Cigar Review: Drew Estate Papas Fritas

Short Corona, 4.5” x 44 ring gauge / ~$6 each, bought in tin of 4

“These cigars are made out of rat droppings and pig shit!” Yes, I heard that description of the latest Unico Series release from Drew Estate, Papas Fritas. I won’t reveal the store (although you could probably guess) or the person who said it (you probably couldn’t guess that unless you knew them all), but he wasn’t far off in some ways. The person in charge of marketing at Drew Estate put it a little more elegantly on the back of the tin: “Handcrafted entirely from only the chaveta cuts of our extra dark Broadleaf capa and the rare, Grade A1 filler tobacco trimmings created by the production of our famed Liga Privada blends....” So being a mixed filler cigar created by using up some of the trimmings of other LP cigars, this could include castoff pieces of Dirty Rat and Flying Pig cigars, so...”rat droppings and pig shit.” Indeed. By the way, the customer did buy those cigars. And I bought a tin, too; this review sample is the last of my original purchase (I’ve bought more since then...guess you can tell where this review is going). Legend is that the filler of these cigars is trimmings from LP No. 9s, the binder if Brazilian Mata Fina and the wrapper is Connecticut Broadleaf. They are named in honor of one of Steve Saka’s favorite foods, French Fries (that’s not legend...it’s on the box).

Let’s start with presentation: truly a unique way to sell cigars: a wooden sleeve with metal tins inside it. The wooden sleeve acts as the perfect vehicle for a shop to set on the counter for impulse sales. The metal boxes hinge at the bottom and have a cool embossed LP logo that is actually part of the second piece, wrapping around the cigars as they lay in the tin, so they don’t fall out (this box also fits MUWAT Baitfish perfectly, by the way...don’t throw it away, it’s a great way to carry short smokes around). Each of the Papas Fritas is individually cellophane wrapped and has a foot band that is a take-off on the standard Liga Privada banding. The wrapper of this lil stogie is dark brown and quite oily; the cap is finished off in a short pigtail, tightly spun and cut to a specific length, creating a unique look. It will be hard to mistake any other cigar for this one...at least until imitators have their way. The wrapper had a strong aroma of manure-y earth and leather; the foot had more earth, a little spice and a touch of cinnamon. After cutting, I picked up on cedar notes and some forest-y touches. 

The Papas Fritas lit up quickly with savory notes of hickory BBQ, cedar, and pepper spice. That latter came through especially well on the retrohale. I noticed this small Liga Privada pouring out a prodigious volume of smoke...just like every other LP, for that matter. The same guy who was quoted above about what this cigar was made of asked me, "Would you think that was a mixed filler stick?" At the time I had been smoking it for about 5 minutes (about the same as I have today during this review), so I hadn't gotten to the point of ashing yet. I told him, "I'm not sure the mixed filler part has much to do with the flavor, but I can say it would be a bad idea to enter a long-ash contest with one of these." Flavor comes from the quality of the leaf in the cigar, not the length of it, and the flavor of this small stick was just great. (At least I don't believe flavor comes from whether the filler is long, medium or short...but I learn new things all the time! If someone out has informed knowledge otherwise, I'd love to hear it.)

As I burned into the second third, though, I did note how unlike many mixed-filler cigars this Papas Fritas was. Notably: construction was fantastic! I had a very straight burn line, a relatively strong ash that held on for 1/3 of an inch or so, and a fantastic draw with little if anything in the way of chewing tobacco extras. So if someone complains about $6 for a short mixed filler smoke, you can just tell them this it doesn't really perform like a mixed filler smoke and they should just consider it a very inexpensive Liga Privada. Speaking of which, the flavor was pure LP at this point: dark, smoky, woody, earthy, and still lots of spice coming through.

The Papas Fritas I've smoked were all good enough to take down to the nub and this one was no different. A complex mix of sweet chocolate, dark coffee, earth and cedar flavors finished off this little cigar in grand fashion. Not bad for a cigar made with the trimmings of other cigars...of course, those "other cigars" are some of the best sticks showing up at your local retailer, too, so maybe it shouldn't be taken as a surprise. This really does get the essence of a Liga Privada cigar down to an affordable range, even better than the Undercrown in my opinion. It's great to see Drew Estate doing everything they can think of with the tobacco they are buying for their top line products and know that very little, if anything, is going to waste. This Unico series Liga Privada was full-bodied, but not so full of nicotine, mostly due to the small size, so it might be a good one for those smokers who want to try full-bodied sticks without getting their butts kicked. It is also a great short smoke for those cold winter days for those of us who have to smoke outside. In fact, it is my new favorite short smoke.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 8/10

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