Liga Privada No. 9 Toro (6 x 52) Cigar

Liga Privada translates to "private blend" — Drew Estate originally crafted the cigar not for resale but for its own personal humidors, blended for then-president Steve Saka as his personal smoke. Dozens of intricate trial blends were worked through before No. 9 emerged as the one that was flawless in both flavor and character, and demand eventually pushed the small-batch, ultra-premium blend into commercial release. The Toro is one of the line's core formats, and the size most often described as the most complete expression of the blend.

A deeply textured, oily Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper — hand-fermented for 18 months or more — over a Brazilian Mata Fina binder and Cuban-seed long-fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras drawn from seven different farms. Handmade at Drew Estate's La Gran Fabrica in Estelí, Nicaragua, where only a handful of certified rolling pairs are permitted to make the blend at 250 cigars a day, with the finished cigars resting a full year before release. Toro format, 6 x 52. Box count: 24 cigars.

Dense, creamy smoke built on dark chocolate and espresso, with earth, oak and cedar underneath and a natural Broadleaf sweetness running through it. Black and white pepper show on the lips and through the nose, while leather, toast and coffee-bean notes round out the later thirds. Rich and complex without turning harsh — the Toro gives those transitions room to develop.

Alcoholic: Bold bourbon or peaty Scotch. Non-Alcoholic: Strong dark roast coffee.

Evening — the classic Toro expression of the iconic No. 9 blend.