First Liga T-52

[stin187]

Had my first ever T-52 tonight at a cigar lounge near my house and I say under duress that I wasn't impressed. Construction was nice enough, only required two touch ups during the smoke but the flavor seemed very one note. It "woke up" during the second third for a minute but went right back to it's original profile very quickly. I'm not sure if it was all the hype surrounding this cigar but it certainly didn't live up to what I thought it was going to be. I've had a very similar experience with the MUWAT +11 cigar this week. While I know a lot of BOTL love the newer blends from Drew Estate, I think they may just be not the flavor profile I'm looking for in a cigar. Perhaps I need to get a few to age but after this week's experience I'm not really keen on doing so. I guess that's a good thing as there will be more of them around for others but I was really hoping they would be as good as most say. Perhaps I'm just weird ....

 

[remy swagger]

I like the #9's much more than the t-52's

 

[Stillinger]

Nope. They aren't for everyone. Be happy, smoke what you enjoy. Revisit the t52 or the no9 down the road

 

[jeffturneraz]

I love T-52s. That being said, my first Liga was a 9. After being told my life would change once I finally smoked a 9, I saw what people meant. It was a new level for me.

Since then, after many top shelf cigars, I actually don't care for LP9s anymore.

Thing is that can and probably will change again.

Nothing weird about not liking a liga privada after 1 time.

 

[chadbonanno]

No. 9 is my personal favorite over the T-52, both Robustos... I like them for different reasons, however I find the T-52 to be a but too spicy sometimes. Not a bad smoke by any means.

You should age the MUWAT 11+ for 8 months I was blown away when I had the rest of a 10 pack sitting around for months !

 

[Jfire]

I personally think most Liga products are over hyped even more than when this board was PJ's playground. I like a T52 with 2 years on it every once in a while. But the fact that people tell other people here that they should feel really "lucky" that they were able to get this or that Liga...... Makes me chuckle. Ligas are a decent product. But since DE has been raising the price over the last couple of years on all their Liga product. I don't think the price is justified by me anymore.
Cheers,
Jfire

 

[NCost]

Oddly enough I prefer the T-52 over the No.9. Now with that said I prefer the FFP an Dirty Rat over both of them.

I do think they're over priced, but rarity raises the prices. I buy them when I find them, most of the time, but anymore I prefer Tatuaje over DE due to pricing. I'd rather buy a box than a few of the DE's for the same price. Not that big a difference and much easier to get a hold of.

 

[MDSPHOTO]

Had my first ever T-52 tonight at a cigar lounge near my house and I say under duress that I wasn't impressed. Construction was nice enough, only required two touch ups during the smoke but the flavor seemed very one note. It "woke up" during the second third for a minute but went right back to it's original profile very quickly. I'm not sure if it was all the hype surrounding this cigar but it certainly didn't live up to what I thought it was going to be. I've had a very similar experience with the MUWAT +11 cigar this week. While I know a lot of BOTL love the newer blends from Drew Estate, I think they may just be not the flavor profile I'm looking for in a cigar. Perhaps I need to get a few to age but after this week's experience I'm not really keen on doing so. I guess that's a good thing as there will be more of them around for others but I was really hoping they would be as good as most say. Perhaps I'm just weird ....

I guess my question to you would be do you like full bodied cigars? I have not tried the 9 or the 52 primarily because I prefer more medium bodied sticks and the guys here tend to love them because they prefer full bodied smokes.

 

[MUNKY]

Had my first ever T-52 tonight at a cigar lounge near my house and I say under duress that I wasn't impressed. Construction was nice enough, only required two touch ups during the smoke but the flavor seemed very one note. It "woke up" during the second third for a minute but went right back to it's original profile very quickly. I'm not sure if it was all the hype surrounding this cigar but it certainly didn't live up to what I thought it was going to be. I've had a very similar experience with the MUWAT +11 cigar this week. While I know a lot of BOTL love the newer blends from Drew Estate, I think they may just be not the flavor profile I'm looking for in a cigar. Perhaps I need to get a few to age but after this week's experience I'm not really keen on doing so. I guess that's a good thing as there will be more of them around for others but I was really hoping they would be as good as most say. Perhaps I'm just weird ....

