salty
Liga Privada No. 9 Cigar Rights of America Special Edition
I was getting ready to watch the final episode of Oz the other night and I realized that I needed to make it a special occasion and, as I am wont to do, my mind quickly drifted to cigars. As I walked to my humidor I got to thinking about the cigar sampler I bought from Cigar Rights of America: Padron, Rocky, CAO and all the others. Once I got to my humidor there was this cigar that was gently resting at the top of the pile that was begging to be smoked.
But then my mind raced back to the other cigars from this cigar maker and how they are all infused with flavor. It didn’t take long to recall my horrible experience with the Acid Kuba Kuba – how it was sickeningly sweet and how I swore to myself never to smoke one of those cigars again. But this cigar is different.
The Liga Privada line isn’t infused with anything. So I picked it up, slid it out of its cellophane wrapping and took a look.
It’s a beautiful cigar – one of the cigars from the special Cigar Rights of America sampler, in fact. The jet black, oscuro wrapper, is just dripping with oils. Upon further inspection I can feel that it is nicely packed but I see a number of veins marring the cigar’s look. I smell it and, to my mild consternation, it smells sweet. Not sickeningly sweet like the Acid KK but sweet nonetheless.
Fighting my reservations I take the Liga Privada No. 9 and sit down to watch the final episode of one of the greatest television series I have ever seen.
The cigar is cut. My nose keeps on screaming “It’s sweet!” but the prelight draw says otherwise. It’s earthy and there may even be a hint of cocoa. My hopes are lifted.
I take out my lighter and put the flame to this cigar right after I hit the play button on my laptop (I do have to smoke outside after all). The draw is good and….
On the retrohale there is a noticeable sweetness that is a lot lighter than the Kuba Kuba but also reminds me of it. And then, as if God himself decided to save this cigar, the sweetness gracefully falls into a supporting role. Hopefully, my expectations for this cigar won’t be shived by a major return of this sweetness.
Earth and cocoa quickly take over on the flavor front. It’s a nice, full bodied cigar in the beginning with lots of promise. Hopefully the Oz finale works out as well as this cigar is shaping up.
Doing a little research I find that this is the same length as the Liga Privada No. 9 Parejo, six inches. Don’t know whether or not it has the same ring gauge but I am guessing that since the length is the same that it is similar to what that cigar offers. CRA claims that the cigars in their sampler are special blends but I have no idea how special they are. Whatever the case, it starts out great.
Full bodied with a great draw and an even burn; so the fundamentals are good. And, while everyone is singing like stool pigeons on Oz this special Liga Privada No. 9 is also singing along with great flavors.
Chocolate and a small amount of spice start to come through about an inch-and-a-half of the way through. Nice additions both. Furthermore, shortly before reaching the halfway point that chocolate flavor becomes one of the leading flavors, perhaps the leading one.
Oddly enough, the strength of the cigar is subsiding the longer I smoke it. Usually, it is the other way around but this one is now medium-full bodied. Still an above average, flavorful cigar.
Besides a weak ash this Liga Privada No. 9’s flavors aren’t the most evocative ever but they are well above average. The finale of Oz is better.
At the commencement of the final third of the Liga Privada No. 9 a salty meatiness starts to emerge. And it’s good. It adds to the overall complexity of the cigar and the meaty flavor is a plus on its own.
This cigar is not as complex a tapestry as Oz is but the LP has it’s moments. Upon reflection, it was a pretty good match for the series finale. Oz didn’t leave me asking for more, it was one of the better finales I have ever seen. This cigar didn’t leave me begging for much more either.
Alec Bradley Maxx Traditional Toro Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
The most obvious difference between the original Maxx line and the Maxx Traditional line is that the Traditional line has smaller ring gauge cigars. Other than that, the traditional cigars are suppose to impart the same bold flavor as the oversized Maxx cigars.
I am smoking the Alec Bradley Maxx Traditional Toro (6″ x 50), which costs around $5.25, for this review. The wrapper has a good sheen of oils but it also has a number of veins. Furthermore, the wrapper color is not consistent but rather a mottled assortment of milk and dark chocolate colors with the occasional black spot.
Smoke
Coffee flavors without any of the bitterness. There is a lot of chocolate, it just coats my mouth and won’t leave – not necessarily a bad thing. As this cigar progresses I’m afraid that coffee and chocolate will be all you get from it (and the coffee is relegated to a minor role in less than half an inch).
On the bright side it is a mostly sound cigar. The draw is great but the burn is somewhat uneven and the flavors (um, flavor – so far) is strong. It is a medium bodied cigar. This is all up to the halfway point.
