Drew Estate officially announced the release of its new "Dirty Rat" as the first cigar within its new Liga Privada Unico Serie. Unico, which means "unique", will be a new line of special cigars that do not fit into either of the existing No. 9 nor T52 lines.
According to Steve Saka, Drew Estate's President, "At this point, we have made 200 or more Liga Privada blends. There are probably 9 or 10 of them so far that are exceptional, however their blends differ from both the No. 9 and the T52 branded cigars. They're cigars that work as a particular size, such as a lancero or corona, with the blend being unique to that particular vitola. The 'Dirty Rat' is a great example of this, so we have decided to introduce this as the first cigar in the Ünico line."
The "Dirty Rat" is a stout 5 inch by 44 ring gauge corona with a fan-twist finished head utilizing their Stalk Cut and Cured, Connecticut Sungrown Habana capa, which is the same wrapper featured on the Liga Privada T52. That is where the similarity ends, as this is a spicier, even more peppery blend of primarily Nicaraguan tobaccos from almost exclusively the Esteli Valley. Packed in a 12-ct presentation box with a suggested retail price of $12 per cigar. "We realize this is expensive for a small format cigar, however due to the difficult nature and time consuming task of proportioning five different filler tobaccos and hand bunching such a complex recipe into a corona size the cigar's price is a direct reflection of what they actually cost to handcraft," adds Saka. "I personally love this cigar, to me it is a direct reflection, taste and body wise, of the greatest Cuban-made coronas I have ever enjoyed, however it is likely too strong for most consumers and it is definitely not for those who are concerned with stretching their buying dollar. This 'Dirty Rat' is intended for the connoisseur smoker whose first and foremost concern is enjoying an unparalleled smoking experience."
The "Dirty Rat" will not be a limited release, as some have speculated. Drew Estate intends to produce them in small batches as long as there is a demand for them in the market. The first boxes are currently being packed and shipped from their Nicaraguan factory and can be expected to arrive on the shelves of Liga Privada Appointed Merchants beginning in September 2010.
Comments
I was fortunate enough to be gifted one of these by Steve at a cigar event last November.
Let me say two things about myself, I smoke strong cigars, I smoke many per week. I had just finished a Party Short, which is a strong cigar, when I was given this cigar. So my opinion may be shifted by that.
This is a very strong cigar! It is very tasty and I enjoyed every puff. Peppery comes to mind, but it was not uni-dimensional by any means.
At the end of the cigar I was a bit queasy, which almost never happens to me anymore, and so I didn’t have another cigar until after dinner.
Evan at this price point, I will have more!
You have been warned.