Video Cigar Review - Drew Estate Under Crown

[asmith]

Ken tries to fool Rob again with a blind tasting. The only thing blind here are the reviewers.

[Orion21]

Not surprised. I have never liked Drew Estate. I always got the feeling it was a fanboy brand more than anything else. NEXT . . .

[stargazer14]

Classic review and sums my feelings on most NC's now.

Very entertaining boys.

[vanbellc]

I've never had an Undercrown, but I personally like the Drew Estate Liga Privada #9. I always keep some of them on hand in the humi.

[Ken Gargett]

okay, not our finest work.

smithy i dread to think what crap you had to endure when the royal dill left the machine on for all that time.

the pants are the qantas pj's. very useful around the house.

and for all his nibs bagged the cigar, it was better than one of the ones he brought around for a vid yesterday.

thanks mark, much appreciated.

[nikesupremedunk]

I've had a couple UC's and I also agree with the review. It's a "good" cigar, but not great. Construction and burn was great, but that was about it. I used to enjoy the LP9 and T52 lines for a bit, but can't seem to enjoy them anymore. Just glad I didn't buy any boxes of them.

[Lant63]

Undercrown is hands down the worst cigar in the liga privada line up. the t52 is good, no 9 is better and the unico serie are all treats to smoke.

[Skyfall]

It's amazing that as many reviews as you and Ken have done that all the World's problems aren't solved yet!

[Hollywood414]

I've started to have the same issue with NC's as Rob brought up about complexity. I have rationed up enough Cubans that I can smoke them on a more regular basis than I was once able to and the complexity and "journey" they bring is what, IMO, sets them apart from most NC. Again just my opinion but your average Cuban cigar whether it be RyJ, Partagas, whatever, delivers more at it's price than a comparably priced non cuban. I feel that in order to get complexity and balance in non cubans you have to spend a lot more money and if I'm going to spend $15 or $20 bucks a cigar it better deliver, not merely meet the standard. There are always exceptions but these are my experiences.

[stogieluver]

I've started to have the same issue with NC's as Rob brought up about complexity. I have rationed up enough Cubans that I can smoke them on a more regular basis than I was once able to and the complexity and "journey" they bring is what, IMO, sets them apart from most NC. Again just my opinion but your average Cuban cigar whether it be RyJ, Partagas, whatever, delivers more at it's price than a comparably priced non cuban. I feel that in order to get complexity and balance in non cubans you have to spend a lot more money and if I'm going to spend $15 or $20 bucks a cigar it better deliver, not merely meet the standard. There are always exceptions but these are my experiences.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[asmith]

It's amazing that as many reviews as you and Ken have done that all the World's problems aren't solved yet!

The world's problems were solved during their gibberish on the price of gold and rum. I just didn't have enough time to squeeze it all in.

[Lotusguy]

The UC is by far the worst of all the Liga Privada cigars - not surprised by this review.

[Ken Gargett]

It's amazing that as many reviews as you and Ken have done that all the World's problems aren't solved yet!

they have indeed been solved. the problem is that the solutions have not been implemented.

[jedipastor]

The UC is good, but it's their 2nd-tier cigar (think PLPC vs Cohiba). The LP#9 and T52 are much better, as are the Unicos Series (UF-13, Dirty Rat, L40, and Feral Flying Pig). And you MUST try the Herrera Esteli asap!!

Nice to see an NC review, though. If you're taking requests, try the La Palina Goldie, rolled by Maria Sierra, and the Herrera Esteli. Those will be much more "familiar" in profile to the Cuban cigar lover.

[Dimmers]

awesome work fellas, another cracker of a vid!

[Ken Gargett]

The UC is good, but it's their 2nd-tier cigar (think PLPC vs Cohiba). The LP#9 and T52 are much better, as are the Unicos Series (UF-13, Dirty Rat, L40, and Feral Flying Pig). And you MUST try the Herrera Esteli asap!!

Nice to see an NC review, though. If you're taking requests, try the La Palina Goldie, rolled by Maria Sierra, and the Herrera Esteli. Those will be much more "familiar" in profile to the Cuban cigar lover.

i think that NC reviews will be few and far between. possibly not the site for that.

[PaulP]

The UC is good, but it's their 2nd-tier cigar (think PLPC vs Cohiba). The LP#9 and T52 are much better, as are the Unicos Series (UF-13, Dirty Rat, L40, and Feral Flying Pig). And you MUST try the Herrera Esteli asap!!

Nice to see an NC review, though. If you're taking requests, try the La Palina Goldie, rolled by Maria Sierra, and the Herrera Esteli. Those will be much more "familiar" in profile to the Cuban cigar lover.

x 2

[khamy]

Can't pick what exactly it is, but it reminded me of Statler and Waldorf from 'The Muppet Show'.

[Ken Gargett]

Can't pick what exactly it is, but it reminded me of Statler and Waldorf from 'The Muppet Show'.

i wouldn't watch us.

[AndrewNR]

I tried half a dozen places to get some of that bundaberg port barrel aged No avail..

[Puros Y Vino]

Not surprised. I have never liked Drew Estate. I always got the feeling it was a fanboy brand more than anything else. NEXT . . .

I hear you Aaron. There's a lot of "fanboy'ism" around the DE brand. So much that it fosters negative associations with it. Check out the posts on Reddit.com's /r/cigars to get an idea. On the positive side, especially for you folks in the US. They're helping introduce a lot of new smokers to the hobby. And that's a good thing in terms of potential CRA members at the very least. And the industry in general. More smokers = more overall sales. Over time, their tastes should mature. When they're sick of two dimensional cigars, they'll look elsewhere.

FWIW. I've had a few Undercrowns and a couple of FFP's. They didn't do much for me. The sticks are expertly rolled, their marketing is wildly successful and effective, but the flavour profiles just don't cut it for me. I have a sampler of their higher end sticks I need to go through. I'm hoping they don't bore me to tears smoking them.

[Orion21]

Frank, I hear you BUT . . .

Drew Estate is also the main culprit when it comes to flavored cigars. The flavored cigars are what have been targeted recently by the government because they claim it attracts underage kids to start smoking. JD with the brand seem like a passionate advocates for cigar smokers in general and has a very strong following. I would love to see Rob and JD get together because I think they are two peas in a pod, one an NC pod and the other a CC pod. But beyond that I don't care for DE. I will stick to Fuente Anejo/Opus, Ashton VSG and My Father Le Bijou if I am going to smoke NC. Those are stellar cigars, even if they aren't quite CC good.

[bigharpoon]

Great review, I agree completely. It's not a dynamic cigar by any means. The UC is the same blend as the No.9 but all the leaves are one priming lower. If you want to experience the Undercrown with a little more oomph try to get a No.9 but beware, DE has been having a horrible track record lately of very poor construction and cigars exploding.

[DrunkenMonkey]

I have to take exception to the idea that a company making flavored cigars is what is bringing the strong arm of the government down on cigars. I don't smoke flavored cigars myself, and have no interest in them, but I will happily defend the company's right to make flavored cigars, and the right of their consumers to buy them. To use the word 'culprit' in this way is unfair and inaccurate, as they have done nothing wrong. Blaming flavored cigars for the industry's current persecution is like blaming a lady's short skirt for her rape.

[Habanos2000]

Thoroughly enjoyable video as usual guys. As far as NC's are concerned, I've reached a point in my cigar smoking life that if I don't have a Cuban, I won't smoke anything else.