Black Label Trading Co. Lawless Churchill (7 x 48)

Video review HERE.

Black Label Trading Company was created in 2013. This is one of their newest cigars, the Lawless. Their factory is in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

The cigar sports two bands with a western outlaw theme. The cigar is nice looking. The cigar has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg, coffee, and earth tones. There is a nice sweetness to the cinnamon and nutmeg. 

1 1/2 inches in the main flavors are switching over to a sweet cedar with some dry cocoa. There is quite a bit of earthiness and a coffee base. The pepper is black rated at a 7. The finish is a sweet cream with some dry cocoa notes. There is an average amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied.

With around 4 inches remaining the cocoa notes are really coming out now. There are glimpses of brown sugar here and there. The main flavors are a combination of sweet cedar and dry cocoa with a touch of richness.

With about 2 inches remaining the cedar has gone to a charred cedar. But, the cocoa is the star right now. They are the lead flavor and it has a touch of richness. The cocoa is also heavier on the finish. The pepper is elevated throughout the cigar; front and finish. It is close to an 8 now. It tingles nicely on the finish! There is still some earth notes and the coffee remains a nice base.

This churchill was a little shy of average time length. The charred cedar has some sweetness, dry cocoa with a touch of richness, some earthiness, and coffee notes. The pepper is still good at about an 8. The finish has a lot of lingering black pepper with sweet cocoa and cream. It is still medium bodied at the end. This has been a good cigar that I wish had a little more richness in the cedar area but overall a good cigar. They should be available in shops that handle boutique cigars.

Score: 90

Surrogates Satin Glove (7 x 47)

Video review HERE.

Satin Glove is the sixth release for Surrogates and the newest regular production release for L'Atelier Imports. Satin Glove is made at My Father Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua, and is a Churchill measuring 7" x 47 ring gauge. The cigar is box pressed and comes with a Mexican San Andres wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers and binder.

The cigar is a sharp box press with a lightly oily wrapper. It has a nice feel in the hand; nice density.

The test draw after cutting the cap was firm. It was actually too firm for me. I tried to loosen up the draw by squeezing around the cap. It improved slightly. The initial flavors were of the dark variety. They were a sweet, candy like orange citrus, milk chocolate, coffee, and dry wood. The pepper is a black pepper rated at a 7 1/2. I was a little surprised at how low the pepper was. The cigar is medium bodied and I expect it to move up.

About 1 1/2 inches in the dry wood notes are very prominent. They compete to take over the front position of orange citrus and chocolate notes. The wood notes are very obvious. There are also brown sugar notes. The finish is a toasted cream with a little lingering pepper. The cigar is still medium bodied. 

3 inches in and the burn is almost perfect. I am getting sweet cedar notes now instead of citrus. There are brown sugar and cocoa notes now and the wood is still very prominent. The chocolate is still there in the background and the coffee remains a base. There is a little more lingering pepper on the finish which is now one of cocoa and cream.

With about 2 1/2 inches remaining the cedar is still the main flavor. The wood notes have dropped considerably. The chocolate notes are still around with sweetness but I am not getting the cocoa notes anymore. The coffee is still the base. The finish remains unchanged but there is a lot more lingering black pepper, which is very nice. The cigar is approaching medium to full bodied.

At the end the pepper came out a little more on the front end. You have sweet cedar, chocolate, and brown sugar. The cocoa notes went away and the wood notes are very subtle. The coffee held the base. The pepper on the finish is very nice and probably saved the cigar for me. The cigar is medium to full bodied now. It got there in the final quarter. This has been a nice cigar but it didn't have the finesse that I thought it would. The cigar had the firm draw throughout which I think hurt the flavors. For those of you who like the Surrogate line you may find this cigar to your liking. For me it just didn't quite have the total package.

To try Satin Glove cigars you can purchase them here.

Score: 91

Tatuaje Tattoo Cabellero (Robusto) (5 x 50)

Video review HERE.

The Tatuaje Tattoo is a re-release by Tatuaje. It was originally introduced in 2011. Not much is known about the cigar. The wrapper is a Ecuadorian Habano and the filler is Nicaraguan. I do not know the binder or any other blend info.

These are made in the Tabacalera Cubana (TACUBA) in Esteli, Nicaragua.  TACUBA is the factory where Don Pepin Garcia started making his cigars before moving to the new Pepin facility in Esteli.

The cigar is very dark and very well made. The wrapper is smooth with no imperfections. What else would you expect from a Pepin made cigar? 

