Cigar Review: Drew Estate Feral Flying Pig

Perfecto, 5.375" x 60 ring gauge / approx. $16.99, Maxamar's Cigars

When I heard Jonathan Drew first talking about this cigar last year I was definitely interested in trying it out. He said it would be very strong and that sounds good to me. This release of the Flying Pig is the third installment started by the No. 9 Flying Pig a couple years ago followed up by the T-52 Flying Pig. There are two major differences that I'm aware of between this cigar and the previous two the most obvious is the size. The Feral Pig is at least an inch longer than the other two. The other difference is that this is a blend of both the No. 9 and T-52. The cigar is comprised of Nicaraguan filler, a Brazilian Mata Fina binder, all covered in a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. They come packed in 10 count boxes. This was the second one of these cigars I smoked.

The CT broadleaf maduro wrapper on these cigars is definitely one of the better looking wrappers out there in my opinion. The color is a nice medium dark color with a slight amount of darker mottling. The veins that are present are fine with a few mediums ones scattered around. The wrapper feels quite oily to the touch. The wrapper also has a nice thick leathery feel to it as well. I can't help but thinking about a nice pork sausage when looking at this cigar. When I gave the cigar a squeeze I wasn't able to detect any soft spots and there was only a slight amount of give. Putting my nose to the wrapper I get the scent of cedar with barnyard coming from the foot. After I clip off the coiled pigtail cap and take a cold draw on it I get the slight taste of unsweetened chocolate with a great draw.

As soon as I light this cigar up I get a blast of chocolate, leather, and black pepper spice on the tongue. The retrohale has quite a good amount of spice to it, but it wasn't overwhelming. After taking a few more puffs on it I get notes of cinnamon and earth. As with all of the Ligas there was a lot of aromatic resting smoke. The draw was pretty much perfect while the burn was slightly wavy. The off-white ash held on for about three quarters of an inch before needing to be tapped off. I would say this cigar started off full bodied while at the upper end of medium in strength.

I didn't notice a lot of change in the flavors as I moved into the second third. That definitely wasn't a bad thing as I was enjoying the cocoa, leather and earth flavors I was getting. One thing I'll note is the spice didn't die down like it does in the second third on a lot of cigars. By the end of this third I started to get a slight sweetness on the finish.

Once I got to the final third the spice and strength did start to build to above where it was in the first third. The cigar finished with the flavors of semi-sweet chocolate, leather, and cinnamon. I did get a strange flavor for a few puffs, sort of a dry cedar. It wasn't unpleasant, just different. The draw continued to be perfect while the burn was slightly wavy, but nothing that bad or needing correction.

Overall I was very impressed with this cigar. The flavors, while not the most complex, were excellent and very enjoyable. The construction on both the samples I had was nearly perfect, which is something you'd hope to get in a limited edition and more expensive cigar. I was slightly disappointing that it didn't send me reeling like the hype said it would, lol. I would classify this at the bottom end of full in body and strength though. I will say if you like any of the Ligas you need to find at least one of these cigars and give them a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10