Black Label Trading Co. Santa Muerte Robusto

[jefslat]

Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Nicaragua / Dominican/ San Andrés

A beautifully smooth dark brown wrapper smells like leather and cocoa; the foot smells the same with some pepper thrown in. The cold draw is perfect, as is the bunch. Top marks for construction.

Plentiful smoke on the initial draw reveals lots of flavor including pepper, leather and just a hint of cocoa. The draw remains perfect and the burn is true. These were debuted at my local shop two weeks ago; I got this one yesterday and now am fully regretting not making the launch event.



The flavor of almonds has developed to sublimate the initial cocoa and the pepper notes have backed 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 most cigars.

This falls squarely in the "oh, this is so good" category. Lots of the new maduros are very good without going this far. This one is truly a treat.

Tapped the ash just past one inch to avoid ashes in my lap. The burn is a nice cone, speaking to the excellent construction of the cigar.

At 1/3 the flavor has settled to a very pleasant mixture of leather and cocoa notes with the pepper almost gone. Very nice.

This is a very good example of how smooth a great maduro can be. Full bodied and flavorful with no harshness to take away from the cigar. Also the smoke remains cool as does the cigar.

This may be a brand that you have never heard of; nevertheless is one you should seek out; an excellent complex cigar that should please the most discerning palates of maduro lovers. The cocoa and leather notes continue with hints of nutmeg. So much more than I was expecting from this cigar.

At 2/3 a distinct creaminess develops; the quality of flavor in this cigar keeps improving. The burn remains even and the cigar has not become soft as some cigars do past 2/3.

Had to put it down at one inch; the smoke was still quite smooth and cool but the burn was getting too hot to hold.

This cigar is fabulous. Great flavors and complexity and construction with outstanding flavors earn this one a 9.75/10. Joe Bob says get this cigar and add it to your rotation if you love maduros.