Liga Undercrown Maduro Gran Toro Review
Filed under: Brazil · Coffee & Cigars · Ligero / Seco / Viso · Maduro Is a Process · Mexico · Nicaragua · The Ash · Retrohale · San Andrés · Strength vs Body · The Draw · The Nub · What Cigars Cost · Bitter Cigar?
Verdict: The Liga Undercrown Maduro Gran Toro is a Five-Pack (3/4) at about $11 street... leather, coffee and a sweet cream finish that gets you a lot of what makes the Liga Privada No. 9 good, on construction I never once had to babysit, but once the final third turns earthy there's just not quite enough sweetness to make it a box for me. I can see why people rave about this cigar.
- Brand
- Drew Estate
- Line
- Liga Undercrown Maduro
- Vitola
- Gran Toro
- Size
- 6 x 52
- Wrapper
- Mexican San Andrés maduro
- Binder
- Connecticut stalk-cut Habano
- Filler
- Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano
- Made in
- Nicaragua
- Factory
- Drew Estate (Estelí)
- Strength
- Mild-medium building to medium-full
- Street price
- $11
Undercrown is the Drew Estate story everybody tells: Liga Privada was in such demand that the rollers at the factory in Estelí were told to stop smoking it while they rolled, so they blended their own, and Drew Estate ended up releasing it. The retailer listings put the Maduro at a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper over a Connecticut stalk-cut Habano binder, with Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano filler. It gets compared to the Liga Privada No. 9 constantly, and after this one I understand why.
The Setup
- Cigar: Liga Undercrown Maduro, Gran Toro, 6 x 52. Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper, Connecticut stalk-cut Habano binder, Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano filler. Made by Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua.
- Street price: about $11 a single online, which is also the list price. Cigars International lists the five-pack at $55 ($51.99 on sale), and a box of 25 runs about $226 online, right around $9 a stick.
- What I paid: $10.66 for a single, ordered online in July 2025. My own money.
- Storage: the Herf-a-Dor at 69% RH, resting about 15 months.
- When/where: lit at 1:49 on a Sunday afternoon on my back deck, with a fire going in the outdoor fireplace. 63°, feels like 66, 39% humidity, no wind at all to start and a slight breeze later.
- Smoke time: just about two hours, down to the nub.
- Food beforehand: a Polish sausage sub on a hoagie roll with butter, a San Pellegrino and a couple of cups of coffee about two hours before, then three plain water crackers about 15 minutes before I lit it, to get my palate as clean as possible.
- First cigar of the day, paired with water. Cut with the Xikar XO, lit with my Guevara Lux single torch.
Light Up and First Third
It has a single cap, and a pretty small one. The wrapper isn't toothy. It's a dark brown with pretty prominent veins, that rustic look. The foot band was on, and the foot was slightly squished, but the band did its job: no cracking, and a well-packed foot. I took as little off the cap as I could with the Xikar XO because there isn't much cap to work with, and it was a pretty clean cut. The draw was slightly tight, but not bad.
On the toast and the very first draws I got a dark chocolate, a bitter chocolate. Not the cigar being bitter, that kind of chocolate flavor, along with a bit of a chili spice.
After the toast, a single draw gave a little of that chili still, some leather, cream, and a tiny bit of black coffee, with good smoke production even on a single draw. A double draw had more intense chili and leather, only a tiny bit of coffee, and a nice creaminess that sits on your palate. The retrohale was a mild chili pepper, but it hits you in the back of your throat, like a good spicy sandwich where it isn't heat on your palate so much as something you feel in the back of your throat. Then some chocolate, leather, and a tiny bit of coffee, and the creaminess that comes out on the long finish is much more intense on the retro. Very nice.
A quarter inch in, the burn line was wavy, but no one side was racing ahead of the other, so I wasn't worried about it. The draw was still a bit snug. I had a draw tool sitting right beside me, so it wasn't laziness that kept me from grabbing it; it just wasn't tight enough to need one. It was only tighter than I want.
