooks over at Smokingstogie.com had to say about it.

I have been dying to get the chance to smoke this cigar, and thanks again to the wonderful group over at smokingstogie.com, this time in particular Steve Valle, I finally have a chance to take on Drew Estate’s Liga Privada MF-13.

If you haven’t checked out smokingstogie’s site before, then I suggest you do so, NOW. Steve, Brooks, and now Patrick work hard over there bringing you some of the best reviews and photography of some of the most expensive, rare, and exclusive cigars the internet has ever seen. Alright, now onto the review!

The Good Stuff: The Liga Privada MF-13 is a new, pre-release cigar that may, or may not ever see full Liga Privada production. Drew Estate is still in discussion as to if they will release the blend to the public or not. As for now, the MF-13 is only seen when it is shared with Drew Estate’s friends, or at Drew Estate events. The MF-13 pre-release I have is in fact the final blend, not just a sample. As with all Liga Privada samples shared, Drew Estate will not alter the blend should they decide to release it. The MF-13 is a reblending using the Liga Privada T52 as a starting point. The blend has been tweaked numerous times, the initial blend being the MF-4, and now all the way up to the MF-13. One thing to note is, Steve Saka actually told me that if they were to release the MF-13 it would not be added to the T52 line, but would be a new feature in the Unicos series. The main difference between the T52 and the MF-13 is the filler recipe of the MF-13 is more Esteli Valley-centric, which makes it a much spicier, bolder smoke. The “MF” in MF-13 stands for what you think it does, but not due to the strength but rather the first thing Steve Saka said when he sampled the blend; “This is Mother F’ing Good”. Gotta love those guys.

Size: 5 x 52 Parejo  -  Wrapper: CT Grown Stalk Cut Habano – Type 52 Seed  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina – Sungrown – Plantation Harvest  -  Filler: 5 fillers, all Nicaraguan.

Prelight: The Liga Privada MF-13 starts out with a very nice, orangish dark brown wrapper with a whole ton of different darker and lighter spots. This cigar is said to contain the same wrapper as the T-52, but it seems so much darker than any of the ones I have on had. I know there is color differences in all leaf and cigars are boxed by closest color, but it’s almost as dark as the No. 9! Anyways, the wrapper is very tough, very firm, and very toothy. This thing feels like a rock giving almost not resistance as I squeeze it. The construction is perfect with only mild veins running through the length of the body up to the round, double cap. The band is identical in design to the Liga Privada No.9, only it has different text. This one actually says “Pre-Release Sample Blend  – Liga Privada”. And of course, the “MF-13” markings. I really like that Drew Estate takes the time to put finishing touches on the band of even their pre-release blends now. Not just ink and paper thrown through a inkjet-printer.

The wrapper gives off a very bold, woodsy aroma. Really deep with slight hints of cherry. The foot is a bit more interesting. There is just a ton of spice coming out of there with nice little notes of chocolate, and wood. This cigar smells like a lumber yard. The cap was very easy to cut, and clipped clean using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw is nice and loose giving off this really robust, strong tobacco and wood flavor with little hints of berry.

First Smoke: Holy Crap! The MF-13 starts off with this just ridiculous amount of pepper. Wow! After a few initial draws the pepper lets up just enough to pull out some really interesting, very strong grassy, earthy, woodsy flavors with even a tiny note of lime, and what I could only imagine weed would taste like. Of course I haven’t even tried the stuff, but the scent of it reminds me of a very small note I picked up in the beginning of this smoke. All I can say is be ready for this one. It starts off with a bang and quickly separates itself from the T-52. As I mention Saka said it was a “tweaked” version of the T-52 blend which only goes to show how much of a delicate process each blend actually is. The draw is perfect, kicking out massive clouds of thick white smoke with every puff.  The stationary smoke on this cigar, as well as any other Liga Privada blend is insane. Tons of lightly scented cedar smoke spills from the cigar while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline started slightly wavy but quickly corrected itself during the first third and is now burning dead even leaving behind a nicely compacted trail of medium grey ash which held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Now into the second third of this Liga Privada MF-13 and it is still the flavor bomb it started out to be. The pepper is still present, but no where near as strong as it once was. The flavor profile now consists of really deep oaky wood flavors with still a tons of earth tones, spice, and just a little bit of the black cherry I picked up in the cold draw. This cigar is strong, and I am feeling it already, but at the same time it’s smooth and really easy to smoke. Very well balanced. The retrohale is still packed with spice and I don’t find myself doing it too often at all. It’s a bit much for me with this cigar.

Finish: Into the final third of the Liga Privada MF-13 and the body is still steadily increasing in strength without losing any flavor. The final flavors in this cigar are still a very robust woodsy flavor, a bit of leather sneaked in, still holding on to the pepper and some spice, and a tiny bit of the cherry. Being that this is such a strong cigar, it is relatively easy to smoke developing no harshness at all, even into the final inch. This cigar was very hard to put down, it smoked really slow but even then only took me slightly over an hour to finish.

Overview: Before getting a chance to try the Liga Privada MF-13 for myself, Steve Valle and I had a quick conversation on how he actually liked this cigar better then the No.9. As you can imagine, this shocked the hell out of me, and going into this cigar I was a bit biased and compared it greatly to the No.9. Was it better in my opinion? No. But was I disappointed? Not in the least. Despite being based from the T52 blend the MF-13 is (if released) part of the Unicos blend for a reason. It isn’t anything like the T52 or the number 9, it stands alone. It’s kind of funny, Steve was talking to Jonathan Drew and I on twitter and actually made mention of the MF-13 being like the No.9, the T52, and the Dirty Rat all rolled into one. He nailed it. Imagine that concoction of a cigar and you have a MF-13. The cigar is VERY strong, and that alone puts it in another category. The craziest part about it was just how smooth, and relaxing the experience was for such a strong cigar. It takes a lot to get that sort of balance, and for me, that says a lot about the cigar. The MF-13 was strong yet smooth, very complex, and just an all around damn good cigar.. For SURE it’s not a cigar I would recommend for the casual or novice smoker. But if you are a seasoned cigar smoker, or a Liga Privada lover, then you may want to pick up quite a few of these, they are well worth it. I’m not certain on the price tag, but I would guess for the robusto it would be in similar Liga Privada range, $10 – $12, albeit a bit expensive for most, I think it’s a completely legit price point and would gladly pay it towards a box purchase.

