Drew Estate Cap and Cutter Review... Sort of...

Okay, so this isn't really going to be a review of a cap and a cutter. It could be, but the review would be pretty simple: The cap is wicked cool, fits my head and I like it and it's my new favorite cap. The cutter is outstanding. Heavy stainless steel construction, blades sharper than Ginsu through an aluminum can (surely you remember the old Ginsu infomercials!), and the gorgeous Liga Privada logo on the back in gold on black. The cutter is unique in that it has what I call a backstop, which allows you to place the cigar between the blades, but stops it at just the right depth for a perfect cut. I don't know how well it would work on a torpedo, but I guarantee you that you'll never cut too much of the cap off when you use this cutter.

But onward into the real reason why I'm writing this review.

Not long ago, I was perusing my favorite cigar forum and came across a thread about the Liga Privada Flying Pig. It had some interesting photos and a description of a harrowing smoke. Basically, something had happened to this fine cigar that caused it to be spongy (enough that the thread poster could squeeze it in the middle and it looked like a squishy sausage). During the burn, he experienced what he called "small chunks of coal" lodged in the smoke.

I read through the thread at some of the replies to see what could have caused this. There were some decent explanations, but none that really were backed by any concrete evidence. However, I came across one post, a very LOOOONG post, that described in detail what the poster believed had happened to this gentleman's cigar. It was incredibly detailed and very apologetic. The post was posted by none other than Steve Saka, President of Drew Estate Cigars.

Steve explained that without actually being able to dissect the cigar himself, he could only guess at what the problem was, but based on the photos and description, he said that it was probable that "A 'bad' leaf of ligero..." had found its way into the cigar. He added that it wasn't actually a bad leaf, but a leaf that was "different than its sisters from the same crop and priming and/or texture. Different in that it, for whatever reason... resulted in it having a much higher natural resin level than other leafs of the same crop..." This, he said, was the reason for the black coals during the smoke.

Secondarily, Steve went on to talk about the possibility of the cigar missing one of the visos, but having an extra leaf of ligero in it, which would have caused the sponginess.

The post alone provided far more education about the process of creating a cigar than I have ever been privileged to read. I read through the entire post and wanted more. I'm an information whore, if you will, when it comes to cigars, and Steve's explanation and description of why was extremely informative. I would have been happy to read more.

But this wasn't even the beginning. Steve began the post (very first sentence) by apologizing for a "piss poor cigar" and in the same sentence stating, "I will personally replace the box of cigars from my personal stash since we have none left in inventory."

Did you guys and gals get that? "personally replace the box..."

I want to take a moment and reflect with everyone on this. This, my friends, is an example of pure gold customer service. Five-star, ten-out-of-ten puffs, keep me as a customer into the afterlife, customer service. So, the post shocked me from the start. It is so rare in this day and age to see customer service of this caliber. And this is what my post today is really about.

I was amazed by Steve's willingness to come into a forum of seasoned cigar smokers and not only apologize for the performance of a hand-made cigar (think about it... we're human and humans are the ones who blend and roll cigars... mistakes happen), but also make it right by sending out a box of replacements from his own stash.

At the end of his post, Steve left contact information. So, what did I do? I contacted the man. I had to. I felt he needed to hear from a customer that his actions had not only made me want to buy more of his product, but to make sure I was a customer for life, come hell or high water. So, I e-mailed him as much and I stated that I understood if he couldn't respond because I knew he was busy. I just wanted to let him know how much I appreciated what he had done.

The story doesn't end, there.

Within a few hours, my e-mail chimed. I checked it and lo-and-behold, the message was from Steve Saka. He was thankful for my words and talked a bit about what customer service means to Drew Estate and how important all of their customers are. At the end of the e-mail, he said he was going to send me a cap and cutter because "we can't have a 'customer for life' not sporting a DE hat!"

Shut the front door! (I've always wanted to say that in my blog) Don't even get me started. This guy blows my mind. I'm going to buy his cigars anyway and he's going to send me a cap and cutter to boot.

Long story short. I've since followed up with Steve and thanked him for his generosity. I also requested an e-mail interview with him. He has kindly said yes and the interview will be forthcoming and posted both here and at Puff.com.

As kind of a celebratory thing, I decided to smoke my first Liga Privada No. 9 and use my new cutter on it for its very first cut. The review will also be forthcoming, but let me tell you this... that cigar rocked my world. So much so, that if I were ever required to smoke only type of cigar for the rest of my life, the Liga Privada No. 9 tops my list to be that cigar at this point.

So, Steve Saka, thank you from the bottom of my heart. The cap kicks ass and the cutter is sharp as hell and Drew Estate will be seeing a lot of my business for the rest of my life. And guess what? If cigar smoking is allowed in the after life... you know what I'll be smoking.