Drew Estate Liga Privada Papas Fritas

I picked up a four pack tin of the Papas Fritas during my weekly trip to my favorite cigar store here in Spokane, Cigar Train. I have been reading about these for a few weeks now and have wanted to give a Drew Estate product a try, (there are Undercrowns and Feral Pig in my humidor but I haven't had the time to smoke them yet), since I have been hearing good things about them. These short filler cigars are rolled using the clippings from the Liga Privada No. 9, a maduro wrapper and a Brazilian binder.

These had only been in the humidor for a week but I couldn't wait any longer. I peeled back the cellophane and was pleasantly surprised to see the thickness of the maduro wrapper. The wrapper did contain a couple of smaller veins but it looked good with a fair amount of tooth to it. Putting the cigar to my nose I could smell notes of tobacco and anise. When I clipped the little pig tail off I was a bit surprised for a minute by the loose tobacco that fell out but then I remembered it was a short filler cigar. Testing the cold draw I found it a bit firm, but fine and I could taste flavor notes of tobacco, ripe tree fruit and a sweet wrapper, nice!

After toasting the foot with a match for a bit, the flame jumped from the match to the cigar with the first draw and we were off. The first thing I noticed about the Papas Fritas was it's strength; I would have to call this one full strength from the get-go. The initial flavors that appeared in the first 1/4 inch were tree fruit, black pepper and toast, yet each draw had a slightly different flavor note.  This continued for the entire length of the cigar with a bit of oak and mocha poking out every once in a while. After the first 1/4 inch the pepper did disappear except on the retro hale, which was very peppery.

The burn on this cigar was amazing; it was spot-on the entire length. About the mid point oil started to show up on the wrapper just above the burn line. As the cigar burnt, it left behind a firm light gray/black ash that didn't fall until the half way point.

Overall this was a very nice cigar with good strength, flavor and burning characteristics. I am looking forward to smoking the others once they have a bit more time in the humidor.

Total: 92