My 12 Days of Christmas: Unwrapping the Humidor.

I come to you, my readers, bearing gifts. Twelve days of gifts to be exact. From now until Christmas, I'll be giving 12 reviews of cigars that have been in my humidor for various amounts of time. Nothing beats the gift of one's own humidor and the treasures that lay within. So, here we go.

Previous post(s):

A Partridge in a Pear Tree - 1961 Frank Llaneza

Two Turtle Doves - Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial

Three French Hens- Ashton VSG Wizard

Four Calling Birds- Alec Bradley Black Market torpedo

On the fifth day of Christmas, my humidor gave to me...

A Liga Privada Ünico Serie L40
Wrapper: Connecticut Sungrown Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Honduran & Nicaraguan
Time in my humidor: 2 HOURS

Acid, Ambrosia, Chateau Real, & Tabak Especial are just some of Drew Estate's renowned brands and lines of cigars.  The company's founder and co-owner, Jonathan Drew has built his cigar brand from a small 8 person operation into an industry leader.

For most cigar amateurs and beginners, they miss out on Drew Estate's best creation: The Liga Privada Serie.  The Liga Privada line is not only one of the industry's finest and sought after products, but also very rare and in only limited retail locations.

The L40 is just as coveted and just as hard to find.  You read that right, this one only stayed in my humidor for 2 hours.  Frankly, I shouldn't have even bothered messing with the humidification of my humidor by opening it up.  The temptation was too great. And while "aging" this particular Liga Privada vitola did nothing for the cigar, I am certainly excited about the second one I bought and am hoping to let it go until next Christmas.

The construction of the cigar is impeccable, with no visible veins or tooth to the texture of wrapper.  There is mildly , oily sheen with rich earth & coffee notes on the palate of the dry draw.

The cigar lights perfectly and burns with nearly flawless effort.  The draw had a little tightness to it, which is indicative of many Drew Estate cigars, especially Liga Privadas.  However, while draw was not extremely loose, it was still enjoyable the smoke was abundant.  Okay, abundant smoke is a major, minor understatement.  When this stick was resting in had more smoke billowing out of it than most of the cigars when I'm puffing on them!

It is so rare to find a smoke that I regard as nearly flawless.  For that matter, I try not throwing that word, flawless, in reference to cigars.  I believe there is always room for growth and the journey in seeking out the perfect smoke is an adventure I hope that never ends. 

Drew and Co., really came into their own and with their new mantra of "Re-birth of the Cigar", the Liga Privada line has given birth to another crowned jewel in the Drew Estate family....the Undercrown.  More on that later (*wink).

Back to the L40, the flavor from first light, through the prime core, and to the very nub was consistent, smooth, and chalk full of excellent, rich flavor.

As my palate experienced savory flavors of earth & espresso to rich dark fruits & chocolate and finished off with a nice smooth dash of white pepper & nutmeg it becomes very clear to me to invest more time in this type of cigar.  The lancero and panatela vitolas are by far some of the most flavorful, well constructed cigars I've smoked.

My Ratings:

Appearance - 10
Pre-light taste- 9
Construction - 10
Draw - 9
Burn - 10

Aroma - 10

Flavor - 10

Balance - 10

Finish- 9

Total Rating: 9.6

Dear Jonathan Drew,

Although we've haven't always seen eye to eye on your cigars, let me take the liberty of paying you a great compliment.  I admit it is very audacious of me to presume that you care or word of this will ever reach you, for what it is worth, The Liga Privada L40 is the highest rated cigar to be seen on this blog.

Take it from me, audacious or not, there is nothing wrong with knowing you are the best!

Regards,

Bear