Tag Archives: Blackbird

by | November 3, 2024 · 9:29 am

A Special Blackbird Cigar and Some New Macanudos

I had the opportunity to purchase some cigars a few weeks in advance of their release thanks to Tyler Caldwell at Smokingpipes.com.  I met Tyler a few years ago at the Stillwell Star release event at Low Country Pipe & Cigars in South Carolina.  I hung out with him again at the last PCA show I attended, super nice dude.  He had a hand in blending the new Blackbird Cigars Flamingo, which is a Smokingpipes.com exclusive.  You may recall that Smokingpipes.com (Low Country is their retail outlet) is owned by Laudisi Enterprises, and recently acquired Caldwell Cigars (Tyler Caldwell/Caldwell Cigars? No relation, but it’s a bit funny!).  They have a great shop if you find yourself in the Myrtle Beach area.  Anyway, the cigar is called the Flamingo, has a pink band and a really nice hat if you’re a hat guy. I might have to become a hat guy, they are piling up over here.  It’s a 7″ x 38 lancero format, has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Broadleaf, Nicaraguan and Dominican in the filler. That’s a lot going on in a Lancero!  It’s made in Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I like Jonas, I like his cigars, this should be a treat. If I had a complaint, it would be that it’s too short!  This is a delicious cigar, it’s bold, has some warm, savory spices, and some light floral notes in the background. I smoked a couple of these and really enjoyed them. Smoking time was around an hour and fifteen nimues, and I was careful not to oversmoke it, but it was so darned tasty I might have smoked faster than usual (puffs per hour, not overdrawing).  Jump on these when they become available later this month, all parties involved did a great job. Thanks to Tyler for allowing me to purchase cigars early! 

 

I recently received some new Macanudo cigars from the folks at General Cigar Co., and I was excited to try them.  The first one that jumped out at me was the Macanudo Emissary España Limited Edition Torpedo. I really thought the Emissary España in the robusto was a great cigar, not at all what one expects from a Macanudo. This cigar has a U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Claro wrapper, aged 5 years, a Nicaraguan Condega binder, aged 6 years, with Dominican Piloto (aged 5 years), Colombian (aged 5 years), Nicaraguan ASP (aged 6 years), and Havana seed tobacco grown in Riolobos, Spain (aged 10 years).  The wrapper is described as Claro, but I thought it was pretty dark, not maduro dark, but not light).  The torpedo is 6″ x 52.  The Broadleaf is apparent, it’s loaded with cocoa, and I get a citrus tang. It’s a heavy cigar, recommended unless you’re expecting a Macanudo Legacy or Inspirado experience. If you don’t go stronger than than an Inspirado White, this one might be troublesome.  Great cigar, I really like it, and want to try it in a Churchill. 

 

The Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll series has eluded me until the No. 3, which means they didn’t send me No.s 1 and 2.  I wouldn’t have gone looking for these, being a non-drinker I don’t hunt down cigar with any liquor associations.  I will try them when they are presented to me, but I certainly have no frame of reference for anything alcohol related.  These aren’t flavored, of course, but have tobacco that is aged in French Oak barrels that was used for Flint Knoll’s 2021 Royal Appointment Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s offered in a beefy 7″ x 52 double corona they call a “Churchill”.  The blend is Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, US Broadleaf binder and Brazilian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Dominican fillers.  I only smoked one sample so far, I had a strange time with it.  Flavors were delightful, it had some sweet wood and baking spices.  Perhaps this needed to be a little bit dryer, is alternated between producing rich mouthfuls of smoke, to requiring double/triple puffs to get anything. very strange. At some point I’ll dry one down a little and give it a try, from what I could tell it was a delicious, sophisticated, medium bodied cigar.  Folks with better palates than I  rave about it. 

