Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
Black Label Trading Company launched a new small batch cigar line called Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte is a figure associated with the Day of the Dead celebrations. These celebrations provide remembrance to those who have passed away. With the Santa Muerte cigar, it also pays tribute to those who are no longer with us. Day of the Dead festivities are typically held from October 31st through November 4th and the first batch of the Santa Muerte was released to coincide with these celebrations. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Black Label Trading Company Santa Muerte in the Corona Gorda format. 2016 was a year that saw owner James Brown take a major step forward as a cigar manufacturer.
The philosophy that Brown has incorporated for both Black Label Trading Company and its sister brand, Black Works Studio has been a small batch “less is more” philosophy. Back in February 2015, Brown made a bold move as he opened Fabrica de Oveja Negra, his own factory in Nicaragua. This has allowed him to take a more hands-on, intimate approach to his company’s work
Blend Profile
While Santa Muerte utilizes an Ecuadorian Habano leaf on both the wrapper and binder, the filler consists of tobaccos from Nicaragua, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan, San Andrés, Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Fabrica Oveja Negra)
Vitolas Available
Santa Muerte has been released in two sizes. Each size is packaged in 20 count boxes.
Corona Gorda: 5 1/2 x 48
Short Robusto: 4 3/4 x 52 REVIEWED TODAY
For a short cigar it has a pretty decent feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was effortless. The initial flavors at light up were cedar, light caramel, nutmeg, black coffee, and black pepper which I rated at an 8 but when you retro hale you'll call it a 9. It's quite intense on the retro hale.
About 1 1/2 inches in (21 minutes) I started picking up a chocolate note. There is a tangy note to the cedar. There are a lot of nutmeg notes bringing down any sweetness of the tangy cedar. There is just a touch of brown sugar; not much. The caramel notes gravitated into a light, subtle brown sugar. There is still a noticeable black coffee base. The pepper remains very good although it has toned down a bit. This is a very different type of cigar. The flavors are very interesting although not sweet. I am intrigued by this cigar. For the first third I am rating it an 88.
At the midpoint (40 minutes) here are the flavors; cedar, nutmeg, unsweetened dark chocolate, and black coffee. There are no brown sugar notes. But, there seems to be a minor amount of sweetness coming from the nutmeg and the dark chocolate. The flavors seem very appropriate for a cigar that celebrates death, or those who have died. It is very dark noted. The finish is unsweetened dark chocolate and nutmeg with some lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied. With the loss of sweetness, and it didn't have much to give away, I am lowering the score at the midpoint to an 87.
The cigar lasted 57 minutes. Nothing changed from the midpoint to the end. Therefore, the second half score is also an 87. This would make a nice cigar after a very sweet dessert and you wanted something to neutralize some of that sweetness. Believe me, this cigar would do it! Even though this cigar had very little to no sweetness it was interesting to me. I can see a place for it but definitely in an every day rotation.
Overall score: 87
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