Monday, June 4, 2012

Drew Estate Liga Privada T52 Belicoso Review

Wrapper: Stalk Cut Connecticut Habano
Filler: Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan
Price: $12.00

There are two reasons why this cigar is being reviewed today. The first reason is because it has been one of my favorite Liga Privada cigars for a while now. The other reason is because I held a vote last week to see what this weeks cigar reviews would be. This cigar won the vote by a landslide. Therefor this cigar gets reviewed first this week.

The wrapper on this cigar is dark brown and very oily. This cigar clearly has a smooth oily shine covering it completely. The cap on the belicoso tip is perfectly smooth and wrapped. There were a couple thin veins running through the wrapper, but none of them caused me to worry. The tobacco is very tightly rolled and causes this cigar to be solid from cap to foot. The last thing I noticed was the sweet smell coming from this cigar.

The flavors come out of this cigar immediately after lighting it. There was a very strong leather flavor combined with a bit of oak right after this cigar was fully lit. I also noticed a bit of creamy sweetness on the draw. The the cigar slowly progressed the sweet notes picked up. Throughout the first inch, the flavors continued to build.

By about an inch into this cigar, the flavor became much creamier and a little more leather came out. It wasn't until now that the earthiness of this car seemed to poke out. The oak flavor mellowed out slightly. Once the oak mellowed, the pepper tones started to form.

The second third of this cigar much smoother than the first. There was still a little bit of pepper, but not strong. Each puff seemed to bring out a little more spice, but also brought out more sweetness to keep the flavor profile balanced. The combination of oak and leather combined for a very smooth background.

By halfway the cigar was still in perfect balance and remained smooth. The creaminess continued to build while a slight coffee flavor came out. The combination of coffee and leather was perfect. The draw was still very sweet and the pepper had mellowed out a great deal.

The last couple inches of this cigar were absolutely great. This cigar had great sweetness and leather aspects throughout the majority of the smoke time. My palate was left with a very smooth and creamy coating. The spice also finished in the back of my throat. The flavors of this cigar were great from the start.

The ash on this cigar was light to medium gray. It was also layered and held on until about halfway. The burn was perfect even throughout pretty much the entire cigar.The draw was very easy and produced an abundant, thick gray smoke. The smoke also gave off a very pleasant earthy aroma.

This cigar has some of the smoothest transitions of any cigar I have ever smoked. The complexity is amazing. I highly recommend this cigar.  I love this cigar as well as the Liga Privada No. 9, but I like this one slightly more. I give this cigar a 9.25 out of 10.

Thanks for reading,

Zack the Stogie Man

4 comments:

  1. I don't think I've met a Drew Estate cigar I haven't liked. The only challenge is finding a place that keeps them readily in stock.

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  2. While I tend to favor the Dirty Rat and L40, the T52 continues to be heralded by many, including Jonathan Drew himself, as the best cigar in the Liga line (and in some cases, the best cigar available today).

    Great, great stick.

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  3. Whenever I smoke the FFP, LP #9, or the T52, I try to decide which one I like best. I have decided that the one I am smoking at that moment is the one I like best! Too hard to decide!
    Great review sir!

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  4. I'm in New Jersey for another week or so and found that JR no longer holds any of the Liga Privada line. I was hoping to buy a bunch of these to test them out since they don't sell in Canada, any ideas of where to look for them?

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