 

That’s all for today. I have some cool plans for this coming weekend, involving hockey, cigars, a cigar factory and a farm.  Guesses can go in the comments, maybe I’ll have a giveaway for a correct answer! Next Sunday’s post may be a little late. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

 

 

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by | January 18, 2024 · 2:00 pm

News: Blackbird Announces Superb Addition to Core Line

I’ve been very selective about the news items I post, some of it is laziness, I admit.  This one caught my eye and I can’t wait to tery them.  I’ve been a Blackbird fan since talking to Jonas and his crew at the TPE four years ago, and they make some really good cigars that I enjoy quite frequently.  Hopefully these find their way to a shop near me (Mark W?  Tell me where!).  

 

 

‘‘A TRIP TO PARADISE’’

 

After years of hard work and dedication, we at BLACKBIRD continue to strive to make sure our customers have the best experience with each and every cigar we produce. With this mindset, we realized that we needed a bigger space, better bands, better boxes and of course… better cigars. As a company we took a big step and built a new factory to achieve the goal and at the same time support our community in the Dominican Republic by creating more jobs.

 

The first goal was achieved. Every single cigar that was being made at the factory during 2023 was in flawless conditions. Since our focus had been in continuing to perfect our production, Blackbird had not added a new cigar to our core line. We have produced several other products but no new additions to our core line.

 

However since we succeeded with our 1st goal, it was now time to add a new blend to our core line. So in the 3rd quarter of 2023 we started tobacco hunting in different countries and meeting with different tobacco growers until we found the ones that understood the quality that we were looking to have on every single cigar produced at the Blackbird Factory. One of the growers showed us an Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper with incredible quality that put a smile on our faces because we didn’t have any habano wrapper on our core line.

We started blending with that wrapper and the challenge began… We did too many blends, mixed with too many tobaccos in the filler that, honestly it was exhausting. But one day, after several tests, a burned out palate, at 3 in the morning we decided to try the last blend… suddenly the room went silent… we all realized that THIS blend felt like we had just arrived in Paradise!

We named this cigar SUPERB in reference to the Bird of the Paradise and because of how it felt when we lit up the final blend.

SUPERB It’s a medium strength bodied cigar, designed to create a savory and lingering taste of nut meg but creamy to the palate. Also some hints of cedar can be captured which when combined with the white pepper, will turn your most dull day into a paradise.

This new addition will become available during TPE 2024 in our re- designed core line wooden boxes of 21 count.

 

CIGAR COMPOSITION
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed

 

OFFERINGS
Robusto Gordo 54×5, Box of 21 (MSRP $196.56 Box / $9.36 Per cigar)
Toro 52×6, Box of 21 (MSRP $225.28 Box / $10.72 Per cigar)

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by | July 16, 2023 · 10:14 am

Some Blackbird Cigars and Some Villiger Cigars

I had a different idea of what today’s post was going to be, but that plan changed at the last minute. To be honest, the plan was tentative, at best. I’ve got some new and not so new cigars to talk about this week, lets start with the not so new, but great cigars.  When I went to the TPE show in 2020, right before the world shut down, I met Jonas Santana and his crew from Blackbird Cigars.  Jonas flattered me by knowing who I was, after 4 years of doing this it still takes me aback. Jonas had worked for Artista (then El Artista) who I had been working with, so he was familiar with my work.  I’ve kept up with Jonas over the years and while this old white dude may not be able to keep up with a young, hip-hop cat, we connect on the cigar level, I dig his smokes.  The Crow is my main jam, but this week I decided to take a wander through the range again as it’s been too long.  What prompted this was one of my wife’s cigar band furniture projects, which required a bunch more Blackbird bands!  So I had to by more cigars. I picked up some Toro singles locally, and bought a Robusto sampler from my friends at Trash Panda Cigars.  Let’s talk about the Cuco first. This is probably the last cigar I’d go to because it has Criollo on the band and that tobacco usually doesn’t work for me. This is listed as a Brazilian wrapper, Indonesian binder and Dominican fillers, so I imagine it’s a Brazilian Criollo wrapper, perhaps that makes the difference for me, because I quite enjoyed this cigar in both Robusto and Gran Toro vitolas. It’s medium bodied with some cocoa and a hint of spice. very nice cigars. 

