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Cigar Review: Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig

Notice a format change on today’s review, but still look vaguely familiar? That’s because the great Tony Casas, of Casas Fumando, stopped by for a visit and he brought a Flying Pig to the party! Tony is a great friend and BOTL; he has been a tremendous help to and supporter of Toasted Foot.

Tony lives in El Paso, Texas, is married, and has one of those small, yelping dogs! His website is top notch, full of excellent pictures, in depth reviews, and some pretty awesome contests as well. He recently picked up a review partner as well, and he aint too shabby either.

Check out Casas Fumando online and be sure to follow Tony and his review partner Daniel on Twitter – you’ll meet two of the nicest guys around, hands down! Oh, and having Tony review a Liga Privada would be like having a mouse review cheese – he is an expert and has a 100 ct. humidor full of nothing but the Liga line. So yeah, he knows the flavors well!

I’ve been on a pretty furious search to uncover this cigar for quite sometime. Drew Estate’s Flying Pig has been almost as much as a myth to me as an actual flying pig.

The Flying Pig is the newest release in Drew Estate’s Liga Privada (Private Blend)  No. 9. As of right now, Drew Estate has two different Liga Privada blends, the No.9 and the T52. The No. 9 was originally created for the sole enjoyment of Drew Estate’s president, Steve Saka. Due to a mass uprising in demand for the No. 9, the Drew Estate crew literally “forced” Saka to release it to the public. The only downfall about doing this is the maduro like oily Oscuro leaf used for the wrapper comes in extremely low quantities. The result of the shortage forced Drew Estate to open only very few exclusive accounts that are able to sell the Liga Privada No. 9. On the other hand, Drew Estate was able to produce another Liga Privada blend using a Stalk Cut Habano wrapper that is easier to produce. This blend was deemed the Liga Privada T52. Both blends are then packed with only the finest tobacco farmed from Drew Estate’s own farm in Esteli, Nicaragua.

The Flying Pig is an odd shaped, thick ringed, perfecto shaped cigar, topped off with a very distinct little twisted pig tail. Along with the extremely thick ring gauge, the Flying Pig actually has a bit more Ligero leaf mixed in to add some more power to its punch. This is one interesting cigar and I am sure that the experience will be well worth it.

Prelight: The Flying Pig is an extremely thick and meaty cigar. This is one extremely oily cigar. Just touching the wrapper produces a layer of grease on the tips of my fingers. Not only that, but there was so much oil left behind from the Flying Pig that it actually left oil stains on the top tray of my humidor. If that isn’t enticing I don’t know what is. The wrapper is incredibly dark and toothy. The odd shape of the Flying Pig is hard to overlook. Perfecto, gigantic ring gauge, short stubby stature, twisted up pig tail, quadruple wrapped cap. This cigar pulls out all the stops. It’s going to be interesting to see how this cigar burns. Hopefully I won’t run into too many issues, but in my past experiences perfectos always throw curveballs when it comes to the burn. The Flying Pig is extremely firm to the touch, with no soft spots whatsoever. The cap clipped off with extreme ease using my double bladed Palio cutter. Unlike most of the Liga Privada No. 9′s that I have smoked, I was surprised to find that the Flying Pig didn’t produce a lot of aroma. The more prominent scents I was able to pull off the Flying Pig were that of oats, cedar, and cocoa. The cold draw produced much of the same flavors mixed with a bit of pepper and coffee.

First Smoke: The Flying Pig lit up with extreme ease under my triple flame butane torch. Upon the first few draws I was greeted with the familiar burst of pepper that each of the Liga Privadas start off with. The pepper phase faded quickly and was replaced with a very sweet tobacco flavor, backed by cinnamon, spice, cedar, and a hint of cocoa. The draw was effortless and produced a heck of a lot of very thick, dark grey smoke. One thing about these Ligas is the pleasant scent of the smoke. Very “cedaresque”. It’s almost as if you set a humidor on fire. Backing that is the massive amount of stationary smoke you can expect this cigar to give off. The burn was surprisingly dead even, and left behind very tightly packed, bright white ash. The very tip of the ash actually looks like it’s flowering a bit.

Halfway There: By the halfway point the pepper has completely diminished. The more prominent flavors are still sweet tobacco, cocoa, and spice. The cedar is starting to get very intense. It’s almost as if I hit the sweet spot of this cigar when I was only halfway through it. Let’s hope that doesn’t lead to a harsher ending. I am loving how smooth this cigar is. The retrohale from the Flying Pig is ridiculously smooth, and a heck of a sinus opener. Another shocker is the fact that I am more than halfway through this cigar and the ash is still holding strong. I got up to take a quick walk and was hit with light headedness right away. This is a VERY strong cigar and it will sneak up on you.

Finish: Despite my fear of the Flying Pig finishing harsh, this cigar held its cedar enriched sweet spot from the halfway point well into the end. And you know what else did? The ash. This is the second Drew Estate that has carried it’s ash from start to finish without giving way. I took it as far as I could before I could no longer hold it. If you notice in the picture below, I didn’t hold this cigar straight up, nor did I really baby it to keep the ash from falling. On that note, the Flying Pig did in fact burn quite a bit hotter than I would have liked. The flavor finished off with strong cedar, spice, and a bit of leather. Be prepared for the huge nicotine kick this cigar will leave you with, it’s a strong one!

Overview: This is one hell of a little cigar. It only took me a little over an hour to nub the hell of this guy, but I can tell you that I loved every single second of it. The strength, smoothness, and complexity of this cigar go hand in hand in a unique blend of pure bliss. This cigar probably wouldn’t be a great one for the novice smoker to start out on. The strength will be a bit overpowering and may even leave them on the floor. But this is an excellent score for an enthusiast. The price of these sticks are about $12 – $13 a pop. They don’t come cheap. But with only 2,000 boxes (12 in each box) being produced, you can’t afford to pass them up!

Pairing: This Liga Privada Flying Pig was paired with some Rogue Brewing, Double Dead Guy Ale. It’s probably not the most ideal beer pair when you think about it, but with summer approaching at record speed, I wanted something bitter that could really offset the thick, smooth taste of the Liga Privada. Ideally you would want to pair this cigar with some dark porter, stout, or double bock. Not to mention this cigar goes perfect with coffee, hold the cream.

Question of the Day: Tell Tony how much you loved his review!