Pairing: Knowing that this was a strong cigar going in, I decided to pair it with a very strong beer. The Asylum Quadruple Ale from Left Coast Brewing Company in California. Asylum is a spicy, fruity, tart strong Quadruple ale. Boasting an 11% abv, this isn’t a beer for the faint of heart. The beer paired nicely with the cedar notes from the cigar, but I found it overpowering at times, and even a bit sour. Needless to say I took my time with it as to not hinder the taste of the cigar. I think I actually only drank about a third of the bottle before finishing the cigar, then gulping down the rest. Ideally, with the deep flavors from the MF-13 one would want to pair it with a nice light stout, a porter, or a brown ale. But I’m stupid and like I often do chose power over flavor. It wasn’t the worst pairing, just wasn’t too great. If I had to pair the MF-13 with anything else I think it would go perfect with a nice glass of port, some Dr. Pepper, or some black coffee.

The Good Stuff: Royale with Cheese, you heard that right. Drew Estate always has quirky code names for all of their pre-production blends. Will this be the final name of the vitola? Probably not. But the master minds at Drew Estate never fail to surprise me. (EDIT: I was notified by Steve Saka that this is actually NOT the Royale with Cheese! See the comments below for his explaination.)It’s (from what I know) the same blend as the T52.  For more information on the T52 blend you can navigate to my review of the toro or my review of the flying pig. Same blend, just in gigantic form. I used to love the hell out of larger ring gauged cigars, but lately I will almost always go for the corona. I just think the smaller ring gauges kick out so much extra flavor. Will the monster size dull-out the massive flavors of the T52? Let’s find out.

Size: 6 x 60  -  Wrapper: Stalk Cut Habano  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican – Brazilian Mata Fina

Prelight: Quickly touching on the prelight characteristics, they are completely identical to the T52’s, just WAY bigger. Super, super, super oily wrapper. Toothy, and a dark chocolate brown with tons of orange spots. One of two big veins running the length of the body,  but nothing too crazy. Nice rounded cap, and the standard Liga Privada T52 band. This cigar is heavy as hell, and carries a very firm, and thick wrapper with absolutely no soft spots at all.

The cigar smells like straight up cedar, a ton of spice, and some nice espresso notes. The foot smells almost identical, only with a much more pronounced aroma. The cap took a bit of convincing from my Liga Privada double-bladed cutter before clipping off. The cut was clean, it just took a bit of extra pressure. The cold draw matched the aromas I picked up earlier to a tee. The only difference was the cedar was much more pronounced and there was a butt-load of pepper in there.

First Smoke: This T52 6×60 took quite a bit to light up using my single flame butane torch. I almost forgot how much work it took to get bigass cigars lit. The cigar didn’t start off with nearly as much pepper as I expected. A lot smoother, with a ton of cedar, espresso, cocoa, and spice. The draw is REALLY open at the start of the first third. It gives out a nice, full mouth of smoke, but takes a few draws to get there.  After about a half inch though the foot was nice and ashy and the draw tightened up. And if you thought the normal T52 gave off a lot of stationary smoke, this T52 is like a wildfire.  The burn line was perfect and the tightly compacted light grey ash held on for and inch and a half before giving way.

Halfway There: As I thought, the T52 6×60 is a lot smoother, and more open than what I was used to in the other T52 vitolas. Not to say the flavor hasn’t been there, but it’s not as powerful as the other vitolas. The second third flavors match the first only a bit smoother, creamier, and not as strong. The cedar has really taken off though, mixed with a nice, creamed coffee with the spice in the background. The retrohale is good, tons of cedar, but very strong with spice and pepper. I am also already feeling a lot of nicotine from this cigar early in. It’s not for the faint of heart. Burn line is perfect, and draw has been wonderful since it tightened up in the first third.

Finish: The flavors really haven’t changed much into the final third of this Liga Privada T52 6×60. Mainly, the spice and pepper have completely disappeared, but the cedar and the coffee and creamy notes have ramped up as well as the strength of the cigar. This thing really has a bite and I really don’t recommend it if you aren’t one for strong cigars. The ash has been kind of flaky into the final third too, which is strange cause I really didn’t feel any soft spots, nor could I find any mis-construction. The ash seems to fall off at random times too, twice in my lap. But that’s what I get for always waiting for the last minute to tap my ash out. Towards the end there was no harshness at all. I was REALLY surprised with how smooth this cigar faired out from start to finish.

Overview: This is a beast of a cigar. It took me about two hours to take it down entirely. Ever heard the saying “you can never have too much of a good thing?”, this cigar goes to show that you can. At least, in my opinion. This cigar was just too much for me. The flavors where there, the smoothness let me finish it, and the creaminess resulted with no harshness at all. But still, this was just too much cigar for me. Anyone who loves the T52 and is looking for a larger vitola to fit those days when you are just looking for a little more “relaxation” time will find this cigar absolutely perfect. Maybe I’m just not one for the larger sizes?

Pairing: I paired this Liga Privada T52 with a with a beer I absolutely adore. New Belgium’s Lips of Faith Series Dunkel Weiss. Usually I don’t pair the only cigar I have with a beer with so much flavor, but I knew the blend was similar so I already knew that the T52 6x60would pair perfectly with this beer.  This Dunkel Weiss if a hell of a flavor-bomb. Really, be prepared for it. It’s not anything like a traditional Dunkel. This thing tastes like just a whole crap load of fruit, apples, berries, plum, tons of banana, mixed with a bunch of malt, caramel, and a VERY strong cinnamon aftertaste. Needless to say this was an absolutely wonderful pairing with the soft fruit notes, espresso, spice, and cedar picked up in this Liga Privada T52 6×60.