 

The Finch from Blackbird is one of two Sumatra wrapped cigars in the portfolio, the other being the Rook.  The Finch is only available in the Robusto size, has an Indonesian binder and US and Dominican fillers. It’s just me, but I think if I were going to have one cigar in my lineup that was just a robusto, I might call it the Rook, thinking like the chess piece, but I suppose finches are small birds so I get it. It’s a bird themed line, not a chess themed line, what am I thinking?  I guess what I’m thinking is that while I really enjoyed the Finch I forgot to take any notes, so I don’t really have anything to say about it except that I found it quite enjoyable and it makes me want to pick up a few more.  I do recall a bit of the sugar cane I get from Sumatra sometimes, along with a sweet spice, perhaps from whatever US tobacco (PA maybe?).  Good smoke.  As I type, I’m smoking the Unkind in Robusto, which has a dark Cubra (Brazil) wrapper and works exceptionally well with my black coffee. Even the shade Jackdaw has some pop to it and is quite tasty. It’s hard to go wrong with the Blackbird line, Jonas is doing some great things at his factory in the DR. 

 

A few weeks ago I received a few new cigars from the folks at Villiger Cigars.  I’ve had a very long history with Villiger. If you dig through my site (or YouTube channel), you’ll find interviews going back to 2012 I think.  They have gone through some transitions, probably made some mis-steps, but they’ve always made good cigars.  A few years ago they brought on René Casteñeda to head North American sales.  René was previously with Miami Cigar and Co. and La Aurora, and is a super-nice guy.  The Villiger Miami started out as a cigar for him to have to share with his friends and visitors to his office.  It’s made in their ABAM factory in the DR, where they make Flor de Ynclan and a ton of cigar for the European market. Last year they put this out in a Lancero, this year it was released in a toro format. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, undisclosed binder and fillers, except that they say there is some Peruvian leaf in the filler blend.  This is a really nice, complex blend, with some delicate flavors.  It’s one of those cigars that you want to think about while you smoke it. I got a little citrus tang, with some nuts, light coffee, and a hint of cocoa. 

 

Finally, I smoked the Villiger 1888 Nicaragua in both the Toro and Robusto.  The 1888 was the first premium cigar that Villiger made back in 2009, and it was reissued around 2017 with updated blend and branding, made in the Dominican Republic.  The 1888 Nicaraguan is made in the Villiger de Nicaragua factory, which in my imagination is somehow a part of the Joya de Nicaragua factory. I could ask around and verify this I suppose, but that seems like work.  The cigar has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian fillers. I’m generally partial to cigars with PA tobacco, considering it’s grown within an hour from my home, and I tend to like Sumatra.  This was a Medium bodied cigar in both vitolas, and had some sweet coffee/cocoa flavors.  I don’t recall favoring one size over the other, but almost always like a toro over a robusto.  I have a corona yet to try, but I expect that to have slightly sharper flavors.

 

That’s all I have for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 26, 2023 · 9:50 am