About half an inch in, every once in a while a single or a double draw gave a baking spice flavor. Very pleasant, and it doesn't stick around for long. The other thing I noticed is a bitterness to this cigar. It doesn't linger and it doesn't bite your palate. It's relatively smooth, a bitter tone in that leather and coffee realm. Not a bitter or biting earth. At the start it had been that strong dark bitter chocolate. It wasn't unpleasant, it was just there, and I wasn't sure yet whether it would fatigue my palate or just add to the nuance. The finish on a single or a double draw was a sweet cream. Not strong or overpowering, but not something you have to search for either, just a nice creamy sweetness that lingers on your palate.
Strength at this point was in that mild to medium category. Not mild, but definitely not a full medium yet.
The burn was decent and the ash was pretty good: tight, no flyers. It was a little crooked, because I had the slow side on the bottom and it wasn't catching up at all, just staying consistent. I had about an inch of ash on it and wasn't worried about it falling, because it looked solid.
On a single draw, the chili spice was gone. It was a bitter leather, a little bit of coffee, and a tiny bit of cream on the finish, a little less cream than before but definitely there. On a double draw, the bitterness hits your palate first, then dies down, the leather and coffee come out, and the finish is a sweet cream, but a dark sweet cream, more leather and coffee than cream. Excellent smoke production throughout. The retrohale still had that spice in the back of the throat, maybe a little above mild and not overwhelming, and not on the sinuses at all. Then a little bitterness, a lot of leather, a little black coffee, and a very mild sweet cream that sits on your palate on the finish.
At the end of the first third the ash came off whole and stayed together in the tray. It had a very nice point, just a hair closer to the slow side of the cigar, which may be why that side was burning a touch slow. I barely touched it up to get it even. That was the first touch-up.
Second Third
With that ash off, a single draw had the bitterness way down, to very little or none. It was mostly leather now, with a stronger coffee and a stronger cream on the finish. On a double draw, the bitterness builds a little, gradually, then falls off pretty quick and leaves you with leather, coffee, and a very light sweet cream. The retrohale changed: now it was a pretty clean white pepper, and you feel it on your sinuses instead of the back of your throat. Then a heavy leather, not bitterness but just shy of it, a decently strong black coffee note, and a very light sweet cream that lingers on your palate between draws.
A quarter inch into the second third, I couldn't help comparing it to the Liga Privada No. 9. I totally understand why people call this the cheaper version of the No. 9. It's not as good as the No. 9, from what I remember, and it's been a little while since I've smoked one. It's also not purely in my lane, because I tend to like cigars with more sweetness. But this has a bit of that sweetness in the cream finish. It's not as prominent as in my favorites, but I don't need a sweet cigar to like it. I just need some sweetness in it so it doesn't wreck my palate with fatigue.
The smoke production isn't quite as much as the No. 9, but it reminds me of it. And I don't have to babysit it, which is great. I can do a single draw, wait a minute or two, do another single, wait a minute, wait 30 seconds, do a double draw, and I never felt like I had to balance my single and double draws.
Since I ashed it at the end of the first third, the burn had basically been great. Not quite razor sharp, but close. I still had the slower side on the bottom and hadn't rotated it at all, and it was burning very consistently. The ash was pretty tight, no flyers at all, with a nice point from the ligero in the center.
That leather, coffee, little bit of bitterness and cream profile reminds me a lot of the No. 9. If someone handed me both, I'd take the No. 9, but only by a little. If I'm buying my own, at about $11 for this and $18 for the No. 9, I'm looking at two No. 9s against three of these, and that's a really good argument for this cigar. That's not a knock on it at all. I like it, and I'm enjoying it. I can understand why it's a little less than the No. 9, and I can also understand why people love it. By the box it works out to right around $9 a stick, and if you smoke a couple of cigars a day, that's a strong argument for this one over the No. 9 purely from a budget standpoint.