The Good Stuff: Drew Estate’s Double Signature Reserve has an interesting little story. As most of you know, Drew Estate sponsors what they call “The Cigar Safari”. The Cigar Safari is basically a 5 day long tour of Nicaragua, and many of the high end cigar factories hosted by Drew Estate. One of the interesting activities on the tour is one where you actually get to blend your own cigar, rolled in the Drew Estate factory. I’ll be the first to admin I’d totally bomb this, and probably make the crappiest cigar ever. But some people have made cigars using tobacco they absolutely love, and become very partial to the blends they put their names on. One of these lucky Safariers (I’m sure that’s not even a word) is Tobacco World owner Robert Wachtel. He created a blend that he fell so in love with, that he actually commissioned Drew Estate to create a mass of these sticks (100 boxes of 24 to be exact) that would be sold only at Tobacco World. These babies went FAST! So as I continue this review, bear in mind that Drew Estate did not blend these cigars, it was created by the mind of Robert Wachtel from Tobacco World in Atlanta, Georgia.

Prelight: Let me just start out by saying, this is a crazy looking cigar. The Double Signature Reserve has such a crazy, toothy wrapper. I even wrote the words “Stupidly Toothy” in my review notes. It feels almost like sandpaper. And to go with it, the wrapper is VERY hard, and gives off such a shine that it actually looks like it could be made form plastic. Outside of the crazy wrapper characteristics, the cigar carries the same orange, and dark chocolate colors as the Liga Privada T-52, in fact it’s the same wrapper as the T-52. The Double Signature Reserve itself is a very beefy, heavy stick. The thick body leads up to a nice, huge double cap before banded off with a dark brown, orange, and gold embossed band. The Front of the band shows the Double Signature Reserve name, by Drew Estate. While the only other markings are the “Dual Signatures” of the cigar blends creators, both Jonathan Drew and Robert Wachtel.

There are no soft spots or any misconstruction on this cigar what so ever. If anything, this cigar is so hard, heavy, and tightly bound that I could probably use it to break into a car of some sort. It seriously has no give to it, no matter how hard I squeeze it, within reason of course. The wrapper had a very nice floral, and cedar scent. The foot however had mainly a  strong barnyard and cedar scent.

Probably due to the tightly packed tobacco, the thickness, and the strength of the cigar’s wrapper, The Double Signature Reserve was really tough to clip using my Palio double bladed cutter. Once it pierced the wrapper though, the cut was perfect and clean. The cold draw kicked out some really interesting strong floral, and cinnamon flavors.

Size: 6 x 54 (estimated) -  Wrapper: Stalk Cut Connecticut Habano  -  Binder: San Andreas Mexican  -  Filler: Dominican Pilito Seco, Brazilian Mata Fina Viso, and 2 different Jalapa-grown (Nicaraguan) Criollo Habana Leaves -  Body: Full

First Smoke: As expected, the Double Signature Reserve starts off with a butt-load of pepper, and surprisingly a lot of rich, dark chocolate flavors. I didn’t get the floral taste I was expecting, in fact, the cigar starts out a little flat in the flavor profile, but after a while a bit of grape decided to slip in, brightening up the flavors a bit. Despite the tightness of the tobacco, the draw was extremely loose, but it kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke, as well as a heck of a lot of cedar scented stationary smoke. You would think, due to the cedar aroma the smoke gives off that the cigar would carry more of a cedar flavor. The burn-line has been dead even right off the bat, and produced this awesome tight, white, consistent ash that held on for almost two inches before giving way.

Halfway There: And there it is! The cedar that I have grown to love from the Liga Privada T-52 has finally shown it’s happy face in the Double Signature Reserve. Along with the cedar, there is still quite a bit of pepper, as well as some more dark chocolate, and even a bit of orange peel coming it. I know that sounds like some sort of dessert, but I swear those were the flavors I started pulling out of this. Outside of the flavor change-up I really started to feel the body from the cigar as well. The retrohale was a little too harsh for me, so I didn’t find myself doing it too often. The burnline was still absolutely perfect well into the second third.

Finish: After all was said and done, the Double Signature Reserve took me about an hour and a half to take down. Keep in mind, I am a faster smoker. The final third actually started getting a bit bitter, sadly. But on the plus side, some of that floral taste I picked up from the cold draw started to sneak into the mix, masking a lot of the harshness. The cedar was still in full effect, with the dark chocolate backing it. I got a nice little nicotine kick from this cigar.

Overview: All in all, this was a pretty good cigar. Would I consider it over a Liga Privada? Not in a million years. But when you take in consideration that Robert isn’t someone that comes up with new cigar blends for a living, he did a hell of a job. This cigar was good, but the flavors seemed to fall flat at times. The harsh build up early into the final third was a big turn off for me as well. I really wonder what this cigar would be like in a corona. I think it would be damn good actually. Would I buy it again? Maybe, but not by the box, if they weren’t already sold out, which they are. Would I recommend it? Honestly, not to everyone. Maybe people who love the Liga Privada lines and are interested in a departure from the norm.

Pairing: I paired this cigar with some Obsidian Stout from the Descutes brewery in Oregon. What a wonderful, full bodied stout this is. It’s seriously like drinking cold coffee in beer form. The chocolate, coffee, and malt notes really gave another dimension to a cigar that otherwise wouldn’t have held my attention as much as it did. This cigar would pear perfect with any stout, porter, port wine, black coffee, tea, or something flavorful that would really help bring that little something extra to the cigar.

This beer will be paired with a cigar that I have waited far too long to review. Drew Estate’s Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig. I reviewed the No.9 flying pig sometime ago and you can view the review here. In any case, I finally decided it’s time to tear through this review.

Again, if you know me, you know how much I love the Liga Privada line. I could smoke these cigars back to back, day after day. My poison is the No.9 Robusto. Needless to say, this may sound a bit biased, but I am always 100% honest. If a cigar sucks, then it sucks. And if a cigar is great, I have no problem boasting.  I smoked a ton of these prior to doing the review and I can already tell you (and apologize for the spoiler), but there won’t be any “sucking” this time around.