A Few Family X Loyalty Cigars

Over the past year or so I’ve gotten to know, and become friends with, Phil from comedycigarsmusic.com. He produces some engaging content, using video, podcast, and written formats. I look forward to his “Phil Switch” and “1st and 15th” podcasts (the latter with Kaplowitz), for their entertainment value, although they are light on cigar content. It’s my understanding that the next 1st and 15th show may finally tackle the long awaited “Cigar 101” topic. I’m not holding my breath. All that to say that I sent Phil some cigars a while ago, and he, despite my cautioning not to, sent me a pack of cigars, may of which I hadn’t yet smoked. Chief among these were three cigars with enormous, brightly colored bands from a company called Family X Loyalty.  I had never heard of this brand before, and I’ve heard of a lot! Information about this brand is elusive. They have a nice website, although there is no “About” page.  I can’t seem to glean any information, even their address listed is incomplete.  I suppose I could dig into the “whois” and all, but who has the time, as long as the cigars are good.  The cigars were good (a little digging leads me to believe these may be made at Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I can see this as that factory produces some excellent cigars) .  I started with the Skoll. This has a yellow band covering the majority of the cigar. This is a Gran Toro (6″ x 54) wrapped in a Brazilian Cubra wrapper with a Criollo 98 binder and Nicaraguan fillers. “Criollo” is consistently misspelled on the website, by the way, unless there’s a “Crillo” tobacco I don’t know about. This cigar started with a bitter espresso flavor, but smoothed out to a medium to full bodied black coffee.  I really quite liked this cigar. 

 

Next I ventured into the Geri.  This has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with the Criollo 98 binder and a filler blend of Criollo 98, Corojo, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania.  Again we have a mix of tobacco naming conventions, where is the Criollo and Corojo from?  What varietals are coming from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania? I have an in with Blackbird, perhaps I’ll inquire, but probably not.  I’m nit-picky about info on websites. This cigar, again, was very good. I noted that it started out with a brightness, which I suppose is a light spice. It had some wood and pepper notes. This is another cigar I would smoke again, very good. 

 

 

The final cigar in the trilogy was the Freki.  I wish I could find some back story about this brand and the naming.  To my eye, they have sort of a Nordic feel to the names.  I’m not sure. Looking at the bands, I’m more inclined to believe that they come from the same factory that makes Blackbird, who also uses large, colorful bands. These do tend to stand out, so there’s some wisdom to using this type of bands.  Mental note, I need to get some more Blackbird Crows.  The last cigar was called Freki. I got curious just now and Googled “Freki”, and is seems like Geri and Freki were Odin’s wolves in Norse mythology.  It looks like Skoll is also a wolf, as is Hati, another one of their blends.  I’ve uncovered the theme, I think, maybe the wolves on the bands could have been some sort of hint?  I also enjoyed the Freki. I got started much later than I would have liked. We got cheap tickets to see “John Wick Chapter Four”, and spent the day watching th 2nd and 3rd movies, with some hockey interspersed, so I really wanted to sit and relax in a non-violent way. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, with the Criollo binder and the same fillers as the Geri. I’m guessing it’s the same blend with a different wrapper, which is fine.  This was maybe the strongest of the bunch, with some nice earthy sweetness.  It has some dark chocolate and some pepper. Interestingly, I think I liked all three of these cigars about the same, usually there’s one that stands out.  All were excellent, and thank you again to Phil for sharing these with me.  I send cigars to people and don’t expect retribution, but it’s pretty great when I get to try some new stuff!  

 

I had worried that this would be a short post today, I guess I managed to stretch it out! Anyway,  that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | May 1, 2022 · 9:46 am

A Selection of Cigars: Hits and Misses

This is going to be a bit of a weird post. I, of course, smokes a bunch of cigars this week, and had some mixed results. I probably should follow the rule of not saying anything at all if you don’t have anything nice to say, but it’s not all negative. SOme of it is personal preference, some of it is something else. There are also some standout cigars that I’ve probably mentioned here before but merit repeating. Let’s start with the CAO Arcana Firewalker. This cigar is a nice, big 6½” x 56 cigar, with a massive band. It employs a strange method of fermentation for one of the Nicaraguan filler leaves where they bury the pilon in volcanic soil for two months. Sounds like a fun story, and I don’t doubt it, but this wasn’t where I had a problem. The cigar tasted fine, I rather enjoyed the flavors. It was kind of bready, with a little cocoa and some spice, very nice. When I received these samples they were bone dry, as measured with my Humidimeter. Bone. Dry. The first one I smoked just kind of flaked apart. I let them rest in the humidor for a couple months, I guess, to get some moisture into them. When one had achieved what I felt was an acceptable level of internal moisture content, I gave it another go. For whatever reason, the Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper on this one just wouldn’t burn. It was like the original H2000 wrappers 20 years ago. I would feel safe making childrens pajamas out of this wrapper, it was so flame retardant. I gave up on it with about 2 inches to go, after just about emptying my lighter relighting it. I guess I’ll leave the remaining samples in the humidor, and if I see some in a shop maybe I’ll try one to see if my batch was an anomaly. I hope it was because it was a good tasting smoke and I like the first Arcana a lot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is a miss.