It has an average feel in the hand. Not overly dense.

After cutting the cap the test draw had a touch of firmness. I always take the minimum from the cap so sometimes the draw has some firmness. Not overly firm and very workable. The initial flavors at light up were sweet cedar and boysenberry mix, coffee, and black pepper rated at an 8. The cedar is very sweet and the boysenberry gives it a high pitch sweetness. The finish is a brown sugar flavor at this early stage.

About 1 inch in the cigar is settling down. The sweet cedar is prominent and the boysenberries are toned down. There is some cocoa flavor mixing in with the cedar. Call it a low grade cocoa. The black pepper is very nice. I'm a huge pepper fan, be it black, white, or red. The finish is a brown sugar with light cocoa with a lot of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The flavor mix is very nice.

About 2 inches in the flavors are all in play and very close to balanced. You get an even amount of all the flavors in each puff. Warning; the ash in these cigars is very brittle. At about 1 inch the ash will fall. Be aware of that. It happened to me on previous Tattoo's and it's already happened on this one. You won't win a long ash contest with this cigar! Aside from that the flavors are amazing. Love the combination. The finish has a lot more brown sugar now and still has some cocoa notes also.

At the band I noticed the balance did not last very long. There are much more brown sugar notes now. The other flavors are secondary. I easily removed the band at this point. Notice a little charring at the bottom of the band.

Very close to the end there are more changes. The brown sugar is prominent with the sweet cedar secondary. The boysenberries are gone. There is subtle cocoa. The coffee remained a nice base. The cigar is medium to full bodied now. Again, be aware of the ash. It fell again on my lap! The finish is unchanged. The cigar is making changes but if you like brown sugar and sweet cedar you will really like this cigar.

The cigar ended just like the last segment. This has been a very good cigar. There is almost a touch of richness on the brown sugar and cedar. It ended at medium to full bodied. I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. I also had a couple of the torpedos and I actually prefer this robusto. The flavors are fantastic. Again, anyone who loves brown sugar and sweet cedar should love this cigar.

Try Tatuaje Tattoo cigars for yourself. You can purchase them here.

Score: 93

Perdomo 12 Year Double Aged Vintage Maduro Epicure (6 x 56)

Video review HERE.

The Perdomo Double Aged 12-Year Vintage uses a two part aging process. First, the leaf is bale-aged for ten years, and then it is fermented in oak bourbon barrels for another two years. Underneath the lightly bourbon infused maduro wrapper lies Nicaraguan long-fillers especially grown on the rich volcanic soil found on the Perdomo farm.

Perdomo will release a limited production of only 240,000 cigars per wrapper, equaling only 2,500 total boxes per size. The 2014 release will only be offered to 250 retailers world‐wide.

The cigar is beautifully made and has an oily, dark wrapper. It has a nice density and feels dense in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was nearly perfect. The initial flavors at light up were coffee, licorice, dry wood, a touch of orange citrus, and black pepper rated at a 7 1/2. Nice start. Lots of dark notes.

3/4 inch in the flavors are about like I previously described with the addition of blackberry. The finish is a standard sweet cream with a little lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point.

2 inches in and the cigar is burning very, very slowly. That's good for you and me; more cigar for our money! The flavors are right in line. The finish now has a little cocoa mixed with the sweet vanilla. The cigar is still medium bodied.

With about 2 1/2 inches remaining the sweetness has amped up in the licorice and blackberry. The pepper is also elevated; both on the front end and the finish. The cigar is close to medium to full bodied. 

This has been a very slow burning cigar and I've loved it. The sweetness and pepper continued to amp up. The pepper at the end was an 8 1/2. The licorice and blackberries are fantastic. The coffee was never overwhelming but made a good base. The dry wood really came out from the 2/3 point to the end. In fact, it was more of a charred cedar at the end. I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. This is another great addition to the Perdomo family of cigars.

To try these fantastic cigars for yourself purchase them here.

Score: 93

La Palina Black Label Robusto (5 x 52)

Video review HERE.

The La Palina Black Label is a cigar for those in search of a rich blend with complex flavor. A Brazilian grown wrapper amplifies filler and binder tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Brazil

Binder: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

This cigar is almost jet black. It is very dark and oily. The wrapper is beautiful. The cigar is very dense also.

It is also triple capped.

I chose to punch cut this cigar with sweet boysenberry, dark chocolate, and espresso. The black pepper is thick and rated at an 8.