The Good Stuff: The Liga Privada line is very exclusive. It originally started as a private blend created solely for the smoking enjoyment of Drew Estate’s President, Steve Saka but due to pressure from the Drew Estate staff, was finally released to the public. At that time, the only blend available was the No.9 which consists of 7 different tobaccos including an absolutely beautiful, Oscuro Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. That wrapper is one of the main reasons why Drew Estate was forced to create a new, similar blend using a different wrapper. The wrapper in question is the Stalk-Cut Habano and the blend is called the Liga Privada T52. The wrapper on the No.9 is very expensive, and very rare. In order to fulfill demand Drew Estate created the T52 which is more of a permanent addition to their portfolio. I personally enjoy the No.9 more, but the cigar community is split right down the middle. The Flying Pig size was originally released in the No. 9 blend and limited to only 2,000 boxes of 12 ever to be released. Because of the difficulty in rolling these cigars the T52 Flying Pig will be limited as well to 3,250 boxes of 12, and run about $12 a stick. I’m not sure if they still have them, but I picked mine up over at Bonita Smoke Shop. These cigars were released in November of 2010 so I highly doubt there are very many left on shelves. Get them while you can!

Size: 4.25 x 60  -  Wrapper: Stalk-Cut Habano  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  -  Filler: Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan  -  Body: Full

Prelight: The Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig is a strange looking little cigar. The obvious shape is the real story here. It’s a very short, very stout, very chubby perfecto cigar. It starts with a small point which quickly grows into a very large ring-gauged body filled with a very dark brown and orange, toothy wrapper. This cigar feels like sandpaper. The wrapper is very thick and tough showing only little veins throughout the entire body. After the thick body, the cigar begins to taper off, much like the foot, into a very small point only to be capped of by a nice, spiral pig tail style cap. This is a crazy looking cigar, and despite it being so different that I am used to, it feels a little strange holding it in my hand. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s not comfortable, if that makes any sense. Not to mention this cigar is so heavy due to being so jam-packed with tobacco.

The wrapper gives off a very, very woodsy aroma with just a bit of grass mixed in, while the foot smells just like my humidor, very cedary with only a slight bit of spice.

Clipping the Flying Pig was a breeze using my double bladed Palio Cutter. The cold draw seemed a bit loose, providing me with a very bold, in your face cedar mixed with a ton of black pepper.

First Smoke: The Liga Privada T52 lit up nice and easy with my triple flame torch. Usually I have problems lighting the tips of perfectos evenly, but none of that this time.  The draw on this cigar is beautiful. It’s so smooth, without being too open, pumping out this massive cloud of thick, lingering smoke. The Flying pig also lets loose this huge trail of stationary smoke. You can see the oils just burn off this wrapper. The smoke smells sooooo good! Very cedary with some sweet spices in there. But it’s probably not something you’d want to smoke around people who can’t stand a lot of smoke.  The flavors were interesting. I was really anticipating this huge pepper punch right off the back, but I didn’t get it. There was only slight pepper notes mixed into the very bold, woodsy cedar, nutmeg, and a bit of prune. The burnline is a bit thick and probably as even as I could have hoped for from the start of a perfecto. The ash left behind is this very tightly compacted white ash with dark grey mixed in.

Halfway There: Going into the second third of this Liga Privada Flying Pig T52 I started to get this neat little bready taste. It’s still just an afterthought compared to the strong cedar, cinnamon, and slight plum flavor but it’s bringing in a very nice little balance to an otherwise bold cigar. This thing is a smoke machine. I can’t stress that enough. You could use a few of these in place of a fog machine at a dumb little emo-goth rock concert. The retrohale is a bit sharp for my liking, but I find myself throwing a few in every here and there just cause I love the strong cedar coating it gives me. This is a strong cigar no doubt. It’s about noon here and I haven’t eaten in a couple of hours. Needless to say I’m already feeling a bit of a nicotine buzz off of this stout little cigar. The ash held solid until I accidently knocked it off while trying to remove the band after the second third. If you check out the picture on the Flying Pig No.9 review, the ash actually held on until I could no longer keep the cigar in my hand before burning my fingertips.

Finish: Despite taking my time on this cigar there was still a bit of harshness into the final third. I guess that’s expected  with a cigar this size. Outside of the harshness the cedar has really been the dominant flavor in this cigar. Towards the end all the other flavors really faded out letting that cedar flavor really take off. The body on this cigar is just ridiculous. It’s not for the faint of heart. I got a very mean nicotine kick within the hour it took to smoke this cigar. Make sure you have something to eat before decided to take this cigar on!

Overview: Although I really enjoyed this cigar, the No. 9 will always have a special place in my heart. That blend is just, perfect. The T52 flying pig is a great cigar. Very strong, flavorful, and interesting. My only gripe is that harshness. I don’t remember that in my No .9 pigs, and I encountered it on just about every one of the T52 pigs that I have smoked. The other sizes in the T52 lines don’t produce it either. It’s probably just the size. Either way, these are still an awesome cigar to have around. The price is a bit steep, but anyone who smokes, and appreciates the Liga Privada lines are already expecting to shell out top dollar for each of their cigars. I do, and I don’t mind the prices at all. I think ever one is well worth it. If you find these, grab them. They won’t be around for very long.

Pairing: FINALLY! This is my first beer in almost 3 weeks. I know I pre-empted a little bit and I am hoping that I don’t pay for it later, but I needed it. As winter is coming to an end, I wanted to get this pairing out of the way before it was too late. I paired my T52 Flying pig with some of Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome ale. This is another one of my favorite winter seasonal ales. This brew was brewed in Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery (Tad caster) in England. It’s a bubbly orangish amber ale producing a very smooth, lightly floral, sweet ale. The pairing really helped bring the body of the T52 down and smooth it out. I wouldn’t suggest anything too strong with the T52 as it’s already a strong cigar to begin with. Sweet Tea is the perfect, ideal pairing with this cigar, but apple juice, or any sweet brown ale would go perfectly as well.

The Story:
The sample of Scotch Whisky I will be reviewing today was sent to us by Master of Malt. Master of Malt is an online retailer specializing in Whisky although they also sell a variety of other spirits. You can see the review I did of their other sample here of the Master of Malt – Arran 12 Year Old Single Cask Scotch Whisky. The company is based out of East Sussex, United Kingdom and they ship almost anywhere in the world. The package arrived in Canada in record time and the bottles were extremely well protected. One of the wonderful features offered by Master of Malt besides their huge selection of spirits is the ability to get many of the spirits in a small 3oz sample bottle similar to the one pictured.