 

One cigar I had which isn’t new, but one I really enjoy and bears repeating is the Crow Corona from Blackbird Cigars. I’m generally a toro guy, but I think I like this in the 6″ x 44 corona the best. The narrow ring adds a little more of an edge to the San Andrés wrapper that I like. I always like a good Mexican maduro, and this one really made me happy. I’m to understand that Blackbird has opened a new, larger factory in ght Dominican Republic. I’ve been a fan of their cigars, I can’t recall having a bad one, with the Crow being my favorite. They do a really nice job with Sumatra wrappers too. I will be putting some more Crow Coronas in my humidor, for sure.  In case you were wondering, this is a hit!

 

Another repeat is the Yagua. I smoked one from a 2021 box this week that was amazing. J.C. Newman just announced that they are shipping the 2022 release, with a second wave due in November. These have aged well, the one I smoked was practically round, which was strange. They say that this is wrapped in an “underfermented” Broadleaf wrapper. whatever that means, I ‘d say it works.  I had some distinct sensations of black licorice several times while smoking this cigar, and I really liked that. I enjoyed it so much I was tempted to smoke one the following day, alas, I should have followed my instincts! Again, a hit.

 

The Drew Estate Freestyle Live event is coming up on Thursday, May 12, and receiving a lot of buzz, so I figured I’d give the Mystery Cigar in the pack a try and see what the deal was. I tried the 6″ x 60 gordo first. This digital event is happening on the eve of the Florida Barn Smoker, and the cigars in the pack happen to be the same sizes that the 20 Acre Farm Mystery cigars were presented, leading some to believe there may be a connection. It’s possible, although many cigars are offered in robusto, toro and gordo, so that’s a bit of a stretch. I personally didn’t really like the cigar I smoked, it was heavily woody to me, and that’s not my preference. I don’t like FSG tobacco, so there could be something there, and I’m also not a big fan of the original Herrera Esteli, so it could be a variation on that. I don’t think it’s a riff on the MUWAT, as I grabbed a fiver of Baitfish yesterday and forgot how good those little guys are!  I’ll suffer through the rubusto I guess and see what I think of that size, maybe it’s different. I’ll be very disappointed if those guessing it’s in the Nica Rustica line are right. Big miss.

 

Let’s finish strong. OK, I lied. I picked up an Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Toro yesterday because I’ve been wanting to try it. It’ a 6″ x 54 with a “Nicaraguan Café” wrapper, and Aganorsa Leaf binder and fillers. I’ve been having trouble finding cigars in the Aganorsa range that suit my palate, quite honestly. Sadly, this was another one that did not. I’m sure it’s a great cigar, it certainly performed well, but the flavor left me wanting. This was another that I’ll call wood heavy in the flavor department. I also found it slightly drying. It was a bit sneaky strong. Everyone has different tastes, that’s what makes cigars so much fun, this one wasn’t for me. I’ll keep working thought the range, and I know there are a lot of cigars made by Aganorsa that I like! Unfortunately a miss.

 

That’s it for today, I’ll be smoking a few favorites today!  My part-time retail experiment has come to an end. ore on that, maybe, another time, but it was fun while it lasted. My Friday evenings are now free, who wants to herf?  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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