Vitola: Hermoso (Corona Larga)- 6” x 48 ring gauge
- $9.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
We recently brought Mombacho Cigars into Burns. The day they arrived we had months previous already determined that our local rep would be doing an event at the shop (we didn’t know exactly what brand yet at the time), and as fortune would have it, he was traveling that week with Claudio Sgroi, Mombacho’s master blender.
We ended up having a nice meet-n-greet time with Claudio, as well as a more impromptu blending seminar, in which he took us through the different Nicaraguan components he used in the Tierra Volcan line. I’ve looks at Tierra Volcan a couple times and really enjoy the cigar, especially in the Fina vitola. Along with that fine Nicaraguan puro, though, we brought in some of the newest release from Mombacho—Liga Maestro. Liga Maestro was created for the Italian market before having a limited U.S. release in 2015. It was re-dressed for regular release in 2016…new band, new box…although the boxes still say “Pre-Release” on the outside of them.
Liga Maestro is another Nicaraguan puro from Mombacho, using fillers from Jalapa and Condega, a Condega binder, and a Jalapa wrapper. It’s made in the Mombacho factory in Granada, Nicaragua, the city that sits below the volcano the company is named for.
I smoked several samples of Liga Maestro before this review sample, and in a variety of sizes. I have been given some samples, but this one I paid for. (As usual, I went to the best source for cigar news for background…yep, that’s the Coop!)
Prelight
The black and gold of this band is classic, with a slightly modern touch. Classic in that the paper is heavy weight and textured, the fonts are all “old school” and the ornamentation is simple and classy. The modern touches are the simplicity and cleanness of the volcano art on the main band, along with the clean lines of the rounded die cut.
The cigar itself was milk chocolate brown in color with a good deal of oiliness under my fingers and a ripe earthy barnyard note when I held it to my nose. The foot had a milder earthy note, mixed with cedar, coffee, cocoa powder and floral notes. The cold draw was good and had a very thick, musty earthiness to it.
Flavor
With the mix of just Jalapa and Condega leaf in this cigar, it’s really no surprise that it starts off as a straight-ahead medium bodied smoke with plentiful cedar and floral notes. Secondary on the palate was some earthiness and just a touch of pepper on the finish. The retrohale featured a little more pepper, but still not much considering this being a Nicaraguan puro.
As the first third gave way to the second, the more bitter flavors of earth melded with more than a touch of sourness in the floral notes. Sweetness was underneath all that, just a hint, really; but it seemed ready to come on stronger as the second third really got going.
The final third finally showed the balance I had wanted all along, a touch of cocoa powder, some semi-sweet chocolate in the mix to offset some of the bitterness that had been there all along.
Construction
I had to make numerous touch-ups to the burn line, but none were really indicative of problems with the build. The ash held on for a good long time and the draw was excellent.
Value
This was a unique and flavorful Nicaraguan puro for a decent price.
Conclusions
The Mombacho Liga Maestro was a good medium-bodied Nicaraguan cigar with a decent amount of complexity but the balance just seemed to be off for me. After smoking several examples of it, I can honestly say that I liked it, but I prefer the Tierra Volcan line with its better balance of all the flavor elements. Still, Liga Maestro provides a different and unique look at blending with nothing but Nicaraguan tobacco, which is something I thought we may have seen the end of in this time of so many blends on the market.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
Sounds worth a try