The Scotch Whisky being reviewed today is from the Bruichladdich distillery from the island of Islay. Islay is well known as the source of many of the worlds most peaty and smoky whisky’s available. Bruichladdich has a rich history dating back to it’s construction in 1881. The distillery currently has a wide variety of selections which can satisfy a very wide range of customers. Click here to see Master of Malt’s wide offering from this distillery, where they have inexpensive and very rare blends ranging from about $30 all the way up to over $1000!

The blend we are looking at today is called Octomore 02.2 Orpheus and is “the worlds most heavily peated whisky”. It is aged in barrels from a top Bordeaux vineyard called “Château Pétrus”. It is a limited release of only 6000 numbered bottles and weighs in at a hefty 61% alc./vol. It actually has a young age of only 5 years. This Scotch has also won the Best Single Malt in the World (Whisky Bible 2011) and Best Peated Whisky (Malt Maniacs).

Image courtesy of Bruichladdich.com

The Bottle:
As mentioned, this was a sample Dram sent by Masters of Malt but the full size bottle of the Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus comes in an elegant jet black bottle with a silver top. It is quite attractive and uniquely designed.

The Eyes:
The Scotch in my glass has a very warm golden tone to it with a shade of amber or reddish hue. It is a fair bit darker the most Scotch Whisky’s and looks delicious.

The Nose:
The claim of the world’s most peated whisky is easily evident in the aroma coming from this glass. Your nose is punched with hefty peat and smoky notes. Once you become accustomed to those aromas you start to pick up some of the woodsy and spicy notes that accompany it.

The Tongue:
This Bruichladdich offering is a blast to the taste buds. Right from the first sip you can detect the complexity this Scotch Whisky is built on. The peatiness is very evident but balanced well with the smoky and woodsy flavors. The finish has a touch of dark fruitiness that lingers on the tongue with the peat. There are also hints of spice detectable on the tongue.

The Final Drop:
There is no doubt that the Octomore 02.2 Orpheus from Bruichladdich Distillery is a powerful Scotch Whisky. With it’s high alcohol content and peatiness this is a complex but enjoyable drink. It’s definitely not something you want to drink quickly. In order to enjoy this to it’s fullest you need to take the time to pay attention to each sip and the dance of complex flavors it plays on your tongue.

I have to say that this Scotch Whisky is quite unique from a lot of others that I’ve tried. It’s definitely something that’s worth finding and tasting. Considering it’s limited production and uniqueness the price is actually very fair coming in at just over $80 from Master of Malt.

The Pairings:
The Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus is definitely a beverage that will pair extremely well with a full bodied and spicy cigar. The peat, smoke and spice make a perfect pairing. The balance of the two would enhance both the Scotch Whisky and the cigar. Here are some examples of cigars that would pair well here:
- Man O’ War Ruination
- Drew Estate Liga Privada Dirty Rat
- Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo
- Illusione Epernay

The Good Stuff: The newest, un-released blend is called the Liga Privada JD#4. The Liga Privada line was originally created for the sole purpose of Steve Saka’s (Drew Estate’s President) personal enjoyment. After massive amounts of pressure from Drew Estate’s sale staff, Saka was forced to release his personal blend, the Liga Privada No.9 to the public. The Connecticut Broadleaf used on the Liga Privada No.9 is so limited, and the No.9 was in such high demand that Drew Estate was forced to come out with yet another Liga Privada blend that they could produce year round. Hence where the Stalk Cut Habano wrapped Liga Privada T52 comes into play.

I can only assume that the success of each of these blends had caused Drew Estate’s Production Director and Saka’s partner in crime Jonathan Drew to create a Liga Privada blend of his very own. Alas, the Liga Privada JD#4 was born. I’m not entirely sure where the “#4” comes from, but I can only assume it was similar to the “No.9” and is the actually blend number assigned during tasting.

The specifics of this blend are still extremely fuzzy. The only details I have is that the blend has been around for about 2 years, and Jonathan Drew has been smoking them religiously and the release date, if it ever does get released won’t but until at least sometime next year. The blend carries the same Havana Seed Connecticut grown stalk-cut wrapper as the T52 but has a completely different core with an even more ramped up body. The samples sent to me are toros, and look to be 6 x 52/54 The ring gauge seems bigger than 52 but not quite 54.

Prelight: The Liga Privada JD#4 is hefty, toro sized cigar. The wrapper is very toothy, with a consistent dark chocolaty brown mixed with a few lighter orange shades. The JD#4 is pretty much identical in it’s physical appearance as the Liga Privada T52, with what I can assume is the same stalk-cut Habano wrapper that the T52 carries.  Topped off with a nicely round double cap, the JD#4 has only one noticeable vein that I don’t foresee pestering the experience.  The wrapper feels much like a softer sand-paper with no soft spots at all or any signs of mis-construction.  The wrapper of the JD#4 gives off a massive cedar scent with hints of cinnamon, cocoa, and a very, very interesting almost cologne scent that I have never picked up from a Liga Privada cigar before. Whatever it is, it smells damn good. The foot gives off a totally different scent, one more composed of natural tobacco, and earth tones. In this case, the wrapper is the more dominant player. The cap clipped off with ease using my double bladed Liga Privada cutter. The cold draw producing a surprising organic, earthy, and musky flavor. Totally different than the cedar-heavy Liga Privada blends I am used to.

First Smoke: The Liga Privada JD#4 started out with the same power punch of pepper as I have grown to expect from the Liga Privada lines. Caught off guard yet again is the fact that the most prominent flavor is actually the cedar that I didn’t think came through much in the cold draw. Other strong notes are organic tobacco and cocoa mixed in with hints of spice, cinnamon,  and even a tiny bit of citrus off the aftertaste. The JD#4 is really starting off with a bang, if the body stays as strong as it is right now this cigar just might knock me on my ass. The draw is effortless and pumps out a massive amount of extremely thick, dark brown, cedar scented smoke as well as a crap load of stationary smoke. You can actually see the oils burning off the wrapper. I really don’t think the scent of the smoke will bother anyone that doesn’t smoke cigars, but the amount of smoke just might. The burnline is perfect, sharp, and even and the ash left behind is a medium grey, and tightly packed with only slight flakes. The ash held on for a little over an inch before tumbling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Wow, the strength of this cigar is already starting to hit me. The best part about it though, is its very balance with the flavor, smoothness, and creamy experience of this cigar. I think there are a lot of blends out right now that are just boasting power but lack in the flavor department, luckily up till now the JD#4 isn’t a casualty of this trend. The dominant flavor is still cedar but I am starting to get a sharp raisin, cocoa and coffee mixture in there as well as strong tobacco. The retrohale primed my nasal passage with a very enjoyable bold cedar. The burnline is still rockin’ sharp and perfectly even.

