Cigar Review: Liga Undercrown Gran Toro by Drew Estate

Monday, December 12 2011

Liga Undercrown Gran Toro
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 6" x 52
Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Mexican Otapan Negro Último Corte
Binder: T52 Connecticut stalk cut & cured Habano binder
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan longfiller
Presentation: Boxes of 25 cigars and 5-Packs


Appearance and feel: Dark, even-toned wrapper; somewhat toothy. Excellent rolling and packing, plus an attractive cap. One of the cleanest cigars I've ever seen.
Draw: Excellent
Pre-light flavor: lightly leathery with sweet cedar
Toasting & Light: Perfect.
First puff: WOW! Very mellow, creamy, woody and lightly sweet
Retrohale: Very smooth and cedary.
Base flavors: Sweet cedar, oak, nutmeg.
Aroma: Sweet, oaky aroma. Very appealing.
Burn / Ash: Even Steven with a firm gray ash
Paired with: Gray Goose & Bitter Lemon

General Observations: This cigar looks stronger than it is, but don't let that gorgeous Maduro wrapper fool you. If you're used to the more robust Liga Privada No.9 and T52 cigars, by comparison, the Liga Undercrown Gran Toro is surprisingly mellow and much sweeter overall. The balance of flavors was perfect. Not as complex as the full-bodied Liga Privadas, but there's a lot more going on here than you might suspect. As the burn crossed over into the second half of the cigar the flavors intensified slightly and some sweet-spicy notes crept in. There wasn't a bitter note to be found in this cigar.

Summary: Even with all the hype I've heard about this cigar, it still exceeded my expectations; IMO it's one of the best cigars I've smoked all year. Another great job by the Drew Estate team with compliments to their torcedors, who originally created this blend for themselves.

The flavors caramelize beautifully as the cigar burns. Moreover, the flavor, burn, ash, aroma were phenomenally consistent. This cigar was so delicious I smoked it as far down as I could handle it (click photo at left). Even at that last 1/2 inch, the smoke was still smooth and flavorful. You can tell that a lot of love went into making this edition. It paired well with the vodka and bitter lemon, though I would also like to pair one up with a good Tawny Port. If I had to sum up this cigar in a word, it would be "flawless."

Final Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Rating scale
♦ = Fair to Midland
♦♦ = Good
♦♦♦ = Excellent
♦♦♦♦ = Outstanding
♦♦♦♦♦ = Extraordinary

See all Liga Undercrown by Drew Estate cigars.