Initial Thoughts
What can I say about the Liga Privada No. 9 that hasn’t already been said? I’ve read so many great reviews about this stick already and all the love that members of r/cigars give this cigar I knew it had to be something special. I finally found a B&M in Nashville that carries these stogies. In fact, they had quite a few of the Liga Privada line. Recently, I reviewed the Liga Privada T52 and didn’t have that great of an experience with it. However, I’m expecting a great treat from this Liga Privada No. 9.
If you read the story about the Liga Privada No. 9 on Drew Estates website they tell you the back story on this cigar. It wasn’t created to sell commercially, rather it was created as something the President of DE wanted to keep in his private humidor. In the story it talks about how the wrapper is fermented for 18+ months. Over a year and a half to cure this thing and that’s what really brings out all the flavor. On the box of the Liga lines most of them say they are “Stalk Cut”. So I did some researching and found out that leaves are either “Stalk Cut” or “Primed” when harvested. Most broadleaf plants are stalk cut to make maduro or oscuro wrappers.
After learning all this about the Liga Privada No. 9 I was ready to get into it. I smoked this cigar with one of my good friends out on the porch of my new house that I share with my fiance. My buddy and I were celebrating a big contract he just signed for his company so I stopped in and picked up a couple of these great sticks to celebrate. As you’ll find out, you couldn’t have asked for a better cigar to celebrate with!
Looks
As soon as you pick this cigar up out the box you can see something special and different about it. The dark, oily, and luscious wrapper is called Oscuro, which is the darkest color wrapper you can get without it being called a maduro. There are very few wrappers that I have seen that look this incredible. There are a few small veins that slightly protrude and act as a guide for your eyes to look up and down the barrel to help you marvel in the beauty of this wrapper. Judging by the outside of this cigar the Liga Privada No. 9 stands in a class all its own.
The band is similar to that of the T52; it’s simple yet exquisite. There is something about the handwritten look of the font used on the band. Something that draws you in and makes you remember this is a hand made product. No flashy packaging needed. Not with this cigar. The prestige of the brand alone will make you want to try this cigar. Yet when you roll the Liga Privada No. 9 around in your hand to the backside of the band you see their powerful lion logo embossed with silver.
It’s so simple and understated that it makes me think they did it on purpose. They don’t want you focusing on the packaging of this product. They want you to focus on the cigar! Thats probably the reason the box is fairly simple; a light tan unstained cedar box with the logo and information burned into it. No flashy packaging to catch your eye. It’s as if they want you to ask for the cigars by name when you’re in the humidor.
Function
While conversing and talking about ways to dominate the world with my good friend, I roll this Liga Privada No. 9 through my fingers to get a good feel for it’s firmness. It’s hard to describe how a perfectly filled cigar feels when you pinch it. The closest thing I can think of when you’re cooking a steak on the grill and as you become more experienced cooking you don’t need to cut into it to see if its done. Hell you don’t even need a thermometer. You can push in on the steak to test its firmness and know right where its at temperature wise. That’s how I feel with cigars. I pinch the barrel and I can usually tell if I’m going to have trouble smoking it, or if it was filled just the right amount with tobacco.
It’s time to see if my theories are true. Since this Liga Privada No. 9 is a bigger smoke I’m going to opt for the criss cross V cut. What I’m doing is using my V cutter and making two cuts in the head of the cigar that are perpendicular to each other forming an X from a V cut. Didn’t know I was gonna teach you the alphabet today did you? … Just as I suspected this cigar pulled perfectly on the cold draw. Not much resistance at all and you can really pick up some great flavors and aromas, but I’ll cover that later. Lets put some fire to this thing and see how it smokes.
Smoking
My good buddy passes me his cigar to light it for him. He has a problem with smoking cigars too fast (he’s smoked way too many cigarettes) and tends to make the wrapper canoe or have the filler tunnel on him. So since this Liga Privada No. 9 is a rather expensive cigar he gives it to me to toast the foot and get it going straight for him.
Just a little lesson here in smoking a cigar: Smoke slow, take a couple of puffs, get some good smoke from it, and then let it rest. Don’t chief it down like a cigarette; the cigar will burn too fast and get hot and taste all bitter. Just take a couple of puffs and enjoy it then let it rest. Trust me you’ll enjoy it more!
Wow, honestly I’ve seen a lot of reviews say (and even I’ve said it many times0, that the burn on this Liga Privada No. 9 is razor sharp. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a burn so even before in my smoking life. If you’ve ever seen the Liga Privada ads in magazines or online it has the whole cigar as one long ash, and it says “yeah it’s that good”. Well, they nailed it with that ad. The ash that this thing held is just perfect. I think I held it all the way to 1.5″. Then it fell off and hit the ground from about 3 feet and didn’t shatter. I was blown away. Actually, I learned this while studying for my tobacconist exam that when an ash dissipates like that its because the leaves were low in magnesium. The more magnesium in the leaf, the better ash it will form. I made sure to relay that info to my smoking buddy. He didn’t seem to care too much about it. He was focusing on making his cigar burn uneven. Incredible draw, tight burn, super long ash, how the hell does it taste?
Flavor
Well I wish I could find a better way than some surfer 90’s term to describe how this cigar tastes, but I’m going to use it anyway … AWESOME! Absolutely incredible, the Liga Privada No. 9 is so rich and full in flavor it’s very hard to compare to other sticks that I’ve smoked. The only ones I can compare it to are the Headley Grange and the Aroma de Cuba cigars.
The flavor profile on this Liga Privada No. 9 is so complex that it’s hard to get all the flavors that I could sense. I experienced everything from sweet chocolate to slight amounts of pepper to full blown coffee taste. Literally all over the flavor wheel. The great thing about it, was they all worked harmonously like they were part of a symphony playing the tune Liga Privada No. 9. Just incredible.
The first third brought a lot of flavor the to plate, but the strength of the coffee taste really opened up in the second third. It finished with a bit of pepper on the backend. The sweetness was picked up by licking my lips the wrapper tasted incredibly sweet and chocolatey and was a great contrast to the coffee flavor from the tobacco. It reminded me of a mocha latte, mainly because thats what I get when I go to Starbucks or DD so when you combine chocolate and coffee flavors thats essentially where my mind goes.
Even with all of these flavors that hit you, the Liga Privada No. 9 stayed incredibly smooth throughout and never once got bogged down and tasted bitter. For me the flavor profile stayed fairly consistent all the way through and made for hell of a smoke.
Would I Buy It Again?
Without a doubt. Whenever you find some of these cigars make sure to pick a couple up, but please don’t horde them. Leave some behind for others to enjoy.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
If they weren’t such a limited production I would say yeah, smoke these everyday. But as I said above, leave some behind and let others smoke them too and let them experience this incredible smoke.
Would I Buy a Box?
Only if the B&M has a surplus. If you buy a box make sure to share it with others; don’t keep them all to yourself. I know they are a great stick, but they are also worth sharing.
Conclusion
A full bodied stick that will leave you wanting more every time. The Liga Privada No. 9 is so rich and full and flavorful that you may not want to ever smoke another stogie. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a burn as straight and as solid as this one. The draw was damn near perfect. Just all around, a phenomenal cigar. Seek these out, ask your B&M if they have them, and if they don’t have them ask if they can order some.
