Alec Bradley Black Market
size: 6×50 Toro
THE GET: I stopped in at Broadway Cigar Co., a great local cigar lounge in the Portland area, to see what was new and was very excited to see that they had the new Alec Bradley Black Market in stock. There has been a ton of internet buzz on this cigar since the IPCPR and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one.
THE PACKAGING: With a band like this, there is no way I would ever pass this by and not purchase at least one. The band covers over half the cigar and uses the classic “Top Secret” font on paper that just pops next to the dark wrapper of the cigar. These are packaged 22 sticks to a box that has a shipping crate look to it. Great look!
THE CIGAR: The Nicaraguan wrapper on this cigar is one of the best looking you will ever find. I was amazed at how it looked, felt, and smelled. It looked like the natural oils were crystallizing on the wrapper but since I don’t know how long these have been aged before being released, I don’t know if that is the case. Inside the beauty of a wrapper is a Sumatra binder and a blend of filler tobacco from Panama and Honduras. My initial size purchased was the toro, but there is also a robusto, churchill, torpedo and the 6×60 gordo available in this newest line from Alec Bradley. Not only was this cigar easy on the eyes, it had the ideal feel in the hand also. No soft spots, no distracting leaf veins, not too light, not too dense. Do you see a pattern? There was not one problem with this cigar.
THE SMOKE: I did not have my favorite cutter tonight, so instead of using one of my shitty plastic freebies, I decided to break out the punch for this smoke. It has been a while since I have used it and forgot how nice it was to use. It punched a hole in the cap without a problem, causing no issues with the cigar. The pre light draw was very easy with some sweet flavors masking what I anticipate to be a strong cigar. The ash was a nice light gray, lasted 2 inches, and like the band, looked great against the dark oily wrapper. Before that ash fell, I could already feel the strength. Around the halfway point was when the power let up and it never quite picked up again. It ended up staying medium in strength and lasted 60 minutes (it would have taken longer, but it was fucking cold outside).
THE SKINNY: Although this cigar was not as strong as I has expected, it had great flavor and construction. It was absolutely worth the $8 price tag, and I will be buying more. These are available online as well as in many B&M’s. My opinion is buy local when you can, so head on down to your local lounge and pick up the new Black Market.