More for me LOL! No being a certified liga whore that I am I will say that I prefer the T52 over the 9, that being said I do have some of both that I have been sitting on and they are glorious. Tim (cigarbenzdaddy) had one last night and it kicked his ass like a chocolate hurricane! I will say this as with anything there are problems though not many and I have had a coupe duds that were almost as you described. The ones that I have taken in that were straight out of the box new and maintained are beautiful and I love every one of em. But smoke what you like and like what you smoke!

 

[StogieNinja]

I will say if it was as one-note as you say, it might have been wet. They're flat at 69%, ok at 65%, and marvelous at 62%.

Just my two cents.

 

[stin187]

I guess my question to you would be do you like full bodied cigars? I have not tried the 9 or the 52 primarily because I prefer more medium bodied sticks and the guys here tend to love them because they prefer full bodied smokes.

My preference is almost always med-full to full bodied sticks.

I will say if it was as one-note as you say, it might have been wet. They're flat at 69%, ok at 65%, and marvelous at 62%.

Just my two cents.

That could have been the case as it was straight out of the humidor at the cigar lounge which was probably at 70% and I keep my wineador at 65% (my "happy place"). Perhaps if I see a few at a reasonable price I'll put them down in my humi for a while and try them out again but I'm really not in a hurry to do so. At least this frees me up to try other stuff and pick up a box or two of things I know I love!

 

[remy swagger]

It's funny how people become almost apologetic about not liking a cigar other people like. NEWS FLASH: they make a variety of cigars for a variety of tastes. I haven't found a single Viaje that I've enjoyed. I try to like the Crowned Heads stuff because I like what they are about but 2 of their 3 blends don't work for me and I'm indifferent regarding the third. I like the Nica Rustica and half the guys on here think its okay at best. More times than not I would prefer to buy two Nica's as opposed to one #9. I just smoked my first KFC and liked it, they have been getting trashed on this site. I love the Padron 26 but feel the 64 has fallen off. My favorite DE/Liga is the Dirty Rat tied with the Papas Fritas. When I can get a deal on Papas I buy every time; brilliant small smoke. Like others have said smoke what YOU like.

 

[StogieNinja]

Remy, I get what you're saying, and agree for the most part.

I think what I was getting at is that he may not have enjoyed the cigar due to other factors. Smoke what you like, sure, but I'd hate to see a guy who might find a new favorite pass on because of a humidity issue. If a cigar most people think has a nice amount of complexity tastes completely flat to you, thats likely an issue with the cigar you're smoking. But if everyone says they loved the notes of peat and meatiness, and you don't like peat or meatiness, that's another thing entirely.

 

[Cigar_Benz_Daddy]

Had my first ever T-52 tonight at a cigar lounge near my house and I say under duress that I wasn't impressed. Construction was nice enough, only required two touch ups during the smoke but the flavor seemed very one note. It "woke up" during the second third for a minute but went right back to it's original profile very quickly. I'm not sure if it was all the hype surrounding this cigar but it certainly didn't live up to what I thought it was going to be. I've had a very similar experience with the MUWAT +11 cigar this week. While I know a lot of BOTL love the newer blends from Drew Estate, I think they may just be not the flavor profile I'm looking for in a cigar. Perhaps I need to get a few to age but after this week's experience I'm not really keen on doing so. I guess that's a good thing as there will be more of them around for others but I was really hoping they would be as good as most say. Perhaps I'm just weird ....

More for me LOL! No being a certified liga whore that I am I will say that I prefer the T52 over the 9, that being said I do have some of both that I have been sitting on and they are glorious. Tim (cigarbenzdaddy) had one last night and it kicked his ass like a chocolate hurricane! I will say this as with anything there are problems though not many and I have had a coupe duds that were almost as you described. The ones that I have taken in that were straight out of the box new and maintained are beautiful and I love every one of em. But smoke what you like and like what you smoke!

Ho Ho Ho... Opinions are like A-holes we all have them. I'm a self proclaimed Liga Whore and along with my friend here, I've probably smoked boxes worth of both the no. 9's and T52's... I prefer the T52 a tad more than the no 9's. As some of you know, I'm not a huge collector of fine cigars. I can't age them too long because I sometimes (usually) smoke between 2-4 or 5 cigars a day. So, that being said... I find that I can smoke any of the 9's or 52's at any given time of the day. Even without breakfast. I will tell you this, Brandon sent me some 9's and 52's for Christmas and I noticed that they were much darker than the ones I'm picking up at my local B&M on a regular basis. I smoked one of the T52's last night and I couldn't even take the band off to nub the thing. It was a powerhouse rocketship! I'm not kidding. Kicked my Butt! I sent him a text asking him how long he had these things resting and he responded (2 years)... 2 years??? This thing got so much more powerful with age. Hey, smoke what you like and like what you smoke, right?

