It’s funny I set off to write about the blizzard happening in NYC right now but I got side-tracked. As a kid I couldn’t wait for it to snow now all I can think of is the potential heart attack of shoveling out my driveway after 15″ of snow falls.

For now the Sunday Links…

• Keepers of the Flame weighs in on the Carlos Torano Master.
• The Cigar Feed smokes a Nestor Miranda Danno 20th, Buckhead Cigars Edition.
• Nice Tight Ash smokes a Flying Pig, T-52 style.

Til next time, make sure you spend those gift certificates on cigars!

One of these people are Dave Lafferty from Drew Estate. Every time I see Dave he goes out of his way to say hello and shoot the shit so to speak. It was no different in New Orleans as he approached me at a local cigar bar to give me a handshake and a pat on the back. He also reached into his shirt pocket and gave me a Flying Pig of the T52 variety. This is a review based on one cigar. Once we caught up he even took me around the room to introduce me to some friends of him which was a nice validation.

I put this cigar away for a while and got around to smoking it last week and here is my two cents.

Cigar: Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig
Size: 4 1/8 x 60
Wrapper: Stalk Cut Habano Connecticut
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Domican Republic, Nicaragua
Twitter: @DrewEstateCigar
Facebook: Drew Estate
Official Site: http://www.drewestate.com/

Liga Privada Flying Pig T52

Appearance and Construction: As I stated when I reviewed the No. 9, when it comes down to it the Flying Pig is really nothing more then an over-sized perfecto. The cigar has a gorgeous looking wrapper  that was loaded with oils. The roll was perfect looking right down to the pig tail cap which unraveled is a solid 3″ or so. There are no soft spots to speak up and the cigar feels really dense in the hand. The band is the tradition T52 variety and I wish it had the words Flying Pig on it. The cigar names reminds me of Pink Floyd and a video is attached at the end to show why.

Flavor & Notes: Due to the size I am not gonna break this down into thirds also due to the fact that I had one to smoke. What the Flying Pig brings to the table is a more intense version of the regular line. By more intense I don’t necessarily mean strength but the flavors are much more intense which I would assume is due to the size. Prior to lighting up the cigar offered a sweetness with a touch of leather. But once we were lit the cigar was a tasty treat that delivered notes of spice, cocoa, cedar and a touch of cinnamon with coffee and leather at the finish. A truly complex cigar that was a flavor bomb of epic proportions.

Smoking Characteristics: I had to cut this cigar twice as my intial cap cup had a tough draw so I took off about another 1/8th of an inch and the cigar opened up to provide a fluid draw. The light colored ash held on amazingly well and I had an ash for about 3/4 of the cigar but when I reached for my camera to take a picture the ash fell off. It’s kind of like the fish that got away. The burn was perfect and the cigar produced a rich volume of smoke.

Conclusion: I am pretty sure the T52 will show up in stores sooner or later as a limited run much like the No. 9 did and when it does I plan to buy a box. I always preferred the T52 over the No. 9 and offer that for consideration when I saw the T52 is the better of the flying pigs that have been produced by Drew Estate

Rating: 93
Price: Unknown

Disclaimer: This cigar was gifted to me by Dave Lafferty of Drew Estate who is an advertiser on acigarsmoker.com. As always the typo’s and spelling mistakes have been left in this review for your amusement.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3wfjigKbsM

The part that reminds me of the cigar starts becoming apparent around 4:26 into the video.

Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig

I came across this cigar a week ago in Davidoff and to be honest as much as I wanted to smoke it I was hesitant that it would be a novelty cigar. The cigar is a limited edition smoke due to the size being difficult to roll with production being a little over 100 sticks per day. It looks like a major smoke producer and I wonder if it will be anything more then that. Plus every time I hear the name all I can think of is the band Pink Floyd (see video below). Can pigs fly? I guess we will find out

Cigar: Liga Privada No. 9
Size: 4 1/8 x 60 (Flying Pig)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf (Maduro)
Binder: Brazilian
Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras
Strength: Mild/Medium

Appearance and Construction (19/20): When it comes down to it the Flying Pig is really nothing more then an oversized perfecto. The cigar has a gorgeous looking wrapper that is covered in a lot of little magnesium pimples. This is  usually a sign of a good cigar. The cigar has an immense amount of oils showing and is well packed with no soft spots. The cap of the cigar looks like a pig tail which gives a nice effect considering the name of the cigar. The band is the same Liga Privada No. 9 of egg shell white, gray, and black writing with the name Liga Privada No. 9.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): I was caught off guard with the strong licorice notes this cigar offers on the prelight draw that made for an interesting beginning of this stogie. Once lit the cigar offered notes of licorice that sadly faded away rather quickly. The remaining notes in the first third were a dark chocolate and peppery spice. The second third of the cigar the dark chocolate notes really begin to pick up, practically masking the pepper notes from the added ligero in this blend. There is also a cedar note present making this stick more flavorful then the other vitolas in the line. The final third of this cigar has notes of dark chocolate, and wood. Once I lost the ash some of the licorice notes returned and the cigar had a leathery finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): The cigar burned really slow and even from start to finish how ever due to the size it was hard to nub. The ash was incredible strong and held for 3/4 of the cigar. The draw was perfect from beginning to end, making this cigar an enjoyable experience.

Overall (24/25): I really thought this cigar would be about the strength and nothing else. I was pleasantly surprised that it was extremely flavorful throughout the smoke. The added ligero added some extra spice which kicked up the strength a notch but the cigar was a magnified Liga Privada No. 9. The one negative about this cigar though is the size which makes it awkward to smoke. If you like to hold the cigar in your mouth it is hard to keep it there although that is not a reason to keep one from stocking up on these.

Rating: 91
Price: 12.00

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