Patio Review: The unimposing Liga Privada No. 9 Petit Corona

When smoking this Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9 Petit Corona, I was going against the grain of the “Gordo is best” phase the industry is experiencing. A benefit of being one of the authorized Drew Diplomat Retailers means I get to geek out on the new smaller sizes debuted at IPCPR this year and I am happy to report the flavor and strength of the stick was alive and well!

For this review, I paired my stick with water.  I used a small ring gauge guillotine cutter with ease though some of the wrapper did come a bit uncurled (probably due to my slightly tilted angle of my cut). I used matches to light my stick and it took well. Although a shorter stick, I’ll report my review in the format of thirds, as usual.

First third:  The flavors all sort of swirl around at once. With my first few puffs, I’m picking up some light spice and pepper along with some cedar and natural tobacco notes. It started to burn a bit of an uneven burn but a touch up of a match smoothed things out.

Second third:  The tobacco flavor that was super apparent backs down a bit but the pepper accents are still present in this second third. Burning it a bit hotter now (less down time between draws on the stick) yields more of a woody note, almost like the char from flame steak.  That stronger spice mellows out. Tobacco flavor deepens, with some leather on the back of my palette.

Last third: I ashed and purged. A little barnyard popped out at the end accompanied by the consistent pepper flavor. Smoke really thickened up with the heat increase.

Overall: This stick is great for a pepper fan,  and could be a great short treat for someone with a well trained nose. Even without the benefit of years of smoking experience, if you’ve got the time (and the Liga Privada NO. 9 Petit Corona doesn’t beg for much of it), you’ll benefit from a box of these in your humidor to share with friends.

Tis the Season

Gourds make the best seasonal cigar rests.