Cigar Review – Drew Estate Undercrown 10
The Undercrown 10 is the 10th Anniversary tribute to the immensely popular Liga Undercrown Maduro, which was originally created in 2011.
The story of the Undercrown line is one of the legendary tales of the cigar world: Drew Estate was struggling to keep up with demand on the very successful Liga Privada #9 line. At the same time, Drew Estate had a policy allowing the tobacco floor workers to smoke any Drew Estate cigar while on the job. Almost all the workers were choosing the Liga Privada, which was cutting into the limited supply of the tobacco needed for that blend. Drew Estate decided to keep the policy but limit workers to non-Liga Privada smokes.
So the workers on the floor started coming up with their own blends and hit on what is now the Undercrown Maduro. Management decided to release the blend and the rest is history.
While there are some similarities between the Undercrown 10 and the original Undercrown Maduro, there are some key differences: While both use a Mexican San Andres wrapper, the Undercrown 10 uses higher primings for more boldness and flavor. The binder on the Undercrown 10 is a Connecticut Broadleaf versus a Habano binder, and the filler on the 10th Anniversary is all Nicaraguan, not a blend of Brazilian and Nicaraguan as in the original.
This is a great looking cigar with an elaborate band and adorned with a gold ribbon. The dark, chocolate wrapper is very toothy. Construction is excellent, I had minor issues with canoeing but it was a somewhat windy day.
Draw and burn were very good. This cigar has a nice flavor profile. After the initial peppery start, it settles in as primarily earthy, but then offers a changing taste experience that dances between baking spice, plum, raisins and semi-sweet chocolate.
At about US$12-$15 this is a pretty pricey cigar, but I have seen it in various samplers which would be a good opportunity to try one or two. If that isn’t possible I would still recommend this cigar, especially to Liga and Undercrown fans.
I rate boldness and strength 8/10, it starts out a little peppery but quickly settles in just a hair above Medium-Full.
Overall smoking experience is 9/10, this is a solid, well-made cigar that I think fits in the wheelhouse for those who like Maduros and a well-balanced sophisticated flavor profile.
