Initial Thoughts
The Undercrown was recommended to me by my buddy Frank. I’ve haven’t smoked anything from the Liga Privada line, but he told me that this cigar was a great value for the flavor and size and that I couldn’t pass it up. So I listened to him, and I’m sure glad I did. I picked up a couple of the Gran Toro vitolas for this review.
Looks
The Mexican San Andres Negro wrapper on this cigar gives it a deep maduro look. The head is covered by a triple cap. There are tiny veins that criss cross all over the leaf but none that really stand out. The wrapper looks like velvet if you look at it closely. I love the band of this cigar, its one of my favorites that I’ve seen lately. It’s dark blue and gold, the blue is a flat matte blue and the gold protrudes off the band and is a great contrast.
You’ll notice the Liga Privada lion head on the band and there is an upside down crown underneath. Hence the name Undercrown. One side of the band says ‘Undercrown’ while on the opposite side Undercrown is mirrored, very interesting look I think. It’s about time to light this one up!
Function
I cut off the cap to test the dry draw and this cigar pulls fairly well. There are no soft spots on the barrel which is always nice. I’ve been on a kick lately with lighting my cigars with matches. Turns out the matches I’m using are Drew Estate matches, it must have been fate! I don’t have any trouble getting this cigar lit. I tried a new method with my matches I decided to bundle 3 together to produce a bigger flame thinking they wouldn’t go out as easily. Turns out they actually went out faster. I guess they were too close together and not enough oxygen could get in between the match heads. I’m not really sure because I’m no scientist.
Smoking
This Undercrown took the flame very quickly and started burning in an almost perfect line. The ash it produced was very bright white and then dulled down towards a soft gray color. The amount of smoke this cigar produced was astonishing. Make sure you’re in a well ventilated place when you smoke this, ideally outside. I love a lot of smoke and I don’t think I’ve had cigar that produces this much. It produced more smoke while sitting on the ashtray than some cigars produce while puffing them.
I only had to relight this cigar once while smoking. I had to run inside and turn the oven on and do some dinner prep, I was maybe gone two minutes. No biggie though it relit easily and I was on my way again.
The burn stayed very even with me all the way through the cigar. I lost the first ash after about 3/4 of an inch. I think I was moving around too much, trying to grab my water, taking pictures and notes, oh well. I did however have difficulty removing the band towards the end of the smoke. I didn’t want to tear it off, so it took some finessed strength to slide the puppy off without breaking the barrel in half. Challenge accepted and completed!
Because this cigar produced so much smoke I anticipated it being a very hot burning cigar, but to my surprise it stayed very cool all the way down until the end. I smoked this thing almost to the nub. This cigar was a great 1 1/2 hour smoke so make sure you have time to sit down and enjoy it!
Flavor
The pre light draw on this cigar produced a very spicy flavor, it was almost overpowering. Once I lit it up the spice was gone and I got a strong mocha and coffee flavor. The flavor stayed very consistent all the way through, it didn’t offer any change-ups mid smoke which I’m fine with. I’ll take continuity every day of the week. This is a very full bodied cigar, full of flavor and full of strength. The mocha and coffee flavor were very smooth, nothing harsh just a pleasant unobtrusive smoke.
Would I Buy It Again?
Yes, this is a great cigar to have in your humidor. It’s very hard to beat this cigar for the price, the strength, and the time it takes to smoke it.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
For me it’s not. Only because of how long it would take to smoke this vitola. The Gran Toro is a big cigar and I wouldn’t be able to take 90 minutes every day to smoke this one.
Would I Buy a Box?
I think buying a box of these is a great idea. I would actually like to get one and age them to see what it does to the cigar. I wonder if it would change the flavor into a spicier cigar or if it would mellow this out even more. This would be a great gift to someone who is a fan of full bodied cigars.
Conclusion
Do yourself a favor and make sure to eat something before you light this one up or it’ll put you on your ass. I think this would be a great after dinner cigar especially if you had something heavy like steak and potatoes. Sit down and enjoy this one with a nice red wine and relax after a big meal.
