Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
Black Label Trading Company has announced that its 2019 vintage of Bishops Blend is now heading to stores.
Bishops Blend is produced at the company’s factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra is Estelí, Nicaragua. In the U.S. distribution is handled by Boutiques Unified.
Bishops Blend 2019 features the same blend and is available in the same sizes as the 2016, 2017, and 2018 releases. The blend is highlighted by the use of both Connecticut and Pennsylvania Broadleaf in the filler.
James Brown creator of Black Label Trading Company and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra said, “I’m very excited about this release of Bishops Blend. We wanted to start the year off strong and release one of our most anticipated releases early. Bishops Blend boasts big bold flavors of anise, pepper, raisins and a sweet earthiness on the finish. It is very complex and extremely refined. As with the past vintages, the broadleaf fillers shine at the forefront and are perfectly balanced by the Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.”
Blend and Origin
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan, Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Connecticut Broadleaf
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fabrica Oveja Negra
Vitolas Offered
Bishops Blend is available in two sizes. Both vitolas are packaged in 20 count boxes.
Robusto: 5 x 48 (SRP $11.00)
Corona Larga: 6 1/4 x 46 (SRP $11.50) REVIEWED TODAY
The cigar is very dark and well made. It features a rather unique cap and a closed foot.
With the closed foot the test draw is usually very tight but tends to open up quickly. I clipped a small amount of the triangular cap and the test draw was tight but I lit the cigar to see if the foot would open up. It did not so I used my PerfecDraw tool to open up the cap.
Once open the initial flavors came quickly; a tangy orange citrus, sweet dark chocolate, brown sugar, and espresso, with nutmeg intertwined in all the flavors. There was a nice, course black pepper rated at an 8. The flavors mix very well. Very good start.
At the first third (35 minutes) the cigar continues to be dark and sweet. The flavors also continue to mix very well together. I would call the cigar medium to full bodied. The finish, with all the dark, sweet notes, has a caramel flavor with a little nutmeg and a very nice amount of lingering black pepper. This is quite an impressive cigar. I rated the first third at 96.
At the second third (1 hour 14 minutes) the flavors in this cigar scream power even though it's not overly powerful. The cigar is fairly balanced. You get 30% orange citrus, 35% chocolate, and 35% espresso. The cigar is right at full bodied. The mix of flavors in this cigar is so good. You have nice sweet notes and nice dark notes. The nutmeg does not get in the way; it also mixes very well with the other flavors. The finish is unchanged. The lingering black pepper is very nice. I rated the second third at 96.
The Bishops Blend Corona Larga lasted 1 hour 39 minutes. In the final third I lost some of the orange citrus notes. I still had plenty of chocolate and espresso notes. The cigar is no longer in balance. It's now more like 20% citrus, 40% chocolate, and 40% espresso. The pepper remains very good. The finish is unchanged. This is one of the best Black Label Trading Company cigars I've had. Nice sweetness with plenty of dark notes. With the lowering of citrus notes I lowered the final third score to 95. These will not be on shelves long so act quickly if you want some for yourself. You can purchase these cigars HERE.
Overall Score: 95.67
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