To many, Liga Privada No 9 is a known cigar brand, and it happened while Steve Saka was the Chief Executive Officer of Drew State. Liga Privada is considered, what put the company in the Cigar Industry Map. All these happened back in 2012, while the cigars were still in the boom, and the FDA was not part of our lives. Then, experimenting with Broadleaf tobacco was a fascinating route to take. Steve Saka is one of the pioneers of this experiment.
Connecticut Broadleaf is known to be expensive. Even though it is cheaper than its sister tobacco leaves Connecticut Shade, the process of fermentation is longer. When you factor in all the effort and waste, there is probably the most expensive leaf. But the reason most cigar manufactures go through all these efforts is that the final product has a natural sweetness, earthly to it that gives the cigar master blenders a lot to start. Steve Saka, see the beauty of these tobaccos and created some exciting blends as Mi Querida.
First, Steve Saka is a cigar smoker since 1984. Then, he was four years executive consultant of JR Cigars. In 2000 he joined Drew Estate and became a CEO that even held equity with the company. In 2013 he left Drew Estate. Two years later, Steve Saka formed his own company and made a comeback with the Sobremesa. Today, we can enjoy several blends he has created under his new venture Dunbarton Tobacco Cigars.
During his job at Drew Estate, Steve Saka felt in love with the Spanish language. He finds it the cutest words and used them to name his differents brands.
Sobremesa and Sobremesa Brulee, a Spanish word that describes the time we Spanish people spend after dinner. Usually smoking cigars and talking all kinds of themes.
Sin Compromiso, without compromise. Meaning the only commitment he makes is his passion. His sole focus will be on blending, crafting.
Muestra de Saka and Mi Querida, Spanish for The Mistress. He also has Yearly Limited Edition cigars that has a big following by the cigar aficionados.
Steve Saka blends and supervises the production of his cigars at La Joya de Nicaragua factory in Esteli, a relationship he develops during his stay with Drew Estate. He also brings his tobacco.
Behind every Cigar Aficionado, there is a dream of blending, selling, or manufacturing cigars. Steve Saka is not just a name but also a simple American guy who fulfills that dream. He went from a Corporate American employee to the Tobacco Field to get in contact with the soil and the Tobacco itself. He loved Tobacco, then he learned Tobacco, and then he created it.
There should be a lot of passion for accomplishing this. So, YES, you should be looking at his cigars because they are the story of a dream come true.
These cigars are considered Boutique Cigars, and usually, this kind of smokes are smaller productions hence better quality smokes. That said, you can find yourself paying $13 - $15 per stick at Sobremesa Brulee, Sin Compromiso, or between $10 or $11 at Sobremesa, Mi Querida, and Todos Los Dias. The prices are not extremely low, but it is the quality of the smoke you are getting. You also will find a lot of consistency, which is something tough to achieve with Natural Tobacco. One of the his most affordable cigars from Steve Saka are Umbagog. Those are some of the best Nicaraguan cigars for the price.