About 1/2 inch in the flavors are getting more pronounced. There is nutmeg now combining with the boysenberry. The espresso is almost overwhelming, but it's very nice. There are dark chocolate notes and a few earth notes. The finish is a nice, sweet cream with a good amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is full bodied now. There is a lot of ligero feel to the cigar. The ash is almost completely white while the cigar is almost black. Quite a contrast. 

About 1 3/4 inch in the flavors are changing. The sweet flavors are now a combination of citrus and cedar. There are also some cocoa notes and dry wood. There are more notes of dark chocolate now also. The espresso is still everywhere. The finish is now  one of cocoa and sweet cream. One item of interest is I chose to punch this cigar with the ScrewPop cigar punch. The opening is 3/8 inch in diameter so you have a large orifice to get a draw through.

All the flavors I mentioned are noticed in each puff. Very good cigar at this point. The ash is very tight also.

Just past the midpoint and the ash is still intact! The front end flavors are about the same but there is more influence of the dry wood now. The cocoa notes are fading but you still have the dark chocolate. The cigar at this point does not seem as full bodied as it was when it started. You don't have the massive ligero influence now. The ash is quite impressive.

The cigar ended with a straight sweet cedar; no more citrus. There were more dry wood with some charred flavors. The cocoa notes also went away. The dark chocolate and espresso are still very much in play, however. The pepper remained good throughout. The cigar remained full bodied. This has been a good cigar that made several twists and changes. Dark flavor lovers will like this cigar. Very good cigar for after dinner or anytime.

Score: 92

Espinosa Laranja Reserva Toro (6 x 52) w/ ScrewPop Cigar Punch 2.0

Video review HERE.

Laranja is Portuguese for orange which is also the name for this wrapper that comes from Recôncavo region of Brazil located in the state of Bahia. This cigar represents the first time Espinosa has used Brazilian tobacco in their cigars.

This cigar was debuted at this year's IPCPR in Las Vegas.

“I wanted to release something different for the show, we had started working with this orange Brazilian Laranja wrapper last year and we are very excited with the end result.  I have always liked the color orange (laranja which is the Portuguese word for orange) and the positive energy associated with that color.  It is the color of enthusiasm, creativity, determination and success, that’s what we are all about here” said Erik Espinosa.

The Espinosa Laranja Reserva is made at Espinosa's La Zona factory.

Wrapper: Brazilian Laranja

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

The Espinosa Laranja Reserva is available in three sizes.  Each size will be available in 20 count cedar boxes.

Corona Gorda: 5 5/8 x 46 (SRP $9.90)

Robusto Extra: 5 1/2 x 54 (SRP $10.50)

Toro: 6 x 52 (SRP $10.90) REVIEWED TODAY

The cigar is a medium brown and the wrapper is  not oily. It is dense feeling in the hand. 

It is also triple capped.

For today's cigar I chose to use the new ScrewPop Cigar Punch 2.0. 

After making the punch cut the test draw was very good. The initial flavors were sweet orange citrus, graham crackers, coffee, and a ton of black pepper and red pepper. The pepper combination is rated at an 8.

3/4 inch in I am satisfied with the initial flavor assessment but you can add dry roasted nuts. The red pepper is attached to the graham cracker notes. There continues to be a nice sweetness on the orange citrus. The finish is one of brown sugar and cream with a lot of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. I sense that the front end flavors will be changing soon.

1 1/2 inches in the sweetness is picking up and there is a touch of richness which appears to be coming from the brown sugar, which is now on the front end now. The finish is very nice with the brown sugar and cream but the lingering pepper has dropped a bit on the finish.

2 1/2 inches in the ash is still intact. The orange citrus has changed over to a sweet cedar. There are a lot of graham cracker notes to go along with it. The roasted nuts are very much in play. The coffee is subtle. The cigar is still medium bodied but it is creeping toward medium to full.

At the band I have lost the graham cracker notes. I still have the sweet cedar, brown sugar, red pepper, and roasted nuts. The black pepper is very subdued. The cigar is medium to full bodied. So far we've lost the orange citrus and graham cracker notes. The finish is unchanged in flavor but I've lost even more of the lingering pepper.

There were a lot of changes from the last segment to now. The biggest one may be the strength. It is now full bodied. The black pepper is back. You still have the cedar but none of the previous richness, red pepper, black pepper, roasted nuts, brown sugar, and subtle coffee notes. The finish is about the same but the lingering black pepper has ticked back up. This has been an interesting cigar with lots of twists and changes. I prefer the way it started out. These are around $9 each. I liked this cigar but would have preferred it to be the way it started out.

Score: 91