Liga Privada #9
Lit up a stick today that I had been aging for a few months, plus it was aged for a while at my local B&M so it was plenty seasoned up and aged a good bit.
Smelling the stick before lighting or cutting brought notes of chocolate, perhaps maple syrup as well? It smelled heavenly and semi sweet, but also had some spice hidden in there, especially around the foot. The wrapper was smooth, had no real oil on the surface, but a light plum all over. I also noted very small veins in the leaf and incredibly good wrapping, with zero blemishes anywhere. Also, no soft or hard spots anywhere.
On lighting it, but before any real puffs, the smoke is thick, blue, and smells heavenly, with notes of that same chocolate, some grass, definitely some syrup or something, as well as a tiny bit of pepper and some softer leather undertones. The draw was very smooth, with very little resistance, and tons of creamy smoke.
The first inch or so was semi hot at first due to the light up, but burned smoothly and went into a perfect and semi cool burn with a straight and even burn that continued all the way through my smoking session. The first third of the cigar was dominated by a sweet and creamy taste with mixes of numerous things like dried fruit, leather, coffee, sweet grass, and earthiness.
The second third was still sweet, but began to get a bit of pepper mingled in with the sweetness that was occasionally going away, only to re-surge in a wave of chocolate and maple goodness that was incredibly pleasant on my tongue... And the smoke that lingered in the air was intoxicatingly good. My fiance (who hates cigars) was asking about it and she noticed the sweetness to it as well.
The last 3 inches of the cigar were a bit more pepper, more leather, less coffee, but definitely some dried fruit, akin to perhaps dried mango or papaya. I never noticed any strong peppers, nor much of a "burn" or sourness or anything that some people note, just sweet, smooth smoke that coated my mouth like velvet and billowed out like the smoothest, creamiest smoke I have probably ever tasted or seen in a cigar so far.
I loved it so much I looked for more online and found out these suckers are hard to come by! I drove to my local B&M and scooped up his last box of #9s and T-52s, and saved a pretty penny off what online retailers where demanding...
Not smoking another for at least 6 months as I want these oily, smooth, and delicious beauties to get some rest before I taste them again.