Finish: Well into the final third of this Liga Privada JD#4 and the flavors had an interesting switch up. The cedar began to fade just slightly enough to product a very creamy mocha flavor backed up by raisin, leather, tobacco, and even a slight return of spice. Then, within the last inch the cedar ramped the hell up and came on full force. Usually I’m not one for the final inch of a cigar. But the JD#4 kicked ass with a completely smooth experience with no harsh build up. Well into the last inch and my fingers didn’t even get warm which I didn’t expect with a cigar with such a huge draw. The strength? Dead on. I would compare it to something like the Oliva Serie V just without all the harsh Ligero. I’m sure there is some in here, but it takes the backburner to the flavor.  After all was said and done, the JD#4 took about 2 hours to smoke.

Overview: The Liga Privada JD#4 is something quite different than the T52 and the No. 9 but still holds true to the rest of the Liga Privada line. As if the other twp blends didn’t already have enough strength the JD#4 comes in with a perfectly balanced powerhoused flavor bomb. This isn’t a beginner’s cigar. The body is too ramped up for a novice, or even an experienced medium bodied smoker. But I think it goes without saying that Drew Estate has another winner on it’s hands. I still think the No.9 trumps both the JD#4 and the T52, but the JD#4 is right up there with the T52. From what I have seen the reviews are torn between which one is favorited, and I am sure that the JD#4 will be adding another strong contender to the competition.

Pairing: I decided to pair this cigar with a cup of sweet tea. See the picture? That’s cause I didn’t post one. We all know what tea looks like. Not to mention I really don’t want to do the dishes so I drank out of a plastic cup that wasn’t very photogenic. Sweet tea is probably one of my absolute favorite pairings for a cigar. The brisk tea notes really help pick apart the tobacco while the sugar helps calm the nicotine kick produced by stronger cigars. The Liga Privada JD#4 would pair perfect with any strong whiskey or scotch, port, stout, porter, or coffee.

To this:

Follow this link to the guest review over at Toasted Foot. Great guys, with a great site.

I recently got a nice little package from our good friends over at www.toastedfoot.com. If you are unfamiliar with these boys I would strongly urge you to pay them a visit. Great people, with amazing reviews. I actually had the pleasure of doing a review swap with them a few weeks ago. In case you missed it you can find Toasted Foots guest review on Casas Fumando of Ashton’s San Cristobal here, and our reivew on Toasted foot of Drew Estate’s Liga Privada Flying Pig here. Anywho, in that package, amongst tons of other goodies I found a La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107. I have been dying to get my hands on this cigar. Needless to say, I wasted no time firing this one up. Keep in mind I only had one of these sticks and this review will be based solely on this one cigar.

I started to look for some information on this stick and quickly found multiple postings of this press release. I really don’t think I could go more into detail, so I am just going to stick the release in here and get on with it!

The Good Stuff:

MIAMI FL — Miami Cigar & Company, the exclusive distributor for La Aurora brands in the United States, announces the release of the La Aurora Serie 107 Anniversario to mark the company’s 107th year of operation in the Dominican Republic. As part of a year-long campaign to Rediscover La Aurora, 107 retailers across the U-S will be giving away 107 robustos on April 30th. The list of participating retailers can be found at http://rediscoverlaaurora.com.

Miami Cigar president Nestor Miranda says, “We have represented La Aurora for over 20 years and feel this is one of the best cigars they have made so far. We believe so much in the 107 that we are giving cigar smokers the chance to try it for free. All anyone has to do is buy a cigar, any cigar, at one of the participating retailers on April 30 and we’ll give you a free 107.” La Aurora vice president Guillermo Léon adds, “We realize that while our family has been making fine handcrafted cigars for more than a century, some cigar smokers still have not tried our products and others remember when we only made cigars in the mild range. La Aurora has been developing medium to full bodied cigars with full flavor and we want to let people know how we have changed. The Rediscover La Aurora is part of our outreach to those smokers.”

The 107, which uses a Sun Grown Ecuador wrapper over 6 year old fillers and binder from Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, will come in boxes of 21 with a suggested retail price between $6 to $8, plus any local taxes. There will be 3 sizes: Robusto (4.5×50); Toro (5.5×54); and a Belicoso (6.25 x 52). The 107 will only be available at brick and mortar tobacconists.

Prelight: The La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 is a short, nubby little stick, topped off with a rounded little cap. The wrapper is medium to light brown with little spots and speckles of a darker brown leading up to a darker shade towards the head of the cigar. There are quite a few larger veins running through this 107 that I hope don’t interfere with my burn. As I said, I only have one stick so there won’t be any benefit of a doubt points handed out on this one. The cigar itself is really firm and the wrapper feels very fragile as most Ecuadorian wrappers in my experiences do. The construction is near perfect minus the fact that the cap could have used a bit more attention. It seems as though it was carelessly placed on the head of the cigar and not really nurtured the way it should have been. There are quite a few uneven points, and bumps pushing through the head. The band resembles a similar color palette and design from other La Aurora cigars. It’s even sporting the lions head we have seen pop-up as of late, and a gold ring running the length of the band that carries the words “Serie 107 Aniversario”.  The wrapper smells very sweet with hints of honey, graham cracker, and tobacco while the foot of the cigar gives off more of a oat type smell with a dash of spice. The cap cut off very clean and easily with my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw flavors produced from the La Aurora 107 carry more of an oat and grain character with again, just a hint of spice thrown in the mix.

