Cigar Review: Herrera Estelí TAA 2016 by Drew Estate

• Vitola: Toro
• 6” x 52 ring gauge
• MSRP $12
• Samples provided by Drew Estate

Background

In early March, Drew Estate announced that they had made a special version of the Herrera Estelí for TAA-affiliated stores. If you haven’t heard of the TAA, the Tobacconist Association of America is a group of about 70 stores nationwide that formed a private association with its own trade show and gatherings. There are several dozen manufacturers that are part of the organization, as well, and every year many of them produce TAA-specific blends or special sizes of current blends.

The Herrera Estelí TAA differs quite a bit from the regular Herrera Estelí line. Both releases show the fillers as “Nicaraguan,” although that leaves quite a bit of room for change. Do they share a common filler blend? I don’t know and it’s not mentioned anywhere…but let’s assume it’s the same or somewhat similar. What isn’t even close is the binder and wrapper. The regular release uses a Honduran binder and Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, while this TAA release use a Brazilian Mata Fina binder and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. It’s probably not a coincidence that this is the same binder/wrapper combo used on the Liga Privada #9 line. I’m NOT saying this uses the same binder/wrapper as that line…it could very well be different primings or different fermentation and aging times…BUT it is “on paper” the same combo.

Drew Estate Master Blender, Willy Herrera .had this to say about this new line:

This is my first blend since joining Drew Estate that utilizes Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco…I’ve been experimenting with blends that incorporate this incredible wrapper since coming on board and finally have a blend I’m really excited about. I think anyone who’s a fan of my blends will definitely appreciate this cigar. Spicy, meaty, and rich — get ready!”

I purchased and smoked two samples of this cigar at Burns before I got two more in the mail, provided by Drew Estate. This review is based on the second of those two from DE…so this is really the fourth time I’ve smoked this blend…so that might tell you something about how this cigar will score before you even go any further.

Prelight

The banding for this release is kind of a reverse from the regular line with white type on a red background instead of red type on white. I think this is the same motif used for the Riverside Cigars Herrera Estelí exclusive, so this could be the easy way to differentiate something that is a special release from the line. The secondary band matches in color and style and just says “TAA EXCLUSIVE” on it.

The wrapper leaf is very similar in appearance to the many, many Liga Privada #9s I see sold at the shop every day…it was dark brown, with some apparent vein protrusion and a nice oiliness to the touch. The aroma from it was a mix of earth and leather and natural tobacco. From the foot, I got a more pungent earthiness with a little natural sweetness in the mix, as well. The prelight draw was very good. I picked up flavors of dried fruit, cedar, and leather on the cold draw.

Flavor

The Herrera Estelí TAA blasts off with strong earth and cocoa powder flavors, followed up by lesser notes of leather, anise and black pepper. The retrohale featured a strong pepper burn, as well as more leather and some roasted nuttiness. As the first third burned along, I noted that the body was medium-to-full and that the pepper dissipated pretty quickly, leaving just a very pleasant sweetness and earthiness in the profile.

In the second third, the sweetness only grew more prevalent, with dark chocolate notes right up front while earth, anise, and espresso brought up the rear. The retro was more nutty than before and had some sweeter notes mixed in as well. The smoke production from the Herrera Estelí TAA was phenomenal, with it chugging out huge clouds of fragrant smoke constantly.

The final third had more chocolate and earth up front, with coffee notes bringing up the rear and a slight resurgence of peppery notes.

Construction

The draw was near perfect. The burn line had to be corrected a few times, which is fairly typical with Broadleaf wrapper. The ash was solid.

Value

The pricing on this splits the difference between the Herrera Estelí and Liga Privada #9 lines, so I would say it represents good value.

Conclusions

Do you like the Herrera Estelí? Do you also like the Liga Privada #9? Then you’ll like this cigar, which is sort of a mash-up of the two. It had a little less body than a LP #9, but more than the regular Herrera Estelí release. It chugged out smoke like an LP #9 and had lots of sweetness overlaying earthier flavors. And it was pretty fantastic when all is said and done. There weren’t many of these made and they won’t be around forever, so get them while you can.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10