What more can be said about Drew Estate’s Liga Privada series of cigars — except that it continues to evolve.
Over the decade-plus span of the series’ development, Drew Estate has conjured up hundreds of candidate blends and vitolas, the majority of which didn’t quite hit the bullseye in terms of the flavor, robustness, and character that Drew Estate deems necessary for a blend to see official release. But along the way, a select few did pass this bar, but for reasons of tobacco limitations, cost, or construction restrictions, they didn’t end up seeing the light of day.
These odds and ends stuck around, being stashed away and consumed in-house for years while the company struggled intermittently to overcome the barriers that prevented them from getting a real production run. Finally, in 2011, Drew Estate decided to group these disparate blends in a series called Liga Privada Único (to call attention to their uniqueness — both from other cigars in the Liga Privada family and from each other) and to slate them for bona fide production releases, despite their limited-edition nature. After all, Drew Estate is an egalitarian operation, and the company strives to put the same quality cigars in the hands of its fans that the head honchos are smoking themselves.
This Lonsdale cigar of the Único line, the Velvet Rat, gets its name from the refined, mouth-filling velvety smoke that these sticks generate. The medium-strength, medium-to-full-bodied Velvet Rat was originally produced in extremely small quantities for just one retailer in Chicago before seeing a wider release in 2013.
A number of cigar cognoscenti believe that the Velvet Rat is the best or second-best Liga Privada cigar, hands-down. Dark in color and featuring a reddish-brown Connecticut Broadleaf “High” Medium wrapper over a Brazilian Mata Fina binder and aged Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers, the Velvet Rat measures six and a quarter inches, with a 46 ring gauge. Flavors detected among its woody, earthy, and leathery intonations include sweet chocolate, coffee, white pepper, raspberries, and popcorn. Each stick lasts just under two hours.
Have you, by chance, been on the fence about trying out a member of the Liga Privada Único line? If so, there’s no better, finer, “harsh-less” smoke to try than the Velvet Rat, available in small quantities in boxes of 10 sticks. Get yours today, and experience how smooth this velvet really is.