Liga Privada H99 Staff Review
Back in 2018, the folks at Drew Estate expanded their popular Liga Privada brand with the H99 line to compensate for the high demand for its Liga T52 and Liga No.9 blends, which occasionally sell out due to the rarity of some of the tobaccos that go into the cigars. I’m smoking a Liga Privada H99 in a 6-by-52 Toro.
H99 is named for its wrapper leaf, a Cuban-seed Corojo varietal grown in the Connecticut River Valley. A complex recipe of tobaccos under the wrapper includes a binder from San Andrés and long-fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Pennsylvania. The cigars come in cabinet-style boxes of 24 bound by a ribbon when you first open the lid. The wrapper on the H99 boasts a reddish, chocolate-brown hue when I choose a Toro from a fresh box. The cigar looks oily and toothy and is solid from head to foot when I gently squeeze it.
Liga Privada H99 offers a cold aroma of fresh tobacco and oak with hints of spice. Once the cap is clipped, a flavor profile of rye, chocolate, and white pepper reveals floral hints in the cold draw. The Toro lights quickly and easily with a few blasts from my Xikar torch lighter. Initial tasting notes of leather, black pepper, and rye toast mingle in an intense introduction that thoroughly dries my palate. Spicy notes of cayenne and poblano dominate the cigar’s profile throughout the first twenty-five minutes, while woody undertones of oak, espresso, and hay create some variation. The retrohale is overwhelmingly spicy at times.
As the second half unfolds, H99 develops with a little more consistency. The cigar’s rough edges begin to smooth, although the texture remains somewhat chalky. Liga Privada H99 performs wonderfully, as far as the burn and draw are concerned. A nice firm ash continues to grow at the foot after I gently tap it into my ashtray. The Toro requires no touch-ups as it progresses, indicating it’s been assembled by a skilled roller.
As I power into the nub, I wish H99 possessed more nuttiness or sweetness to balance its intensity. It stretches past the medium-bodied threshold into a stronger profile, particularly at the end. It’s a cigar that would go well with a strong bourbon or black coffee. A bold profile of espresso bean and black pepper pulses throughout the final fifteen minutes. I slow my pace in the final stretch before letting Liga Privada H99 expire in my ashtray just past the sixty-minute mark. At the end of my evaluation, I’m settling on an 85-point score. H99 isn’t a terrible cigar, but it lacks complexity despite containing tobaccos from so many different regions.
In hindsight, my expectations may have been a little amplified based on the recipe and also due to the price. Eighteen bucks isn’t a cheap Toro, so I kind of got my hopes up for a stellar experience from start to finish for Liga Privada H99. I say give it a shot simply to taste the wrapper. Cuban-seed wrappers grown in Connecticut are not common. A decade ago, My Father debuted El Centurion H-2K-CT with a Connecticut Habano wrapper. It earned a 93-point rating with a ‘Top 25’ ranking from the critics in Cigar Aficionado. If you’ve enjoyed this blend before, Liga Privada H99 offers a different profile altogether and one that may suit your palate.
