The Filthiest Of Rodents...
I have to begin by saying: Thanks again for letting me sample this cigar, u/bv8ma. I appreciate the hell out of it.
Drew Estate's Liga Privada Dirty Rat
First Impression: It smells like chocolate dirt. Not even a real tobacco smell. It's a musty, dark scent that it's putting off. And man, is this thing beautiful. You can barely tell where the cigar was rolled. The seams are near flawless. The fillers look like a healthy mix of... wait how many tobaccos are in this dang thing? Look at the rainbow of leaves in the foot. Making me excited!...
And that cap, though. Oh man, am I a sucker for pigtails. The very first cigar I ever smoked was an OR JFR Maduro that came with no band and with a pigtail on it. I still remember picking it out, simply because of how it looked. I'm sort of sentimental to pigtails... I'm really, really having to force myself to cut this beauty. I've been staring at it for the better part of 5 minutes now, lol.
First Taste - Oooooo that's spicy. That... That is definitely Honduran. And it's a strong smoke. Holy hell is it a powerful retrohale, and there is so. much. smoke. coming off of this thing. I can't retrohale a full draw.
It's a woody, leathery, cocoa on the mouth. With a little bit of a tobacco taste that lingers. That retrohale is fricking strong though. The retrohale is a peppery, coffee taste. But man, is it peppery right now.
First Half- The mouth taste has a decidedly strong natural woody taste that I can only relate to the Monte that I smoked recently. The retrohale is no where close to that cigar though. The retrohale on this Dirty Rat is a smoking experience unto itself. The pepper is finally mellowing out in the sinuses, and a chocolate-y wood taste is coming through.
Towards the end of the first half, and an oily, almost rubbery taste is coming into the retrohale. The mouth flavors are taking on a sweet characteristic also. It's not a candy sweet... more like brown sugar or molasses. I'm assuming its a Habano wrapper? It's reminding me of the sweetness I got from the Genesis Habano, anyways...
And the flavors are blending oh so nicely together...
Second Half: It's getting creamy. There is almost an oil slick you can taste on the inside of your cheeks. Even after you blow the smoke out, you can lick around your mouth and pick up different flavors that decided to hang around for the ride. This stick is de-lic-ious.
The retrohale is back up in spiciness toward the end of the cigar. I'm down to the band, and all I'm thinking is "Damn, already?..." I want this stick to last another hour...
There is also a hint of leather popping up every so often. It's being drowned out by the chocolate and woody coffee flavors most of the time, but it peeks through every so often. And it just adds to the fun when it does. The sweetness is fading, and the creamy, oily taste is the center of attention right now.
Getting down to the last bit of this cigar, and the flavors are starting to combine together in a way that you can't really pick out the singular flavors, but that is a pleasing way to end the cigar. All the flavors presented themselves individually throughout the course of the smoke, but they decided to end in one final explosion of goodness.
Conclusion: I'd tell you what the bottom quarter of the cigar tasted like, but my wife ran off with it and is hiding in the garage "doing laundry". I guess my final rating is: So Good Your Mrs. Will Steal It.
Posted Feb 17, 2017, 3:15 AM UTC · edited