Drew Estate Cigars: The Story of Liga Privada, Undercrown, and Estelí Artistry

Founded in 1996 by college friends Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel, Drew Estate disrupted the traditional, conservative cigar landscape with urban street art aesthetics, innovative fermentation techniques, and legendary boutique lines like Liga Privada and Undercrown.

Operating out of La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua, one of the largest hand-rolling cigar factories on earth, the brand is renowned for producing enormous volumes of dense, aromatic, thick white smoke.

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1. The Liga Privada Phenomenon

Originally blended strictly for the personal smoking pleasure of Drew Estate executives (Liga Privada translates to “Private Blend”), the recipe was so extraordinary that it was released to the public in limited allocations:

• Liga Privada No. 9: Draped in an ultra-oily, fermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a Brazilian Mata Fina binder and Honduran/Nicaraguan fillers. Notes of dark chocolate fudge, rich earth, espresso, and sweet black pepper.
• Liga Privada T52: Features a stalk-cut American Habano wrapper cultivated in the Connecticut River Valley, providing bold baking spice, leather, oak, and espresso.

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2. Undercrown: Born on the Factory Floor

When factory rollers were asked to limit their personal consumption of rare Liga Privada leaves, they ingeniously blended alternative primings and vintage stocks into an everyday smoke for the rolling room floor.

The result was Undercrown Maduro, an instant classic featuring a Mexican San Andrés wrapper with notes of roasted coffee, dark cocoa, and sweet cream.

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Explore our full inventory of Nicaraguan Handmades at Ray’s Cigars.

Frequently asked questions

How did the Drew Estate cigar company start?

Drew Estate was founded in 1996 by Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel from a tiny 16-square-foot retail kiosk in the World Trade Center in New York City before Jonathan moved to Nicaragua to start rolling cigars.

What is the story behind the Undercrown blend?

When factory rollers at Drew Estate were asked to smoke fewer rare Liga Privada No. 9 cigars to preserve inventory, they created their own alternative blend using similar Connecticut Habano and Brazilian Mata Fina leaves, which became the world-famous Undercrown.

What wrapper leaf is used on the Liga Privada No. 9?

Liga Privada No. 9 is draped in a jet-black, oily Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper fermented for over 18 months.