 

[remy swagger]

Ninja, agreed. The condition of the cigar is one of many factors that affect enjoyment. Also not every palette can pick up the nances and complexity stated. I hate to see guys racking their brains with "what's wrong with me?" when it's just a matter of tastes.

 

[cmhicksusmc]

im part of the minority that prefers #9 and Dirty Rats to almost every DE release

 

[Cigary43]

Remy, I get what you're saying, and agree for the most part.

I think what I was getting at is that he may not have enjoyed the cigar due to other factors. Smoke what you like, sure, but I'd hate to see a guy who might find a new favorite pass on because of a humidity issue. If a cigar most people think has a nice amount of complexity tastes completely flat to you, thats likely an issue with the cigar you're smoking. But if everyone says they loved the notes of peat and meatiness, and you don't like peat or meatiness, that's another thing entirely.

I'll piggyback this with a bit more information. How many times have we read a review from one who didn't like the cigar or claimed that it was "flat"...that it was "less than"...etc etc? While I don't know specific info from the reviewer as to how long the cigar was in his humidor...what the RH was...what temperature...relevant info is sometimes left out. If one buys it from a B&M then that's another deal altogether because most B&M's do not keep their humidors at the same RH...too many unknown variables to list. Then we have to account for the smoker as well...what is their experience with this type of cigar....sometimes the level of taste for a lot of us is inexperience with a type of cigar. Like a sommelier with wine there is a level of what a cigar smoker can glean from a cigar. At the last level there is just the level of taste for a cigar...some just won't like them.

I've often mentioned for those who do reviews is to give us a more detailed account of the history of the cigar that they pull out to smoke.....
1. How long was it in your humidor......gives us an insight as to how it's been kept or treated.
2. What RH and temp was it kept in
3. How was it lit....torch, soft flame...did you take your time or just fire it up and get to smoking in less than a minute
4. What was your beverage of choice when you smoked this or did you choose not to drink anything
5. Did you have a cold or sinus issue previous to smoking/are you on any kind of meds that might change the profile and narrow your tastes
6. What did you like about the cigar...what didn't you like about the cigar

This info gives the audience a bit more info so we can make our own minds up as to what we think about trying it...word of mouth can be very persuasive but it's not fair to those who read a review unless we have pertinent info. While I have my own take on cigar brands of those I like or don't like I like to at least take some responsibility to let others know why I like a certain cigar or why I don't like it.

 

[Clint]

As others have said, it's all about preferences, so maybe the T52 is just not in your wheelhouse.

I love them, but I do agree that it is not a roller coaster of ever-changing flavors. Many of my favorites are also not roller coaster rides (Barclay Rex, Henry Clay, some Illusiones).

I find the smoking qualities, the incredible wrapper, the flavor profile, the meticulous detail in construction and sourcing, and the consistency to be all top notch. Maybe re-visit in a bit before tossing them out of your rotation, or again maybe just not your cup of tea.

 

[MUNKY]

As others have said, it's all about preferences, so maybe the T52 is just not in your wheelhouse.

I love them, but I do agree that it is not a roller coaster of ever-changing flavors. Many of my favorites are also not roller coaster rides (Barclay Rex, Henry Clay, some Illusiones).

I find the smoking qualities, the incredible wrapper, the flavor profile, the meticulous detail in construction and sourcing, and the consistency to be all top notch. Maybe re-visit in a bit before tossing them out of your rotation, or again maybe just not your cup of tea.

This!

 

[CigarGavin]

As others have said, it's all about preferences, so maybe the T52 is just not in your wheelhouse.

I love them, but I do agree that it is not a roller coaster of ever-changing flavors. Many of my favorites are also not roller coaster rides (Barclay Rex, Henry Clay, some Illusiones).

I find the smoking qualities, the incredible wrapper, the flavor profile, the meticulous detail in construction and sourcing, and the consistency to be all top notch. Maybe re-visit in a bit before tossing them out of your rotation, or again maybe just not your cup of tea.

Its all good, taste change come and go.

I loved the nine; I hate the 9.
I loved the t52, I don't like Liga.

Its a roller coster of preference; keep one of each on hand and revisit every now and then.

Remember to smoke what you love, not just what we all chase and loathe after