Craig Mac
BoM 4/10 7/11 12/14
Next up I am going to review a cigar that was made for the group on the 2012 BOTL Cigar Safari. To the best of my knowledge there were only about 16 produced. At the time, there was a wrapper shortage for most Liga Privada lines so we received this variant with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.
You really don't have to be much of a cigar geek these days to know that Ecuadorian Habano is a hot wrapper in the industry right now. The Oliva growing family (not to be confused with Oliva cigars) is producing massive amounts of EH for use as wrapper leaf. Every other cigar it seems is using it and it blends especially well with Nicaraguan binder/filler.
In the top secret Liga Privada room at the Drew Estate factory (not really, but that sounded cool), I was given this cigar right off the table pretty much and we were told to let it rest for at least 45+ days or the cigar would smoke like a "soup sandwich". So I came home, tossed it in the humi now 2+ years later I realized I still had it and it's time to set fire to it.
Pre-light, the cigar is that typical pig shape and the EH wrapper shows minimal veins. No soft spots and that "curly q" tail, while mostly for looks gives the cigar it's unique look. Not a whole lot to the cold draw just a hint of spice.
First third seems a bit light on the palate for a Nicaraguan cigar, hints of cedar an spice but nothing overly pronounced. Draw is pretty open and burn seems a bit uneven as I get passed the "pinch". The first thing I notice is that the finish is not as long as it's earthy regular production counterpart.
As I got in to the second third I kept trying to think of a comparable cigar to this. I ran through all the typical Nicaraguan cigars and felt it was kind of like the regular My Father line, but just not quite. Bit of cedar, floral and hay to it. As I hit the halfway point it hit me.... Herrera Esteli, but not as complex.
Final third opened up a LOT, got away from medium bodied and took on more typical FFP characteristics. Pepper, spice with a long finish. Really did a 180 last 2 inches!
In conclusion, this cigar definitely developed character as smoked. Most regular productions FFP's I have smoked usually started medium and built to full where this was mild+ and built the entire time. Very enjoyable cigar and think it was at it's prime to be smoked.
Final smoking time 1:30ish
You really don't have to be much of a cigar geek these days to know that Ecuadorian Habano is a hot wrapper in the industry right now. The Oliva growing family (not to be confused with Oliva cigars) is producing massive amounts of EH for use as wrapper leaf. Every other cigar it seems is using it and it blends especially well with Nicaraguan binder/filler.
In the top secret Liga Privada room at the Drew Estate factory (not really, but that sounded cool), I was given this cigar right off the table pretty much and we were told to let it rest for at least 45+ days or the cigar would smoke like a "soup sandwich". So I came home, tossed it in the humi now 2+ years later I realized I still had it and it's time to set fire to it.
Pre-light, the cigar is that typical pig shape and the EH wrapper shows minimal veins. No soft spots and that "curly q" tail, while mostly for looks gives the cigar it's unique look. Not a whole lot to the cold draw just a hint of spice.
First third seems a bit light on the palate for a Nicaraguan cigar, hints of cedar an spice but nothing overly pronounced. Draw is pretty open and burn seems a bit uneven as I get passed the "pinch". The first thing I notice is that the finish is not as long as it's earthy regular production counterpart.
As I got in to the second third I kept trying to think of a comparable cigar to this. I ran through all the typical Nicaraguan cigars and felt it was kind of like the regular My Father line, but just not quite. Bit of cedar, floral and hay to it. As I hit the halfway point it hit me.... Herrera Esteli, but not as complex.
Final third opened up a LOT, got away from medium bodied and took on more typical FFP characteristics. Pepper, spice with a long finish. Really did a 180 last 2 inches!
In conclusion, this cigar definitely developed character as smoked. Most regular productions FFP's I have smoked usually started medium and built to full where this was mild+ and built the entire time. Very enjoyable cigar and think it was at it's prime to be smoked.
Final smoking time 1:30ish
