Continuing with our lancero battle, today I would like to offer a review of the Drew Estate Liga Privada L40 Lancero. The sample I reviewed was part of the Liga Privada 10th Anniversary Collection I received at last years IPCPR.
The Drew Estate Liga Privada Unica Serie L40 was originally introduced to the market back in 2011 and at the time there was great interest in the new vitola. It is a cigar that was based on the company’s “Dirty rat”.
The Liga Privada Unica Serie L40 is a 7 x 40 lancero vitola that is slightly wider than the Cuban classic size of 7 x 38.
As far as the blend, the cigar is described as:
- Wrapper – USA Connecticut Broadleaf (Stalk Cut)
- Binder – Brazilian Mata Fina
- Filler – Dominican and Honduran
These come packaged in 15-count boxes and have an MSRP set at $16.53/cigar.
Pre-Light Examination
Examining the Drew Estate Liga Privada Unica Serie L40, it is easy to understand how this created such a buzz 7 years ago. It is a lean and beautiful, dark chocolate brown and oily lancero. It has a few veins and quite a bit of marbling throughout the wrapper leaf. I did notice there was a slight give to the barrel as I gave it a gentle squeeze. The whole presentation is finished with a simple cap.
The band on this is like the others in the Liga Privada Unico Serie line. It uses a white and light grey band that has a series of squares, much akin to that of a Cuban Cohiba, running around the band. “L40” is printed, in a hand written font, over the squares. The bottom of the band identifies this as product of Fabrica Drew Estate. The back of the band includes the Liga Privada Unico symbol printed in blue and gold.
I proceeded to run the L40 across the nose and was greeted with sweet and spicy notes off both the barrel and foot. I needed to finish the pre-light exam of this beauty and sliced the cap with my double blade cutter. The cold draw was a bit more open than I prefer but not airy, and she offered notes of tobacco sweetness with just a hint of spice.
With the preliminary exam out of the way it was time to set the L40 loose to burn free as I used a cedar spill to warm the foot and take in the first few puffs of smooth and creamy smoke.
Cigar Review Notes
- The initial puffs offered some very smooth and creamy smoke
- A white ash begins to show itself comfortably resting on sharp thin char line
- Sweet oak aroma fills the air as the smoke off the foot is pouring out
- Mild sweet flavor notes enter
- Spicy fruit notes enter and build near the end of first quarter
- Decently formed and centered burn once the ash makes its first drop
- There has been a full volume of smoke from the start
- Spice increases midway with a slow development
- The flavor has been slow to develop but things to ratchet up
- Earthy notes enter blended with a hint of chocolate sweetness and a touch of fruit
- As the ash falls again there is a small tunnel hole in burn cone
- Barrel gets squishy midway through the 3rd quarter
- Spice increases in final with a continuing earthy note
- Medium to full in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Overall, the Liga Privada Unica Serie L40 was a pleasant smoke that offered notes of spice, earth, joined with nuances of chocolate and fruit. It had a full volume of smoke from foot to nub and a pleasant sweet aroma. The body and strength were slow to develop but ended up at a medium to full in the final quarter. The solid white ash held for a good inch or more before falling. There was however a squishiness in the barrel in the 3rd quarter and a noticeable tunnel hole deep into the 3rd quarter. With that said I feel the price of this is high. I rate this a 91.
Point Deductions: (-2) Slight Inward Burn (hole); (-1) Barrel Gets Squishy; (-2) Should be Lower in Price