First Smoke: The La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 lit up with extreme ease under my triple flame butane torch. The first flavors I was able to pick up was just a little bit of up from pepper followed by grain, tobacco, nutmeg, pine, and hay. There was also this awkward bitter taste that only lasted through the first few draws and then diminished. The draw produced by the La Aurora 107 was spot on. The draw was very large, effortless, and produced a mass amount of really thick grey smoke. There isn’t a whole lot of stationary smoke coming off this cigar, but what is produced smells of wood, and straight tobacco. Probably not the most public-friendly smelling cigar. The retro hale is very smooth, and helped me pick up a bit more of the pine and woodsy notes. The burn line is a lot thicker than I expected, but it is burning relatively even leaving behind a dark grey, semi flaky ash. The ash was a bit loose and surprisingly only held on for just short of an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Now the La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 is really starting to shine. I was fearful that the oat and grain would be the bland, prominent flavors produced by this stick. Instead, into the second third the woodsy, cedar, honey, sweet tobacco flavors just take off. I’m not sure if it was the apricot infused India Pale Ale beer I paired this cigar with or not, but I am getting a slight hint of lime off the aftertaste. The retro hale is extremely enjoyable at this point. Outside of the great flavor profile, the 107 did however start to see some burn issues. One portion of the cigar, about 1/3 of the ring was left trailing way behind the rest of the burn line. I touched it up shortly after the first ash fell and it has been rocking solid ever since. The burnline is still pretty wide, and I don’t expect that to really thin out much through the rest of the experience. At this time I feel absolutely no nicotine from this cigar.

Finish: I was scared that I was smoking this cigar too fast and that I would build up quite a harsh end to such a smooth cigar, however that was not the case at all. The final third of the La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 finished incredibly smooth, and flavorful. This cigar did smoke pretty fast, about an hour total even after I slowed down halfway through. The cedar/woodsy flavor was still in the driver seat, backed by the sweet tobacco and honey notes I grew to love. The burnline was still pretty wide with the occasional wave, but it didn’t require any further touch ups what so ever. There were no signs at all of nicotine from this stick. Very mild, very smooth, and very enjoyable.

Overview:  The La Aurora 107 is a cigar best taken slow. Kick back, take your time, and enjoy this stick. If you speed through it with excitement you are bound to miss out on a great, complex flavor mash-up. The 107 for me, was mild/medium from start to finish. Although the very last of the final third ramped up slightly, I don’t think the body of this cigar ever went above medium. For the relatively low price of this stick I would honestly recommend anyone who catches them in store to pick a few up, heck even a box will do. The all around smoothness of this cigar is great for a breakfast or lunch break, and appeals to not only the novice cigar smoker, but complex flavors will keep even the greatest aficionado entertained.

Pairing: I decided to pair my La Aurora 107 with some of Dogfish Head’s Aprihop Apricot infused India Pale Ale. It was surprisingly a great pairing as the sweet fruit, and bitter, hoppy beer helped me pick up even some of the deepest flavor notes within the cigar. I would recommend pairing this cigar with a light ale, an IPA, a red ale, water, or tea. Anything too dark may actually overpower the smoothness of the 107.

On a side note: If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to check out the contest Casas Fumando’s Daniel is putting on. He has some GREAT smokes up for grabs. Trust me, you won’t be dissapointed.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

Steve Saka at Drew Estate was kind enough to have a few of these sent my way, and I couldn’t be more thankful. Again, I am a Liga Privada fanboy so just knowing that there was a vitola out there that I haven’t had the chance to smoke was eating me up from the inside. 

This is going to be more of a “first look” type deal rather than an actual review. I won’t go in as detailed as I usually do since this cigar is still in pre-production, and there is a real good chance it may never even make it to mass market. This will be more of just a collaboration of what you MAY expect if these little guys do happen to hit the streets. 

Everyone who knows of the Liga Privada line of cigars should basically already know why exactly they are so exclusive and sought after. Basically, the Liga Privada cigars came about as a personal blend for Drew Estate’s president Steve Saka’s  own smoking pleasure (you can read more detail in my review of the Liga Privada T52). This got me thinking, “why exactly, would such a great cigar that Steve holds so dearly to him be let out into the market”. So I decided to ask Steve Saka personally and here is his response: 

The decision to release the LP No. 9 was something I was “forced” into… When it was originally blended we had very little leaf on hand to make it, but it didn’t matter as it was a cigar we were just crafting for me to smoke and we had plenty of leaf to make me a couple of thousand of special cigars.

Because it was so good, there was a lot of internal pressure from our sales guys to make it for retail sale, which I caved to with the caveat that we could only open 20 or so accounts and that we would have to slowly grow the brand, basically ten stores at time while we bought and fermented the needed leaf to make more as I was unwilling to let the consistency or quality slip in anyway. Liga Privada was and remains very personal to me.

So as we have increased our leaf stock, we have slowly increased our account base on the brand… to date we have grown the account base to some 200 or so stores. We are still limited by the very specific and tip-top quality leaf needed, but each year we buy more, which allows us to ferment and age more, and in turn make more cigars.

Same is true of T52, except we intended from nearly day one to add the blend/brand to the sales portfolio. 

I loved how he states that the “Liga Privada was and remains very personal to me”. I feel the exact same to the few that I have lingering in my humidor alone. 

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

That being said, the biggest difference between the Dirty Rat and the rest of the Liga Privada line is the mass amounts of 7 different types of tobacco used to create a single Dirty Rat. Keeping that in mind you can see right away the hesitation on mass producing the Dirty Rat (costly, time consuming, labor consuming). 

