Drew Estate’s Liga Privada series is now a decade and a half old, and in that time, hundreds of tobacco blends and vitolas have been tested by the company in the hopes of finding a new hit product, but in this business, the odds are long of discovering anything right off the bat; the firm’s blenders typically go through scores of test samples before they have anything close to resembling what could be a new release. Along the way, specific blends that show potential are set aside, although, too often, many cannot go into production for reasons of tobacco limitations, cost, or construction restrictions. While this is frustrating for the company, the top brass hasn’t had any complaints, as they would often utilize some of the most promising blends for in-house consumption while intermittently trying to resolve the issues that prevented them from being released. Finally, in 2011, the company took a major step to remedy these issues by creating a new Liga Privada family called Único to resolve some of the aforementioned problems and celebrate the uniqueness of these blends — both from all the other Liga Privada releases and from each other.
The L40 vitola of the Único family had actually been circulating a bit in prerelease form as early as 2010. The “L” in the name stands for Lancero, while the “40” is the ring gauge (the Lancero size usually is seven to seven and a half inches long [the L40 is seven] and typically has a ring gauge of 38). But as legendary former Drew Estate president Steve Saka said back when this vitola was being created, “I couldn’t accomplish the flavor profile that I wanted in 38. And that actually served as the inspiration for the name. We were just calling it L40 — Lancero 40 Ring Gauge — in the factory.”
The medium-to-full-strength (on the heavier side as far as Lanceros go) L40 utilizes a dark, stalk-cut-and-cured, sun-grown Habano-seed wrapper from the Connecticut River Valley, as well as a plantation-grown Brazilian Mata Fina binder and select Nicaraguan long-filler tobacco. Flavors on offer include earth and cedar on top of cocoa and caramel, with an element of toast detectable on the back of the palate. There are notes of pepper, in addition to hints of licorice, cream, citrus, and dried herbs. The draw is solid, the burn is excellent, and the smoke is dense and copious. The end result is one of the best Lanceros that can be found on the market; Cigar Aficionado has accorded the L40 a 90 rating twice, including in 2020.
Because Lanceros were a niche product at the time the L40 was crafted, Drew Estate didn’t expect to sell a lot of them. Surprisingly, however, the market has proved them wrong, and this is one of the most in-demand Lanceros (and Liga Privada smokes, period) that can be found today. Whether Lanceros are your thing or not, these cigars are highly worth your time and attention. Pick up a box of 15, and give these lengthy, plus-sized sticks a try.