Drew Estate Liga Undercrown Corona Viva, 5 5/8x46, NIC
Smoked December 17, 2012. Rested 6 weeks.
Smoke Time: 1:15
Pre-Light: Even medium brown, no soft spots, veins, or seams. Sweet barnyard & tobacco smell.
Cold Draw: Barnyard, sweet spice. Good draw.
1st Third: No bitterness (working on my lighting technique), no blast of pepper (nice!). Dry mouth, wood flavors. burn pretty even, no touchups, lots of smoke. Pepper comes in pretty quickly, but not super strong, distinct, not overpowering. Cahrred wood flavors, some leather. Some nutty flavors, but not sweet. Ash held over an inch, pepper faded a bit.
2nd Third: Draw a little tighter, but not prohibitive yet. Pepper and roasted nut flavors are in and out back and forth, along with some sweet wood flavors... There's a little sweetness, but not as much as I expected. Burn is still straight, ash is over 1" again, light grey and feathery.
Last Third: Pepper on the lips, but more of a roasted pepper, not a black pepper. Clipped again because of tar buildup. Pepper and wood are still off and on, along with some bitter coffee flavor. Towards the end I caught a bit of fruit flavor on my tongue that totally caught me off guard. Just came in a couple times, not enough for me to nail down a specific fruit...
7.5/10 - My first Liga/Undercrown, and not my last by any means. One stick does not a Liga whore make, but if this is an indication, it could be a steep slope. Definitely kept me interested, and trying to narrow down different flavors. Got four more resting, along with a couple Robustos, so I'm curious to see how the Robusto in the "original" blend compares. Not sure if I'd grab by the box (yet), but a 5'er or two on hand is a definite. Another must-have for my humidor.
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