After that point a saltiness comes on. It’s definitely a negative flavor but it is in no way overpowering or even a large enough part of the flavor profile to significantly take away from my overall enjoyment of this cigar. In conjunction with the saltiness a meaty flavor starts coming on. The chocolate is still the major flavor though.
After-Smoke
Now that I have finished this cigar I feel let down. Chocolate is a fine flavor as long as it is, at most, a secondary flavor. Making it the leading flavor, for me at least, is a mistake. It is a decent cigar but could have been much better considering its lineage.
2.5 points
Partagas Black Label Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke: It’s a big, dark and oily cigar that looks a little rustic. Oh, and by “oily” I mean really, really oily. Almost to the point of being too oily. This Partagas Black feels a little too soft to the touch. I am smoking the Magnifico (6″ x 54) vitola.
Smoke: Unfortunately, the draw is intermittently too tight. During those pockets when this cigar has a decent draw I do get some good flavors coming through. Chocolate, burnt pistachio and a robust earthiness. There is a salty sweetness that is left on my lips and that lingers in my mouth. It is also extremely bitter. A medium bodied cigar with a horrific burn.
After-Smoke: The funny thing about the Partagas Black Label is that all of this has happened to me before. In January I smoked one of the Partagas Black Label Magnificos and I gave it 82 points. The really befuddling thing about this line is that I gave the Partagas Black Label Piramide (6″ x 60 torpedo) 93 points.
1 point
Price Range: $5.50 – $7.50
Partagas Black Label webpage
Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 | Short Cigar Review
Not very oily but well constructed. Box pressed. It’s a medium bodied cigar that is a little salty with meaty flavors. The draw is very good but the burn isn’t. This is a fine cigar with decent flavors, not something I want to smoke all the time but the occasional one would be fine.
2 points
Padron 4000 (Natural) Cigar Review
The Padron 1964 Anniversary is my favorite cigar to date so I must admit that I do have high hopes for this cigar. No, I do not think it’s going to even come close to the 1964 Anni but I do expect great things from this one. But the presentation of this cigar has me a little worried. This cigar is very bumpy with some raised veins. There is also this small stretch mark near the foot. Very little amount of oils. Drinking Wild Turkey and a Cherry Coke.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nic
Filler: Nic
Price: $7.00
Ball of Fire!
Leather and spice and everything nice. Perfect draw. More spice than leather, I have to say. Not burning evenly though. Wow, very spicy cigar and, as you may know, I really do like spicy cigars.
There’s also a steak flavor with this cigar. Meaty and slightly salty. Juicy even. Not a sweet cigar at all. Not as good as the 1964 but it is still a very good cigar. The burn isn’t even after 1 1/2″ but it isn’t too bad either.
Halfway through the cigar now. Had to correct the burn a little bit. That spicy flavor is almost gone now and I am a little disappointed about that. The meaty taste is what is strong now. Full bodied. The saltiness is even more pronounced at this point, which I am not ecstatic about. It’s not a big negative but it is a minor annoyance that the salt is coming through stronger.
Three quarters of the way through and the saltiness has, thankfully, vanished leaving the meaty flavor to take over. It’s a great cigar and I will definitely be smoking more of these in the future.
90 points
Cohiba Black (Robusto) – Cigar Review
Very black and oily. The construction for this cigar looks perfect. I’m actually excited about this cigar even though I have had problems with Cohibas in the past. This, like all the other Cohibas I have smoked, is of the Dominican variety (sigh). I smoked this cigar with Wild Turkey and water.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep., Mexico
Price: $13.50
Da Light!
The draw is a little tight (can I catch a break?). It’s a medium bodied cigar without much flavor (due to the draw) being able to come through. What I am getting is spice, leather, dark chocolate and some sweetness.
The cigar’s draw gets better as I smoke it further. More spicy now and the flavors, in general, are coming through better now. This is a fine cigar that won’t offend anyone. There’s also an earthiness and saltiness to this cigar as I near halfway through.
A little over halfway through now and the draw is getting better. More spice and I’m beginning to think that this cigar is more medium-full than medium.
But then it tightens up again. Maybe for an inch it was very good but then the draw tightens up again. The cigar burns evenly but who really cares if you can’t get the flavors?
In the end all I can say is that I did like what this cigar could have been. Due to the draw I can’t give this cigar a great score and it knocked off at least a couple of points in my book.
87 points
Two Great Cigars
Maybe you have noticed that over the last couple of days I have been spending a lot of time tracking cigar news. Most of it has been bad news. Boston, Dallas, England & Wales, Ontario [Canada], and Baltimore have all launched further assaults on cigars and other tobacco products over the last week.
But there’s a bright side to all of this! For the foreseeable future we can still smoke cigars and here are reviews of two great, classic, perfect cigars! One is a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel (pyramid) and the other is a Cruzado Marelas (perfecto).
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