Grace O’Malley, Big Papi HOF and Fratello Bianco Nero Cigars

Info about this cigar isn’t going to be officially released until next Saturday, but I’m going to get ahead of things here. I hope Kevin isn’t pissed at me. When I was in Tampa last November, I was fortunate enough to accompany Kevin (CigarProp, Trash Panda) to Single Barrel Cigar Company to drop off the cigars that would become Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen Cigars. The Robusto size cigars, which were made by JSK Cigars, are 5″ x 54, and may be a tweaked version of the JSK Red Knight.

Here’s a quote from Kevin on the barrel selection:

We partnered with the crew at Single Barrel Cigar Company, aligning our pirate theme with the perfect aging vessel: a rum barrel. But not just any rum barrel. We selected a Sazerac Rye barrel that had previously held Myers’s Rum before making its way to Big Storm Distillery, where it finished yet another rum. This multi-layered history of spirits infused our cigars with unparalleled complexity.

The cigars were placed in the barrel on November 7, 2024, and remained there for 94 days, emerging on February 9, 2025.

As I’ve said ad nauseum, I haven’t had a drink in 35 years, so I don’t have much of a palate for spirits, and when I gave it up, the highest quality rum I drank was Bacardi (no offence to Kevin, I know it’s a staple for him, but it’s not a high end sipping rum). After smoking the Single Barrel Blanton’s Gold Maduro and enjoying it, I had some expectations for a cigar aged in a rum barrel. I was expecting sweet, it was a tasty cigar, but more of the barrel char flavor to me than sweetness. I did make a mistake though, I wish I had mooched a cigar off of Kevin before being put in the barrel, although at the time I had no expectation that I would get to sample the finished product. I smoked a couple of these, and they were consistent, and I enjoyed them for what they are, a quality cigar, with a boozy aroma from the start. Like I said, I’m not the guy for anything spirits related. However, I was able to figure out the proper way to use the cannon carriage cigar rest!

I smoked a couple more cigars I got at the TPE show a few weeks back this week, starting with the Fratello Bianco Nero, which was released last year. Omar gave me this cigar knowing how much I enjoy the Bianco, and this Bianco Nero (Italian for White Black for some reason), is a tweaked version. It’s a 6″ x 58 box pressed perfecto, with a Maduro San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. They only made 500 ten count boxes of these, and I wouldn’t mind having one of those in my humidor. This was a spectacular cigar, possibly richer in flavor than the regular Bianco (big fan of the Boxer), with loads of espresso flavors. I’ve had some really good cigars so far this year, and this is near the top of the list so far. Delicious.

Another cigar that came home from the TPE show with me was the Big Papi HOF from Artista Cigars. This was a 6″ x 54 toro, they also have a limited edition figurado that’s reminiscent of a baseball bat, and they only made 541 boxes, which is the number of home runs he hit during his major league career. Artista is a funny brand for me personally. I have a good relationship with Kevin Newman there, but there are only one or two cigars in their portfolio that really work for my palate. There are a couple other brands like that, and I keep trying, because I like the folks and want to support the brand. It’s kind of weird, I guess. Anyway, I smoked the Big Papi HOF yesterday and enjoyed it. It has a San Andrés wrapper, although not a dar maduro color, with Indonesian binder, and a proprietary filler blend, which one would assume is largely Dominican given David Ortiz’ roots. I got a woody profile with some subtle spice, not my favorite profile, and not what I expect from a San Andrés wrapper, but objectively quite a good cigar. I need to revisit the Harvest and Midnight and try the Falu in their Artista Series. Buffalo Ten is a really great bargain in any wrapper.