Size: Corona 5×44  -  Wrapper: Stalk-Cut Sungrown Connecticut Valley Habano  -  Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina  -  Filler: 5 different Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos 

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

Prelight: The Dirty Rat shares a similar extremely dark, oily, toothy wrapper as the No. 9. The wrapper is extremely thick and firm to the touch with slight veins, and excellent construction. The Dirty Rat has a distinct “rat tail” resting on top of its rounded triple capped head. The Dirty Rat is pretty firm to the touch, and give a great bounce back once it is squeezed. The wrapper itself smells strongly of cedar and tobacco with underlying chocolate and a hint of spice. The foot of the cigar resembles with similar, more pronounced aromas. I didn’t pluck the tail off this guy as I would kill myself if I ruined it. Instead I went with my trusty double bladed palio which took to the Rat very nicely. The cold draw produced subtle flavors of cedar and spice.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

First Smoke: The Dirty Rat lit up instantly under my tri-flame butane torch. At first, I was a bit bummed out as my first few puffs seemed a bit plugged. But after about the fourth hit I was thrown into the pepper front that the Liga Privada cigars throw at you. Just as soon as the pepper came it started to dissipate, leaving a very strong, sweet cedar taste up front with hints of spice and tobacco. The draw on the Dirty Rat was effortless, and massive. The smoke smelled of straight burning cedar. The Liga Privada has always produced great smelling smoke. The stationary smoke from the rat was immense, and just doesn’t quit. I don’t mind this at all as I was smoking alone, but I would be weary of it if smoking in a group. The burnline was razor sharp, and dead even leaving behind a medium grey ash that was a bit looser than I was used to from a liga privada. I got about an inch and a half through before the ash gave way.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

Halfway There: At this point the Dirty Rat has smoothed out a bit and the pepper is completely gone. Cedar and tobacco are main stage, but a really smooth, sweet almost floral/tea type flavor has been thrown into the mix. I don’t want to scare you off by saying it was somewhat floral, but that’s the best way to describe it. Not overpowering at all, and very subtle. Along with a flavor change up came my first hints of nicotine. For such a small cigar the Dirty Rat definitely packs a punch. The burnline has widened just slightly, but is still burning dead even.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

Finish: One big difference I was able to notice was that the Dirty Rat didn’t finish as smooth as the other Liga Privadas. I think some of it had to do with the fact that I was hitting it a bit harder than needed for the size, and some of it had to do with how hot the tobacco actually burned. The Dirty Rat seemed to burn a lot hotter than I am used to. The pepper made it’s triumphant return towards the last inch or so of the cigar, and the cedar and floral flavor dampened. The burn was absolutely perfect all the way though, as well as the ash. The nicotine is definitely present. Don’t be fooled by this little guys small stature, this is a very strong cigar.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

Overview: Quite honestly, this is one hell of a cigar. Corona of choice? Better believe it! I’m not quite sure what the price tag would be on this stick but I would imagine it to be at least $10, and I would pay it in a heartbeat. I smoked through every single one of these bad boys that Drew Estate sent over and it just left me craving for more. Hopefully this is something that eventually does hit the market as I don’t know how much longer I will be able to hold out, not to mention I think it would be an incredible addition to Drew Estate’s profile, and the cigar community as a whole.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat

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

These cigars were a special gift to me, and came in plenty. So Expect quite a few reviews popping up pretty fast.

Drew Estate - Liga Privada No. 9 Belicoso Oscuro

The Good Stuff: Drew Estate’s Liga Privada No. 9 or “Private League” is one of Drew Estate’s rarest cigars, if not the rarest. La Liga Privada was created for the sole purpose of Drew Estate’s President’s personal smoking pleasure. Basically the creation of these cigars stemmed from 10 starting blends. From those 10 blends 4 unique blends were expanded for a total of 40 blends. Each blend was sampled but none were approved until the 9th starting blend (32 cigars later) resulting in the “No. 9″ in “Liga Privada No. 9″.  Liga Privada No. 9 consists of 7 different cuban-seed aged tobaccos from 7 different farms from 7 different regions including The Jamastran Valley in Honduras, and Esteli Nicaragua. The wrapper is a dark, Connecticut Broadleaf with a Brazilian Mata Fina binder. As all of Drew Estate’s cigars, these are handmade. It is said that only the best “cigar roller” in the factory rolls these special cigars.

Size: 6 x 52 Belicoso  -  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  -  Filler: Hoduran and Dominican

Prelight: Liga Privada No. 9 sports a very, very dark, oily wrapper. Another flawless constructed cigar (would you expect any less?). There are absolutely no visible soft spots and only small veins. The cap is very “torpedoesque” but a lot stubbier. The cigar itself is very tightly packed which made me question it’s draw potential. The cigar is very earthly/cedar scented. The banding has to be my favorite I have seen come out of Drew Estate. A silver lion embossed on a simple white matte band with light silver Drew Estate branding hidden behind the words “Liga Privada No. 9″ – handwritten.

First Smoke: As always, I will be using my Cuban Crafters “Perfecto” dual blade cutter, and a standard single flame colibri butane torch. The first few smokes were very light, and flavorful. The taste was that of cedar, strong/complex tobacco, and sweet spices (nutmeg?),  with an almost maple aftertaste. The flavors are very consistent, and just right. After a few puffs the cigar became increasingly strong. One of the first things I noticed was there were no bad tobacco aftertaste present after each draw. The draw itself wasn’t too big, but quite thick. Due to the strength of this cigar a bigger draw would have been a bit over-powering. I got a good inch and a half of ash before the first break.

Halfway there: One amazing thing about this cigar was the consistency. Halfway through the cigar and the taste and draws are as if I had just began smoking it. The main difference is the strength. The further down you smoke, the stronger this cigar becomes. The burn is perfect as well as the wrapper at this point. The draw is still really tight, maybe a bit tighter than I’d like. By this point I am already feeling a big light headed. Its been a long while since a single cigar hit me this hard. Maybe this is why the cigar was wrapped so tight?!

Finish: Again, I took this cigar all the way down to the nub. I would have gone further but it had to hit this cigar exceptionally hard due to the tight wrapping and it began taking its toll through heat on my lips. The finish was as expected; incredibly strong. This is one of the stronger cigars I have smoked. I actually threw in the towel earlier than I wanted to due to the heat and strength. By the time the cigar finished the wrapper was still in mint condition, as well as the almost perfect burn.

Overview: I feel incredibly lucky to get my hands on one of these bad boys. Again, I am an aromatic smoker, but this is one hell of a cigar. It’s key points have to be the incredibly smooth smoke, great aftertaste, and perfect sweetness. Will I have it again? I really hope so! Would I recommend it? You’d be stupid not to pay top dollar if you can find one of these on the shelf.