JC Newman

October 14, 2023

Bishops Blend Novemdiales Toro (6 x 48)





Video review HERE.


(Description provided by Black Label Trading Co.)

Black Label Trading Company is pleased to announce the release of Bishops Blend Novemdiales to select retailers. Novemdiales is handcrafted at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli, Nicaragua. It represents a revised iteration of the original Bishops Blend, by using a Pennsylvania wrapper with other slight revisions. Those that have grown to love this release will still recognize the distinctive flavors of the past with a fresh, nuanced perspective.

“Bishops Blend has been one of our most popular and sought-after releases. This year, to help celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Black Label Trading Co., we felt compelled to create a special edition. The Bishops Blend Novemdiales is an amped-up version of the traditional Bishop. We tweaked the blend a bit and went with a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper instead of the traditional Ecuador Habano Maduro. The Novemdiales will be available in vitolas not seen before in the Bishops Blend lineage. The result is a very rich, earthy, and intricate fusion of dark fruits, layers of spice, and a stout star anise finish,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.


Blend and origin:

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf

Binder: Ecuador Habano

Filler: Nicaragua, Pennsylvania, Connecticut Broadleaf


Vitolas:

Petite Corona – 4.5 x 46 (20 count) MSRP $10.50

Toro – 6 x 48 (20 count) MSRP $12.00 REVIEWED TODAY

Robusto– 5 x 50 (20 count) MSRP $11.00


The cigar is very dark and well made. It has a nice feel in the hand.




The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were black cherry, brown sugar, chocolate, citrus, nougat, and black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 8 to 8 1/2. Nice start.



At the first third (20 minutes) I still got all the flavor notes but there is a little more black coffee and nougat. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is light black cherry notes and a little black coffee with very good lingering black pepper. I rated the first third 95.




As I moved through the second third (40 minutes) the black coffee is up a little more and the other notes are a little down. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is quite a bit of black coffee and some nougat with very good lingering black pepper. The decreased sweet notes and elevated black coffee hurt. I rated the second third 94.




The cigar lasted 58 minutes. The black cherry notes are very light, the citrus is no longer there, brown sugar, nougat, chocolate is no longer in play, and plenty of black coffee. The cigar is still medium to full bodied. The finish is primarily nougat with black coffee and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar lost steam slightly over the course of the burn. I rated the final third 93. While this is still a good cigar it is not as good as last year's version.




Overall Score: 94

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