JC Newman

February 06, 2022

War Witch Lancero by Black Star Line (7 1/2 x 40)

 






Video review HERE.


(Description taken from Black Star Line website)

Adetola "Aric" Wimberly-Bey a Chicago Firefighter by trade started the idea of having a cigar company in the garage of his house. His love and knowledge of the leaf encouraged him to fulfill his dreams. With the help of his childhood friend Derrick Bell this was possible. Derrick and Aric went to numerous cigar events to network with owners and meet people. Jonathan Drew of Drew Estates took a liking to Derrick and Aric and decided to advise them on how to get into the cigar industry and ideas of who would do a blend for them. This led Derrick and Aric to Sandy Cobas of El Titan De Bronze. It literally took Derrick and Aric a year of cold calling the secretary at El Titan and sending flowers to Sandy to get her attention. Once Sandy finally spoke with Derrick and Aric she welcomed them with open arms to the El Titan De Bronze family.

The War Witch name comes from a critically acclaimed Canadian film of the same name about a child soldier forced a civil war in Africa. This child soldier is believed to be a witch, hence the War Witch name.


The War Witch lancero is a Nicaraguan puro hand rolled in Nicaragua at the Aganorsa Leaf factory. 

Wrapper – Connecticut Shade

Binder – Nicaraguan Criollo

Filler – Nicaraguan Jalapa and Esteli


The cigar is long and slender. Typical lancero. It has an average feel in the hand.






The test draw after cutting the cap was good with a bit of firmness. The initial flavors at light up were a nice citrus, heavy brown sugar, citrus peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a leathery black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. A nice, sweet start.





At the first third (32 minutes) the citrus peel is having a little more influence. I still had the citrus but there is a greater amount of citrus peel, brown sugar, light cinnamon, nutmeg, and leathery black coffee. The finish is brown sugar, citrus peel, and a little leathery black coffee with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The cigar is tasty but the draw could be a little better. I rated the first third 93.






As I moved through the second third (1 hour 6 minutes) an interesting thing happened. At about the midpoint the cigar had very elevated citrus peel and very earthy. But it only lasted a few minutes. The cigar reverted back to the previous amount of citrus peel and earthiness. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The finish is citrus, low levels of brown sugar, nutmeg, and leathery black coffee. The cigar got very close to what it was in the first third so I am maintaining the score of 93.






The cigar lasted 1 hour 32 minutes. On thing I noticed during the smoking experience is the wrapper is very fragile, particularly around the cap. It wasn't so fragile during the burn but around the part where the cap was cut it splintered. The notes in the final third were citrus, a little influence of cedar, brown sugar, light caramel, cinnamon, elevated leathery black coffee, and the citrus peel is much more manageable. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is citrus, a little brown sugar, and earthy, leathery black coffee. The cigar is good. The fragile wrapper around the cap was a little frustrating but overall I enjoyed the cigar. I rated the final third 92.




Overall Score: 92.67

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