November 21st, 2016

Producer: Black Label Trading Company
Made at: Fabrica Oveja Negra facility in Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper & Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler leaves: Nicaraguan, Dominican & San Andrés

The beautifully smooth dark brown wrapper smells like leather and cocoa, while the foot smells the same with some pepper thrown in. The cold draw is perfect, as is the bunch. I give this cigar top marks for construction.

There is plentiful smoke on the initial draw, which reveals lots of flavor including pepper, leather and just a hint of cocoa. The draw remains perfect, and the burn is true.

These cigars were debuted at my local shop a few weeks ago. I got this one a day before lighting it up, and now am fully regretting not having made the launch event.

A flavor of almonds now develops to overtake the initial cocoa as the pepper notes back off some. The promise of complexity is quite pleasing. The burn remains even approaching the end of the first third.

The light to medium-grey ash is very firm with no flaking, and the flavor is perfect. This is the kind of boutique cigar that everyone hopes to come across while they are ‘exploring’. Even removing the band is easier than with most cigars.

This one certainly falls squarely in the ‘oh, this is so good’ category. Truthfully, a lot of the new Maduros are very good without going this far. This one is truly a treat.

I tap the ash just past one inch to avoid dropping any in my lap. The burn reveals a nice cone, speaking to the excellent construction of the cigar.

At the one-third point, the flavor settles into to a very pleasant mixture of leather and cocoa notes, with the pepper almost gone – very nice, indeed.

This Robusto proves a very good example of just how smooth a great Maduro can be. Even though it’s full-bodied and flavorful, there’s absolutely no harshness to take away from the cigar. Also, the smoke remains cool (as does the cigar).

The Black Label Trading Company (and the Santa Muerte line) may be a brand you’ve never heard of. Nevertheless, it’s one you should seek out. This is an excellent and complex cigar that should please the most discerning palate of a Maduro lover.

The cocoa and leather notes continue along with hints of nutmeg – so much more than I was initially expecting from this cigar.

At the two-thirds mark, a distinct creaminess develops, and the quality of flavor in this cigar keeps improving. The burn remains even, and the cigar has not become soft as some cigars do around this stage.

I finally have to put the Santa Muerte down with one inch remaining, even though the smoke is still quite smooth and cool. However, the burn is making the cigar too hot to hold.

This cigar is simply fabulous. It possesses outstanding flavors as well as great complexity and construction, and earns a 9.75/10. Joe Bob says, “Get this cigar and add it to your rotation if you love Maduros.”
__________________________________________________

Jeff Slatton (jefslat) resides in the San Antonio, TX area.