What do factories do with all those extra small trimmings and pieces of tobacco left over after rolling a beautiful all long filler cigar? Sometimes they sell it off, sometimes they throw it away, but sometimes they use it to create mixed filler cigars like the H99 Papas Fritas. Mixed fillers are cigars that use a combination of long fill whole leaf and cut up bits of leaf as well. In the case of the H99 the wrapper, and binder are whole leaf tobacco, and a few pieces of filler are whole leaf tobacco to keep the pieces from falling out, but a majority of the filler is small bits of tobacco that have been sliced off from previous H99 vitolas. In most cases mixed filler cigars use cheaper fillers and throw in random scraps, but the H99 Papas Fritas uses the same quality tobacco used in the rest of the H99 vitolas but is just too small or left over from the rolling process.

Under the Lid

The H99 Papas Fritas box is nice and compact like the cigar with a lot of the natural wood of the box being showcased and a branding of the Liga Privada lion and the words H99 Papas Fritas. The cigar itself is simple with just a foot band that has a white background with red “papas fritas” written around it. There is a small little twist at the head that pokes out of the cap. The wrapper is a rich reddish brown with lots of mottling and a rustic feel. The wrapper seams are tight and there seems to be no major issues.

• Wrapper: U.S.A Connecticut Corojo Seed
• Binder: Mexico
• Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, U.S.A
• Vitola: 4 1/2 x 44
• Factory: La Gran Fábrica Drew Estate
• Release Date: June 2023
• Number of boxes released: Regular Production
• MSRP: $7.50 ($187.50 for a Box of 25)

I usually straight cut all my cigars but one sample of the Papas Fritas I decided to twist off the little bit of tobacco sticking out leaving a little hole and most of the cap intact, and this greatly reduced the amount of little tobacco pieces on my lips and tongue when cold drawing. The cold draw offers notes of fig and pepper spice. The wrapper offers aromas of mild basement mustiness, and the foot has barnyard hay and mild pepper spice.

Performance Notes:

First Third: On light up the H99 Papas Fritas opens up with black pepper spice, oak, and leather. All three flavors are well balanced without any one note majorly overpowering the other. A few puffs into the first third the nuance and background notes of red bell pepper and a mild honey like sweetness, with a hint of saltiness on the lips come into the profile. As usual, but should still be noted, there is huge amounts of smoke production for such a small ring gauge cigar. The black pepper spice pulls back just a slight bit and allows oak and leather to be a bit more upfront, with the oak note taking on a creaminess in texture. The first third ends consistent with those core notes of oak, leather, black pepper spice, red bell pepper, and honey like sweetness. I get the saltiness after a lick of my lips and give them a light smack together. The finish is medium with oak and leather, the retrohale contributes notes of pepper spice and oak, and the palate stimulation is right down the middle of the tongue and into the back of the mouth.

Second Third: The second third opens up with some pepper spice, oak, leather and an earthy notes that play in harmony during each puff, the bell pepper note falls away, but a mild citrus note comes in and the honey sweetness develops into a nougat like sweetness with the underlying nuttiness. Closing into the halfway point a mild cocoa note rounds out the profile. The end of the second third holds strong with the oak leather and earth ramping up a bit covering up a bit of the nuance during some puffs, the cocoa and nougat note still appear on the occasional puff. The finish is medium with oak and almond skins, the retrohale offers pepper spice and oak, the palate stimulation is middle of the tongue and back of the palate.

Final Third: The final third begins with toasted oak, leather, earth, and pepper spice with the occasional cocoa and mild generic sweetness. As it continues the nuance slowly becomes a bit overpowered by those core flavors of toasted oak, leather, earth, and pepper spice. The rest of the final third continues consistently with the core complexity and does not waver away from that. The finish is medium with oak, the retro offers pepper spice, and the palate stimulation is middle and back of the tongue.

Core Flavors: Oak, Pepper Spice, Leather, Earth, Honey and Nougat like Sweetness, Cocoa

Strength: Medium

Body: Medium +

Complexity: Medium +

Smokin Experience: The Liga Privada H99 Papas Fritas is a compact blast of flavor with delicious core notes of oak, pepper, leather, and earth with nice transitions and nuances through the smoking experience. Like many delicious small cigars, you feel like lighting up another one right away. I would recommend this cigar to anyone looking for a bit of a shorter smoke and enjoys nice balanced but rich flavors. An experienced or beginner smoker can enjoy this cigar with no problem. Construction wise the cigar performed very well with no relights or touch ups and relatively straight burn line.

Purchase Recommendation: Box Purchase

Smokin Facts:

• The last Papas Fritas, Liga Privada Único Series, was released over 10 years ago before they released the H99 Papas Fritas
• This cigar was released as a freestyle live
• Drew Estate has decided to keep releasing cigars using the freestyle live format even after coming back to the PCA tradeshow

Smokin Wrap:

Cigars Smoked: 3

Average Smoking Time: 53 minutes

SCORE: 91

Mitchell Santaga – Product Reviews

Mitchell Santaga started his journey into tobacco in 2011 by trying different flavored and machine-made cigars while enjoying a handle of Jack Daniels whisky. Shortly after that he yearned for a more premium experience and dove headfirst into pipe tobacco that his local tobacconist blended, and soon after started indulging in premium cigars.