Liga Privada T52

The T52 is a blend that was in a holding pattern for a long time as Drew Estate has been working with a stalk cut habana leaf since 2006. The cigar even went through a re-blend during production as they could not decide on test blend #3 or #4. So blend 3.5 was developed and what you have is the final product, the Liga Privada T52

Cigar: Liga Privada T52
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Stalk Cut America Habano (Connecticut)
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Strength: Medium/Full

Appearance and Construction (18/20): This silky smooth American grown Habano wrapper has an abundance of oils and minimal veins. The roll of the cigar is seamless and the cigar seams to be well aged. There are no soft spots to speak of and the stick has a nice heavy weight to it.  The band of the cigar is a slight variation on the No. 9 with the colors being brown and bronze and the words Liga Privada T52 written out in a nice bold font. The one negative here is some of the cut lines of the wrapper are uneven but one really has to stare at the stick to see that.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): Prior to lighting up this stick the prelight draw offers some sweetness and leather notes that intrigue the palate while the foot as some notes of raisin and a sweet molasses. The first third of the cigar offers some pepper through the nose, but the primary notes here are cocoa, cedar and leather. As we approached the second third some of the sweetness faded and the cigar began to take on the notes of nuts, and coffee with the occasional cinnamon spice. The final third of the cigar had leather and spice notes.

Burn/Ash/Draw (24/25): This slow burning cigar offers no issues at all. It burns slightly jagged but remains close enough to even to never cause a concern or a need to relight. The ash is a light gray with some dark patches and it holds on strong. Despite being a major smoke producer the draw was a tad difficult and for that I’ll deduct a point.

Overall (23/25): A lot of people I know don’t like the Liga Privada No. 9 due to the impressive strength and the T52 will be the answer. This cigar is a full flavored medium bodied smoke that delivers. They are in stores now and they do not disappoint.

Rating: 91
Price: $14.70

I spoke to the Rocky Patel representative the other day and she informed me that this year there will be no Rocky Patel Winter seasonal blend release. There is also a possibility that the Fall 2009 release could be the end of the seasonal blends. This is based on the fact that there is no Winter blend and was not confirmed by the rep.

I met the lovely Sharon from Perdomo cigars this week and she donated a T-Shirt and a couple of Perdomo Patriarch cigars for raffle that will start on Friday, November 6th. So be sure to check back for details.

Also some sadness hit the cigar world this week as cigar master Avelino Lara passed away. Mr. Lara was once the personal roller for Fidel Castro and was in charge of the Cohiba cigar. He moved to Nassau in the Bahamas where he helped create Graycliff cigars. Avelino Lara died from complications of thyroid cancer and was 88 years old.

The Sunday links:

• Cigar Choice offers up a take on the Boris from Tatuaje.
• Cigar Inspector offers up a review on the Alec Bradley Special Cabinet Reseve (SCR).
• Her Humidor returns with a review of the Liga Privada T52.

If you would like to be included in future Sunday links please contact us with the name of your website.