Half an inch into the middle third, a single draw gave a lot of leather, a little coffee, and a heavier sweet cream finish. The smoke texture on this has been very creamy. On a double draw it's leather first, then a bitterness that climbs, peaks, and drops off pretty fast, then coffee with that leather and a lighter cream than on a single draw. So they kind of swap: heavier leather, a little bitterness and less cream on a double, leather, coffee and heavier cream on a single. The retrohale had a very light white pepper, almost nonexistent now, and for the first time I got a little nuttiness, along with a light leather, light coffee, and a mild sweet cream that sat there through all of it.
Nearing the end of the second third, the burn line was still a bit wavy, consistently on that same side. I'd barely rotated it at all. The flavor had been consistent and hadn't changed very much. The one change was that by the end of the second third it was leather, earth, and coffee, and the cream had died down to nearly nonexistent on a single draw. A double draw was the same profile with stronger leather, stronger earth, stronger coffee, and no cream that I was picking up. The retrohale was very light, maybe a bit of a black pepper now that there was some earthiness to it, with leather, earth and a touch of coffee mostly overtaken by the earthiness, and that light, mild sweet cream just hanging out on your palate.
I ashed it, and the ash stayed together completely when I knocked it off, same as at the end of the first third. I touched up just the one side that was burning a little slow. That was the second and last touch-up.
That ligero in the center was still a nice point, and decently prominent. A lot of times, by the final third, that point is flatter across, but this one was still pretty prominent, and still sitting just slightly toward the side that was burning slowly. I'm not a rolling expert by any stretch, but my assumption is that's why that one side was consistently a touch slow. Not dramatically, just slightly angled.
Final Third
After that ash came off, a single draw was leather, earthiness, a bit of coffee, and a light cream on the finish. That's nice. On a double draw the earthiness was the prominent tone, then leather, a little black coffee, and only a whisper of that cream. The retrohale had almost no spice at all: leather and earth intertwined as the primary note, then a little coffee and a very light, very mild cream. Still great smoke production.
At this point I was already thinking about what to pair it with. At this price and this quality, I'd be pretty happy throwing a five-pack of these in my humidor. It is slightly more earthy than I would typically want, but so far it had kept enough sweetness to stay pretty enjoyable for me. With a latte or a cappuccino, where you get that creaminess from the milk, or a breve if you like the cream instead, I think that earthiness is light enough that you wouldn't really notice it. I bet that would be a really good pairing.
Then I did a pretty long double draw for no particular reason, and it was still that earth and leather with some coffee, but with a good amount of sweet cream on the finish. Very pleasant.
About three quarters of an inch into the final third, I tried something. Normally I blow about half the smoke out of my mouth and retrohale the rest. This time I retrohaled the entire draw to see how much pepper was on it. It's a lot of black pepper, but it doesn't blow your sinuses off, and that black pepper hangs out for a bit. My eyes watered a little, and I wouldn't call it comfortable, so I don't really recommend that much of a retro. But under it you get a lot of leather and a lot of cream, which was really nice, and no earthiness at all. I think the pepper just pushes everything else out. With my normal half-and-half retrohale, it's a mild black pepper that isn't doing anything to your sinuses, with leather and a heavy cream. Very pleasant.
A single draw at that point was leather, some earth, some black coffee, with cream mixed through the whole thing. A double draw had earth as the primary note, then leather, a little cream, and some coffee on the finish. The burn line was still a bit wavy and slightly slow on that one side, but not enough that I'd touch it up. Phenomenal smoke production, and the smoke texture was still very creamy.
The strength had been building. About halfway through the final third I'd call it medium-full. It wasn't knocking me over, but it was definitely more on the full side, from mild to mild-medium at the start. By then the burn wasn't really slow on one side anymore, just a little wavy. And I could put my fingers maybe an eighth of an inch behind the burn line. It was warm, maybe even hot, but I could hold it there as long as I wanted. Great construction from that side of it.
