Vitola: Corona Viva- 6” x 46 ring gauge
- ~$12.50
- Cigar gifted by local rep
Background
Earlier this year, I was thrilled to get the news that Drew Estate was expanding their Liga Privada No. 9 line, with a new size: the venerable Corona Viva vitola that was so well-received in the Undercrown blend. Sadly, a closer reading of the press release revealed that it was destined to be an exclusive for Cigars International and their 15th Annual CigarFest…and then came news that after this introductory event, it would actually be available to all Drew Diplomat accounts.
Like it’s larger ring-gauge siblings, the No. 9 Corona Viva features Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers, a Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and a Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper.
Here in east Tennessee, our DE rep is Kyle Davis, who absolutely loves it when store personnel give him a hard time. I suspect it gives him something to occupy his brain until the next time he goes out for fast food and ends up with another story in the process. Anyway, I was ribbing Kyle a bit about not getting samples and he came up with this one for me…so, thank you, kind sir. He also gave me a sample of a Kentucky Fire Cured Sweet that he insisted I smoke (and not give away)…I’m going to say two things: (1) it did indeed taste like barbecue sauce and (2) it wasn’t terrible.
These cigars have been making their way to stores across the fruited plain slowly, but surely. Both of our online store sponsors, Small Batch and Cigar and Pipes, do have Liga #9 available, though neither has this vitola available at the time of this writing.
Prelight
The packaging of this cigar holds no surprises. It uses the same box style as it has for the last decade, albeit with warning labels in place now (thanks, FDA!) or at least room to put them if you got a box without the actual label. The band still declares this to be “hecho exclusivamenta para el jefe” although the jefe originally referred to was Steve Saka…and he’s been gone from Drew Estate for a long, long time…a quiet tribute to him lives on, I guess.
The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown color with a pleasant oiliness to the eye and to the touch. The aroma from the leaf was sweet and rich, earthy and chocolatey; the foot had an even sweeter note to it, mixing chocolate brownie with coffee and just a touch of earth.
I clipped with my regular Xikar Xi cutter and got an excellent cold draw, which tasted of earth, unsweetened cocoa, and coffee beans.
Flavor
Firing up the Liga Privada #9 Corona Viva, I got intense pepper spice on the palate and nose to begin with, along with bittersweet chocolate, earth, and French roast coffee. It really wasn’t much different from other LP #9s I’ve had in the past couple years…just much more intense, which is really what I had expected from this blend in this vitola. One other thing of note was just how much smoke was being put out by the burning end of the stick…maybe it was just bad memory, but it seems like more than usual and usual for this blend is a lot. As the first third burned away, the profile got less sweet, playing up the earth and coffee notes. The pepper ebbed away, too, and by the time the first third was over, it was very subtle.
The second third was a bit of a departure from how the cigar started out. I got a smoother, bittersweet chocolate note with plenty of coffee, but the earth and pepper were drained out of the mix, leaving just a full-bodied, thick, oily richness in the smoke.
Pepper spice came back into play during the last third, mixing very well with the notes of chocolate that got sweeter again, and the coffee notes that held on throughout.
Construction
I had a great draw (which by itself is a miracle with most Liga #9s, but especially on a smaller ring gauge), very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
Liga Privada has always been an expensive line, but this is about the least spendy of the current line-up. Since it delivers such a great experience, I say it’s a great value.
Conclusions
The Liga Privada #9 Corona Viva is the size we’ve all been waiting for! Well, except for the Box-Pressed Toro, that is a Corona Cigar Company exclusive and was a runner-up for Cigar of the Year for me last year. This size is just short of being every bit as good as that one. As an added bonus it is available nationwide, which means many more people will be able to get their hands on them…well, time for another qualifier…you’ll be able to get your hands on them eventually. Right now supplies for the new vitolas of Liga Privada #9 and T52 are very limited. Not every store seems to be getting every size they want. That’s the way it was when these sticks were the new hotness, but I suspect they will be much more widely available sometime within the next year. If you are a LP #9 fan, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on these.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
