Liga Privada UF-13 Review
7/14/2014
Cigar: Liga Privada UF-13
Size: Robusto, 5.0”x52
MSRP: $14.76
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade Maduro
Origin: Nicaragua
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Prelight: The UF-13 has a nice, oily, slightly toothy wrapper. The wrapper smells of wood and fermentation with some floral notes. The cap, having a pigtail, has some damage that I hope to not screw up too bad when I clip it. The foot is extremely dense and smells like cedar and chocolate. Success! The cap was clipped without completely destroying it. The cold draw is a bit loose, and tastes floral, woody and chocolaty.
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1/3: I get hit with some real heavy pepper when I light this bad boy up. The pepper stays for the first third. There is a thick mouth fell (“chewy”) to the smoke, which is on par for Liga in its volume. I get a weird taste almost near the transition…something I’ve never tasted before with a cigar…salt? There is also an increasing amount of cedar, and as I go into the second third, I get a sweetness with coffee, cream and chocolate.
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2/3: There is a bit of a vegetal taste in this third, but I am distracted by the perfect burn and severely dense ash. The burnt wrapper looks like cracking stucco. The salt comes and goes and the cedar turns earthier, like oak. Right before I get punched in the gut by the nicotine, I am tasting salty, charred oak.
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3/3: Salted veggies are back, but so is the charred wood. It’s not unpleasant, just odd. The burn continues to be perfect and the cigar enjoyable.
Overall: This is an interesting cigar. The construction is what you’d expect from a Jonathon Drew premium: perfect. The flavors, though…it’s just odd. I felt like I had eaten a whole bag of potato chips (crisps for our BOTL across the pond). It wasn’t bad, just different. Although, this being my first UF-13, I didn’t know what to expect…except with the rarity and price, I expected to be floored. I wasn’t floored, just dazed. If I get my hands on another, I’m going to let it sleep for a couple of years and see what happens.