I had to walk away for two or three minutes. When I came back, one puff and I had full smoke production. This isn't one you have to baby and worry about, wondering how recently you drew on it or whether you're drawing too much or too little. Just great quality.
The burn line had basically self-corrected the entire way around. Still a hair wavy, but pretty straight all the way around.
At the very end, a single draw was leather and earth mixed together, with the earth slightly more prominent, coffee for sure, and only a hint of sweetness, and that hint is what I'm looking for. A double draw was really just earth and leather, with a quick hint of spice in there, not a pepper, almost like a baking spice, gone so fast I can't tell you specifically what it was. The retrohale was a medium black pepper, not blowing your sinuses off by any stretch, with earth and leather together and a cream at the end. Great smoke production, definitely above average. Not to the level of the No. 9, but great.
Even basically at the end, a single draw put no heat on my lips at all. A double draw put just a touch of heat on my lips at the very end of the second pull. Heat is not an issue on this cigar. I took a few more draws until there wasn't enough left to hold on to and still draw, then ashed it and set the nub in the ashtray.
Where that ligero point had been, there was now a slight indent, slightly concave. That's probably because I walked away for a few minutes and came back to it still burning great.
Construction
- Wrapper: dark brown, not toothy, pretty prominent veins, rustic-looking. A small single cap. The foot was slightly squished under the foot band, but there was no cracking and the foot was well packed. Clean cut with the Xikar XO, taking as little off the cap as I could.
- Draw: slightly snug the whole way, but never tight enough to need the draw tool sitting beside me.
- Burn: wavy early, with one side a touch slow that stayed slow through most of the cigar, probably because the ligero sat slightly toward that side. It self-corrected to nearly straight in the final third. Two touch-ups (end of the first third and end of the second), no relights. I walked away for a few minutes late and came back to full smoke on the first puff. No heat problems: I could hold my fingers about an eighth of an inch behind the burn line, and a single draw put no heat on my lips even at the nub.
- Ash: tight with no flyers, and it held about an inch through the first third without me worrying about it. All three ashes stayed together after I knocked them off, with a prominent ligero point.
- Smoke output: good from the first single draw, excellent through the middle, phenomenal late, with a very creamy texture the whole way. Not quite No. 9 volume, but above average.
Bottom Line
This is a leather and coffee cigar with a sweet cream finish that never fully went away. The first third opens with dark bitter chocolate and chili spice and carries a smooth bitterness that never bit. Once the first ash came off, that bitterness dropped way down and the cream got stronger. In the second third it settled into leather, a stronger coffee, a creamy smoke texture and a sweet cream finish, with a quick touch of nuttiness on the retro. The final third turns earthier, and that earth is the one thing that isn't fully my lane, but it never killed the cream, so there was always a little sweetness in there for me.
Construction is the other half of the story. Two touch-ups, no relights, no heat, ash that held in solid blocks, smoke whenever I wanted it, and a cigar that didn't care whether I paced it. It reminds me a lot of the No. 9. It isn't quite the No. 9, and it doesn't have the No. 9's smoke volume, but the core of it, leather, dark coffee, a little bitterness and cream, is right there, at about $11 against $18.
Would I smoke it again? Five-Pack (3/4). I'd be very happy with five of these sitting in my humidor. It's not a box-worthy cigar for me, mainly because I'd like a little more sweetness out of it, and in the final third that earthiness came forward. But I'd definitely put five of these in my humidor and be happy about it, and I can totally see why people rave about this cigar at its price.
Best for: a No. 9 fan watching the budget, or an everyday smoker who wants leather, coffee and cream from a cigar that doesn't need babysitting. Pair it with a latte, a cappuccino or a breve to lean into the cream and soften the earth.
My scale, one question only... would I spend my own money on this again? 4 Box Buy (box on hand, always) / 3 Five-Pack (yes, a few live in the humidor) / 2 Hand-Me-One (wouldn't buy it, wouldn't turn one down) / 1 Not Even Free (I'd rather smoke nothing).
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