[cmitch]

As a self professed Liga Privada whore, I couldn't resist the purchase of a 5 pack (retail $13 stick) when these hit the shelves. I was excited to see the dark oily wrapper with the pig tail and couldn't wait to smoke one.

My friend, David D got a kitchen pass and we met at his man cave to have one of these. As I lit mine, I recognized the original spice that I usually get from the darker wrappers on the Ligas. The burn was very even, perfectly rolled and required only one touch up. I admittedly smoke faster than the average cigar smoker, so, getting that admission out of the way may explain my experience.

I found the UF-13 had the signature copious amounts of smoke. But, that's where it parted company with other Ligas. I continued to get strong peppery spice until halfway through where the cigar turned bitter and acrid. Wow. I wasn't expecting that. I looked at doc's stick and he was at about the same location, maybe 1/4 inch more on his stick. While he assured me it was good, the look on his face seemed to tell me otherwise.

Doc D is a classy guy. If that thing tasted like a flying turd from a buzzard's bottom, he wouldn't say, "Hey, this tastes like sheat!" He might say "Well, it's not my favorite." He said neither but I couldn't help that he might have felt somewhat the same way as I did: unimpressed.

This is quite an unusual experience for me with a LP. All I've had ranged from okay to FANTASTIC, like the FFP. But this cigar was underwhelming and pungent in flavor. Like the extra sharp cheddar cheese in cheeses pungent. No sweetness, no nutty tones, just pungency. Did I smoke it too fast? Maybe. I found touching it up/purging it made it more tolerable but just because it's a Liga, I'm not going to praise it. I didn't nub mine. I lit a No. 9 robusto afterwards while Doc was still 3/4 into his. A No. 9. Now, that's better.

I'm saving the others for some age time in my humi. Maybe in a few months, they'll mellow out and I'll get some enjoyment out of my investment. I remember enjoying the UF-4 a little more but still underwhelmed.

This cigar gets the following from me:

Pre-light appearance (oily, dark wrapper): 9 excellent

Roll quality (draw): 9.5 excellent

Burn quality (eveness of burn): 8 good

Flavor: 4 to 4.5 Poor (not a lost cause since it didn't turn bitter until half way).

On my scale, that makes this one a 77.

I personally find it's no wonder that, all of a sudden, I'm seeing UF-13's pop up on sales sites right and left, more than any other Liga Privada as of late. Maybe these need to age, who knows?

All other Ligas, save the UF-4, are strong 90+ in my book, with the FFP being the best I've had. I'll smoke another UF-13 in a few weeks/months and see if the flavor is better and then post back my opinion.