Today, we review the Liga de Reyes in the Toro size from Raíces Cubanas Cigars. You are correct if you are associating this company with the acclaimed factory (officially Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.). The Raíces Cubanas factory was founded on May 3, 2003, by Romay Endemaño, his wife Maria (Lipa), and their son Hugo. Now, Hugo has teamed with Ralph Montero to launch Raíces Cubanas’ portfolio of brands, one of which Liga de Reyes is a part of. If the name Ralph Montero is familiar, for many years, he was the business partner of Alan Rubin at Alec Bradley Cigar Company. Ralph was involved in blending and brand innovation and spent much time at Raíces Cubanas Cigars. Therefore, the partnership between Hugo and him can be considered quite organic.

Liga de Reyes is one of four brands with which Raíces Cubanas has gone to market. Each of the cigars has a different profile, but all four use a wrapper grown in the Trojes region of Honduras. The Trojes region was the home to many tobaccos used in Alec Bradley blends, and it was also commonly seen as a wrapper on Alec Bradley products.

Clásico: Mild to Medium
Liga de Reyes: Medium/Medium Plus
C5 Black (Corte Cinco): Full
GRD3 (GRanD3): Large Ring Gauge

For now, we will focus on the Liga de Reyes in the Toro size and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Raíces Cubanas Liga de Reyes Toro – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend composition of Liga de Reyes features Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Similar to the wrapper, which harkens back to the Alec Bradley days, the double binder made from Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos is another nostalgic element.

Wrapper: Honduran (Trojes)
Binder: Honduran (Jamastran), Nicaraguan (Estelí)
Filler: Honduran (Four specially selected filler leaves from Trojes and Jamastra)
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.

Vitolas Offered

Five regular production cigars in the Liga de Reyes line come in 21-count boxes. There is also a limited edition Salomon that comes in ten-count boxes with production limited to 2,000 boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Belicoso: 5 1/2 x 52
Toro: 6 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 50
Gordo: 6 x 60
Salomon: 6 1/2 x 58 (Limited Edition)

Appearance (*)

The Trojes wrapper of the Liga de Reyes Toro had a cinnamon color. There was a light amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. The surface of the wrapper also had a slight amount of mottling to it. In addition, the surface of the wrapper was slightly bumpy. Some visible veins were also present. Any wrapper seams were minimally visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Liga de Reyes Toro, a straight cut removed the cap. After removing the cap, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of baker’s spices, dusty earth, and some fruit sweetness. Overall, this was an excellent pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the Liga de Reyes Toro and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Liga de Reyes Toro opened up with more notes of baker’s spice, fruit, and earth. In addition, there were notes of wood and mixed pepper present. There was no dominant note during the early part of the first third. The wood notes took a slight edge by the midway point of the first third. The baker’s spice, fruit, earth, and pepper settled in the background. Meanwhile, there was a combination of cedar and a slight fruit sweetness on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Liga de Reyes Toro opened with the wood notes primary, but as the cigar experience moved through the second third, there was an increase in the wood and pepper, and the fruit notes diminished. By midway, the earth notes joined the wood in the forefront. The pepper continued to slowly increase in intensity, with the baker’s spice and fruit rounding out the notes.

The final third saw the pepper notes close in on the wood and earth notes. There still was enough going on with the secondary notes of fruit and baker’s spice to keep things interesting. This is the way the Liga de Reyes Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The construction was fantastic on each of the Liga de Reyes Toro samples I smoked, and this was reflected in the burn and draw. The cigar maintained a straight burn line and straight burn path from start to finish, not requiring excessive touch-ups. The resulting ash had a salt-and-pepper complexion. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it was not a loose or flaky ash either. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were maintained at ideal levels.

Draw

The Liga de Reyes Toro’s draw had a touch of resistance to it. If you have read any of my assessments, you will know that this is my preference for a draw. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

Regarding strength and body, the Liga de Reyes Toro started out with medium strength and medium-bodied notes. There is a gradual increase in intensity of both attributes throughout the first half. Just past the midway point, the strength and body processed into the medium to full territory. The intensity increase of both attributes levels off in the second half.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

While I like the font and logo of the Liga de Reyes, there are two things I would have liked to see: 1) a smaller band; 2) a background other than white. On the other hand, I like black boxes and would have liked to see the bands match that color.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Liga de Reyes was my first foray into the new Raices Cubanas brand, and I must say I was pretty impressed. I mentioned some of the references to Alec Bradley with the Trojes tobacco and double binder, so it’s fair to say this cigar is relatively close to the wheelhouse of some Alec Bradley cigars. At the same time, it still has its own identity, particularly with some sweet notes. The Toro size was enjoyable from start to finish. The excellent construction of the Liga de Reyes Toro is a strong indicator of the quality of work produced by the factory. I highly recommend this cigar to any cigar enthusiast, especially novices looking to transition to something in the medium-plus range. Priced at $10.65, it is also quite appealing in today’s market. Overall, this is a cigar that I would definitely buy and enjoy again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Earth, Fruit, Pepper, Baker’s Spice, Cedar, Earth
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good