Video review HERE.
In 2015 Black Label Trading Company (BLTC) announced it was launching a second brand known as Black Works Studio (BLK WKS). When the new brand was announced company founder James Brown explained that he had considered cigar making an art form and the launch of Black Works Studio gave him another expression of what he could do as a cigar maker and brand owner. Consistent with the BLTC brand. the lines under Black Works Studio brand are made at BLTC’s Esteli Nicaragua factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra.
The Killer Bee was one of three cigars to debut under the Black Works Studio label.
Blend Profile:
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Fabrica Oveja Negra)
Vitolas Available
Killer Bee is available in one size – a 4 1/2 x 46 Petite Corona. The cigar is packaged in 24 count boxes.
The cigar is quite dark and has the signature cap.
It's a short cigar so it has a light feel in the hand. The foot is closed.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good even with the closed foot. The initial flavors at light up were a sweet pink grapefruit, brown sugar, quite a bit of cinnamon, cream, the beginnings of nutmeg, and quite a bit of a dark roasted black coffee. There was a nice amount of black pepper which I rated at an 8. The cigar is very dark but it has substantial sweetness to go along with the dark notes. A nice start.
At the first third (18 minutes) the cigar still has some pink grapefruit aspects but it also has some cedar notes too. I got caramel notes in the first third. There is still nice cinnamon notes. The nutmeg is detectable now. The black coffee has toned down to a very manageable amount. The black pepper is still very good. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is caramel and nutmeg with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is very good at this point. I rated the first third at 93.
As the second third ended (38 minutes) I lost some of the intense sweetness. The nutmeg really came out and it combines with the black coffee making somewhat of a paste. There is still the brown sugar and cinnamon but it's just a little subdued. I did not have the pink grapefruit at this point but I did have the cedar. I believe the elevated nutmeg is holding the sweeter flavors down a bit. I did not have the cream notes any longer. The caramel notes are rather subdued also. I lowered the second third score slightly to 92.
The cigar lasted 54 minutes. In the final third the sweeter notes bounced back. I had a tangy citrus/cedar flavor, plenty of brown sugar and cinnamon, some aspects of the caramel, nutmeg, and black coffee. The black pepper was still good. The finish is unchanged. The cigar ended at a high grade medium to full bodied. This was a good, short, quick cigar with some power and darkness with plenty of sweet notes. I rated the final third at 93. You can purchase these cigars HERE.
Overall Score: 92.67
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