I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Drew a few times when he has stopped in Atlanta.  Each time I speak with him it’s obvious that he has a passion for what he does and also for sharing that with others.  It’s always enjoyable and educational to talk with him about his cigars and cigars in general.

On a recent trip I managed to grab a few minutes of time with him at a very crowded event.  I’d picked up a handful of the new Liga Privada Flying Pig and wanted him to sign the box for me, he gladly did.  We started discussing his cigars and the topic of stalk-cut tobacco came up, you could tell he was excited to talk about this with us and we listened he described the process to us and drew graphics on the back of the Flying Pig box.  Cool.  As we wrapped up the discussion on tobacco I asked if he had any Rata Sucias with him as I’d recently read about them on an internet forum.  He grinned and said he didn’t and also explained that it was a very tricky cigar to produce.  A few days later I received a message from Jonathan with some contact info to get a sampler of new Drew Estate smokes, I received a T52, Flying Pig and a Dirty Rat plus a nice Liga Privada cigar cutter.  Thanks to both Jonathan Drew and TG for the hook up.  Now for the review.

Some information from Steve Saka (borrowed from a forum post by TG) states that the Dirty Rat is the result of trying to recreate the classic Liga Privada #9 profile in a corona size, however he feels that they never got that quite right.  In the process Luis (lead torcedor and gallery supervisor) came up with this blend.   Steve goes on to share that this may never see the light of day as the process used to create these bunches makes the cigar cost-prohibitive, it actually costs more to produced the Dirty Rat than a toro size Liga Privada #9.

Liga Privada Dirty Rat by Drew Estate

Liga Privada “Dirty Rat”
Size: 5″ x 46
Vitola: Corona with Fuma cap
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan Cuban Seed
Binder: Brazilian
Price: N/A – Prototype

APPEARANCE

What’s not to like about the looks of this cigar?  Gorgeously dark and glistening with oils and very little veining with a slightly toothy and slick wrapper.  This one had a single cap with a fumar finish, but that may have just been for the pre-release cigars.  I’m a big fan of the band on the Liga Privada line as well and if they one sees production it’ll be one sharp looking cigar.

BURN AND DRAW

The Dirty Rat burned very straight for most of the time, in the final third it wobbled a bit and required a minor touch up.  The draw on this was just about as close to perfect as you can get.  Lots of smoke was produced but the cigar gave enough resistance so as not to be too open.  The ash held solid until a tap or two released into the ashtray.  The lit end produced a small wisp of smoke that drifted slowly upward.

FLAVORS

The pre-light draw on produced flavors of black licorice and wood.  I did not taste the licorice at all on the lit cigar, just on the pre-light.  Once lit the Dirty Rat immediately gives a mouthful of fresh espresso – very deep, rich and oily.  As you continue to smoke you note dark chocolate joining in as well as some hints of leather.  The espresso continues as the dominant flavor through the entire cigar.  Although I did not notice a lot of complexity throughout the smoke the flavors that were offered up were phenomenal.

I loved this cigar.  As mentioned, this was a pre-release sample so I have only smoked one where I normally smoke at least three of a certain cigar before reviewing.  If this cigar makes it to production I’ll definitely purchase more.  I’m a fan of the other vitolas in the Liga Privada line and this is no exception.  I hope that the Drew Estate team decides to put this one out.