Liga Privada - Papas Fritas
Pre-Light:
First off, the Tin these lil guys come in is freaking cool. If there is always one thing you can say about Drew Estate, it's that they know how to make their product stand out. The packaging, the marketing, all of it is simple and brilliant at the same time. The cigar itself is beautifully constructed and looks like NO other mixed filler on the market. The cigar's wrapper is almost black its so dark, and it smells fantastic. The little twist tale and signature band, are also darn nice little additions to what should be a run of the mill mixed/short filler. These things combined, take this guy to the next level.
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1st Third:
Instantly you are greeted with that familiar Liga taste. At first draw this reminded me of the LAST third of the T-52 which isn't a bad thing. It has a stout cocoa and spice to it that kind of punches you in the face with flavor. The ash held on a LOT longer than any other mixed/short filler I have ever had. It also seemed to have at least 70% of the amount of smoke normally associated with the Liga cigars.
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2nd Third:
This is a spicy meatball!! The spice is pretty present in the second third but the flavor remains the same. I wasn't expecting any complexity as it is a mixed filler but this still taste better than a lot of long filler cigars. At this point, it reminds me most of the T-52 and that is a good thing as that is one of my favorite Ligas. Also, if I didn't know this was a short filler, it could easily fool you. Look at the ash on this baby, it held on for more than an inch and that was with me being active! I was in the back yard running my dog around and the ash held on like a champ well into the 2nd third.
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Last Third:
Ok, so I am a fan! I thought the price point would be off putting to me because it is mixed/short filler but given the amount of flavor and quality of the construction (I never had that flaky ash associated with short fillers) it is my new favorite short/mixed filler. I actually was quite in love the the other DE product that is similar to this one, the La Vieja Habana Maduro, which I still have quite a few of from my purchase at the devil site, but this one just kicks that ones butt. Hands down, the BEST mixed/short filler cigar you will ever smoke and the closest thing you will get to a corona size T-52. Color me impressed...and that color would be probably Red, or Green, not sure what color "impressed" is.
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Final Thoughts:
I don't know that I will commit to buying a box of these as I have plenty of other cigars to smoke and I like a little variety in my cigars generally, but this is a nice addition to the Liga line. I am sure it will make them a crap-ton of coin as it already has a huge following. Good job Drew Estate! Another solid product!
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