Vitola: Cuadrado- 6” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$16
- Purchased from Corona Cigar Company
Background
In late 2015, Drew Estate sent me a sample of a cigar that changed my view on the Liga Privada #9 blend. Until that time, I thought the #9 was a very good cigar, but was just short of being really “great.” Part of it was the fact that nearly every #9 I had ever smoked had a snug or tight draw. Turns out I’m not the only one…I’ve heard the same complaint from a lot of customers, even ones that absolutely love the LP #9 and smoke it regularly. The Lounge Edition of the blend, though, is box-pressed and that alleviates the draw problem and allows the blend to really show off a ton of flavor.
I published a “Cigar Extra” piece on the Lounge Edition #9 in 2015 but didn’t get my hands on them again until a friend of mine went down to Orlando for his birthday late in the Summer of 2016. I told him I would gladly pay for a couple #9 Lounge sticks if he could pick them up for me…and I’m really glad I did. I smoked one almost immediately and kept the other for review purposes…then forgot about it until 2016’s review cycle was completely over. So, here it is as the first full cigar review on Leaf Enthusiast for 2017.
As a reminder, the LP #9 blend uses Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers, a Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and a Connecticut Broadleaf #1 Darks wrapper leaf. It was created by a collaborative effort of Steve Saka and Nick Melillo when they were both at Drew Estate in 2006. This Lounge Edition is exclusive to Corona Cigar Company in Orlando, Florida. I have smoked a total of 2 of these sticks before this review; I paid for this review sample.
Prelight
If you’re familiar with the look of the LP #9 already, this won’t hold any surprises for you. The primary band is the same “hand-written” look band that is used on the standard release. The secondary band says “Drew Estate Lounge” and has the bridge graphic that is pretty standard for the brand. The real difference really is the very boxy box-press that is going on. It’s almost a severe press with sharp corners and a real square appearance, rather than the rectangular shape that that most pressed cigars take on. The head is also perfectly flat, resembling the head of a CAO Flathead or Drew Estate/Rocky Patel Java.
The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown with some noticeable veins in there, but also an abundance of oils to the touch and a fantastically sweet, earthy aroma coming off of it. Besides earth, I picked up on notes of coffee and chocolate on the wrapper, while the foot had a slightly more pungent earthiness with touches of cocoa powder and cedar.
Because of the excessively boxy head of this stick, I went with a punch instead of my regular straight cut. The draw was just about perfect and tasted of dark chocolate, black coffee and earth.
Flavor
Lighting up, I got a full-bodied punch of dark roast coffee bean, rich earth and cedar flavor up front, followed by a bit of cocoa powder and subtle sweetness, as well as just a touch of pepper and anise on the finish. The retrohale had notes of tea, roasted nuts and red pepper mixed in fairly equal proportions. As the first third went on, the notes of coffee remained strong while dark chocolate got more prominent as the cigar burned along.
As I began the second third, I noted that the body of the cigar was on the bottom end of the “full” range and the cigar continued to chug out an inordinate amount of smoke, which is par for the course with Liga #9s, really. The second third continued to produce great chocolate and coffee notes, but there was also some dark fruit in the mix and a reduction of the pepper component.
The last third was a smooth, creamy finale of chocolate, earth and coffee flavors with just enough pepper to add a little heat from time to time.
Construction
The draw was fantastic on this cigar, the burn line was one of the straightest ever for a Broadleaf, and the ash held on for half an inch or longer every time.
Value
Even though it’s a store exclusive and smaller production version of the Liga #9, the price tag is not much different from a regular production stick.
Conclusions
If you liked (or loved) the Liga Privada #9 in all its previous iterations, you will almost definitely find that this box-pressed version outperforms them all in terms of construction and flavor. I’ve never had one with a tight (or even snug) draw and that really enhances the experience, allowing the range of flavor complexity to stand out. If you avoided the LP #9 before because it was too strong…well, this one doesn’t have quite the overall punch as most of the others, so you should give it a try. If the flavor profile just never appealed to you a bit, this probably won’t change your mind. For me, it is easily the best of the #9s and something I would buy box after box of…if I lived closer to Orlando. And it’s the first review of 2017 and the first “Perfect 10” of the year…this one will compete as a “Cigar of the Year” contender.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10
