BDL Balthazar Liga 12 Edited

BDL Balthazar Liga 12 Habano robusto cigar band resembles LFD so much I’d be concerned about copyright infringement if I were Raymond Pages. But then I’m not an attorney nor do I play one on television. And I’m sure Pages has some excellent legal counsel in his business arsenal. Still…take a quick look at the band and tell me you don’t see the LFD logo.

I became curious about the brand for two reasons – Raymond Pages’ background and hia other brands and watching cigar sales online. When a brand/series sells out quickly and often, it could be that someone knows this cigar pretty well and scoops it up when it’s discounted – or I could be falling into a marketing manipulation trap. For an investment of $3.50, I’ll take the chance.

Reviewing cigars at the high end and low end of the cost spectrum is not often easy. Even if you try, you can’t take price and brand recognition and reputation completely out of the equation. Maybe we’ll develop AI technology to accomplish that someday. For now…

I can offer this. BDL Balthazar Liga 12 Habano is a medium body, medium strength cigar with surprisingly good construction. See, that was a comparison to price point and recognition/reputation. I can’t help it. It is well constructed with a very good draw, a thin even burn line, generous smoke output, and thick grey ash that holds on tight to an inch and a fraction.

The flavors are minimal, but include pepper, spice, oak. coffee and a splash of sweetness in the range of honey or graham crackers (honey grahams?). There are really no other notes, so no transition or complexity. But, the flavors work together with enough balance for an enjoyable smoke.

I’m sure an AJ Fernandez protege striking out on his own wouldn’t want his work characterized as budget or value buys. At around $3.50 a stick the BDL Liga 12 is in well within that price point range. I will also say this is a very good value, price to quality.

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