Drew Estate – Liga Privada T52
This is a first impressions review. Thanks to my pal Kenny for picking this up for me at The Tampa Humidor. For the record, we did a trade, so technically this wasn’t a freebee. Initially, when I thought of Drew Estate, I thought of Acid cigars. You know, the ones infused with herbs and spices that I honestly don’t like. Lately, I’ve come to think of Drew Estate as more than “The Acid guys,” due to their release of non infused blends. I’ve been curious to try the Liga Privada for awhile now. They simply aren’t available at shops around here. So I jumped at the chance to smoke this and review it.
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
Size: Belicoso 6 x 52
Price: Around $12.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark wrapper had a nice sheen when held to a light, and had minimal flaws. The foot and wrapper had almost no odor at all. Maybe a faint earthiness at best. The cigar was rock solid and evenly packed. The pre-light draw was a little too snug for my liking. Taking a cold draw, I picked up a dark, almost musty woody earthiness.
After cutting the cigar, the cap tried to unravel. I think this may have been because I cut too deep. A little pectin glue and I was back in business. While the draw was snug, it didn’t seem to bother me that much. This may have been due to the smoke volume. This thing practically smoked itself. It bellowed smoke constantly, which I found enjoyable.
Flavor:
The first third began with a dark woodiness and rich earthiness. It didn’t take long before black coffee joined in. Subtle dry sweet notes lingered in the background. When passing smoke through the nose, I was greeted with an easy pepper. It wasn’t the standard pepper I am used to. This had an interesting feel and taste. As this third was coming to a close, the sweetness developed into a cocoa-ish flavor mixed with leathery note.
The second third saw in increase in sweet cocoa. It was matched with black coffee and woody notes in the background. The pepper calmed down but kept a little kick. It is hard to describe. It was simply very good. The aftertaste was nice and matched the flavor profile. It hung around for awhile after exhaling. Earthiness and leather seemed to go away in this third. Note of interest – Some draws had dominant cocoa, others were coffee, others were woody with coffee, and a lot of the time it was a combination of everything. Very nice…
The last third kept pace with the second third. I would be repeating myself to write anything more of this third. Don’t take that as a bad thing. If you re-read my comments, you’ll see it was quite enjoyable.
Conclusion:
In my opinion this cigar proves that Drew Estate can and have shook their image of the guys who make Acid cigars. This cigar was complex, medium to full bodied, and delivered with flavors. With all the praise the T52 gets, I had high expectations, and they were met. My only complaint is the price is a little high and out of my comfort zone. Otherwise – a solid cigar. If these become available in my area, I will have more from time to time. This is a must try!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cigar Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Hogman21 August 16th, 2011 at 7:40 am
Tom this is one of my favorite Drew Estate cigars. Nice write up buddy. Hope to chat soon