Black Label Trading Co. Super Deluxe

Record breaking heat followed by record breaking lows, ice and snow. Welcome to Texas! This week, as we are now all thawed out, I take a look at Black Label Trading Co.’s Super Deluxe paired with a bottle of Saint Archer’s Tusk & Grain No. 002 blended imperial stout.

The Good Stuff:

Super Deluxe is one of the newest blends to be added to Black Label Trading Co.’s portfolio towards the final few months last year. The goal of this new blend was to create a bold, rich and complex blend which utilizes a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Ecuadorian habano binder, and Nicaraguan Fillers. Produced at the Fabrica Oveja Negra factory the blend is offered in three soft-box-pressed sizes: The Petite Corona (4 1/2 x 48), The Robusto (5 1/4 x 52), and the Lancero (7 x 42). Each size comes packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $9 and $11.50 a stick.

• Size: 4 1/2 x 48
• Wrapper: Mexican San Adres
• Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $9
• Pairing: Saint Archer Tusk & Grain No. 002 (Imperial Stout 12.94% ABV)

Prelight:

Black Label Trading Co.’s Supreme Deluxe starts out with an extremely consistent, extremely dark brown, almost black wrapper. The wrapper’s texture has some very slight tooth and a whole mess of oils coating it. The wrapper feels very thick and very hard as its laid seamlessly over itself with only a few ripples near the cap. The short, stubby, soft-box-pressed body leads up to a round, triple wrapped cap. The Supreme Deluz is polished off with a black, white, and silver band with the Black Label crest within a cross, laid over a heart on the front and “Supreme Deluxe” embossed in the back.

The wrapper on Black Label Trading Co.’s Super Deluxe gives off some really bold sweet tobacco aromas with soft black cherry while the foot of the cigar is much more natural with more of a pepper/spice lean. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a ton of heavy spice over musk and natural tobacco flavors.

First Half:

Black Label’s Trading Co.’s Super Deluxe starts out with a blast of cayenne pepper which quickly faded after the first few draws to reveal a very heavy musk flavor backed by dark chocolate, black cherry, black coffee and a nice little tartness that lingers for a bit after taking each puff. The draw is a bit looser than I prefer, but its not really hindering the smoking experience so no points taken there. The burnline is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail fo tightly compacted, dark gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Half:

Into the second half of Black Label Trading Co.’s Super Deluxe and the dark chocolate is now leading the pack and I love it. Backed by musk, vanilla, and black coffee over some lighter spice and sweetness notes. That tart black cherry is hanging in there too, but not as potent as it was in the first half. The retrohale really brings the spice out of the shadows. It looks me an hour and a half to smoke this little beast down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat with only a minor little nicotine kick.

Overview:

I am a big Black Label fan. They tend to make bolder, more complex blends and the Super Deluxe is just that. Huge, bold flavors, yet the balance is so delicate that the complexity keeps you on your toes without any of the flavors really dominating the experience, which is no easy feat. Outside of a slightly loose draw, I don’t have a single bad thing to say about this cigar. In fact, this is a stick I really want to keep around for the rotation on days when I am craving something that will satisfy my palate when I am craving a more complex experience.

Pairing:

Saint Archer’s Tusk & Grain series No. 002 features a barrel aged blend of stouts coming in at 12.94% ABV. The beer leads with loads of milk chocolate, vanilla, caramel, malt, soft brown sugar and just a hint of anise with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more chocolate, vanilla, and malt with a little barrel on the aftertaste. This is dangerously easy to drink given the alcohol content. The chocolate and vanilla mashed very well with the flavors in the deluxe while the spice from the cigar really added another dimension to the beer and its always nice when a cigar can do that.