The Good Stuff:

Originally released in 2016 the Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend has finally started to see a bit more circulation as of late. The blend which James Brown, founder of the company claimed as a blend with a very rich, and intense flavor profile starts with an Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Connecticut Broadleaf, Nicaraguan, and Pennsylvanian Broadleaf filler tobaccos. Created at the Fabrica Oveja Negra factory in Nicaragua the blend is offered in two sizes: the Robusto (5 x 48), and the Corona Larga ( 6 1/4 x 46). Each size comes packaged in boxes of 20 running either $9.50 or $10 a stick respectively. From my understanding the initial release was slotted for only 150 boxes of each being produced. Since these are still found on shelves, albeit scarcely, I am unsure of that production was amped up post-release. I purchased a handful of these from.. somewhere. It’s been so long I can’t even remember. Big shout out to wherever it was though

Size: 6 1/4 x 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Connecticut Broadleaf, Nicaraguan, and Pennsylvanian Broadleaf
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $10
Pairing: Deschutes Rye Whiskey Barrel The Abyss 2015 (13.3% ABV)

Prelight:

Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend starts out with a gorgeous deep, dark brown wrapper which is almost as close to black as you can get, while still being brown. The color is very consistent from cap to foot. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself carrying very mild veins, soft webbing, light tooth, and a whole mess of oils. The cigar feels very firm, and very hard while the wrapper of the cigar feels very dense and manageable as it leads up to the round, tapered, sharp cap. The cigar is then polished off with an awesome Black and Red Black Label crest on the band, along with a matching foot band that simply states “Bishops Blend”.

The wrapper on Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend gives off some great musk, grape, and spice aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more modest giving off only a small amount of spice and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great musk, leather, dirty earthiness, spice, and natural flavors. 

First Third:

Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend starts out with a nice, expected cayenne pepper blast which lights up my mouth through the first few puffs. After a while the pepper fades and I am left with a whole mess of raisin, musk, brown sugar sweetness, spice, dark chocolate, coriander, oak, and natural tobacco flavors. This is a hell of a way to start off a cigar. Although the cigar is wrapped rocks hard tight, the draw is flawless as each puff kicks out a great amount of thick, white smoke which hangs around only second before dissipating while the cigar itself releases only trace amounts of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line has some soft waves to it, but nothing too concerning as it leaves behind a trail of slightly compacted medium to light gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray. 

Second Third:

Into the second third of Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend and there brown sugar sweetness I picked up earlier has now transitioned over to a full-force vanilla which is leading the charge along with the musk flavors backed by raisin, spice, dark chocolate and oak with a few reminding aftertastes of natural, earthy, tobacco. The retrohale really brings out the spice and oak. The burn line is still slightly wavy but with no real issues and I close out the second third with a soft little nicotine kick already.

Finish:

In the final third of Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend the flavor profile took a turn into more of a toasty, dark chocolate lead profile backed by soft vanilla, spice, lots of oak and musk and just a dash of raisin and sweetness. It took me almost two full hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experienced very little nicotine, no extended heat, nor did I ever had to touch up or relight the cigar.

Overview:

It’s not just Texas love ya’ll, Black Label Trading Co. has produced some of the greatest blends in the recent years and the cigar community has quickly grown to appreciate and embrace the boutique brand. I have been high on their blends for a few years now and Bishops Blend has made it’s way into one of my favorite blends they have made to date. My only issue is how hard it is to find. The construction is flawless, the experience is memorable and the flavor profile is complex an right on key with my own personal preference. I love how bold it was without being over the top, or over powering. The price point is perfect and this cigar would easily make its way into my regular rotation if it was easier to acquire. 

Pairing:

Brewed by Deschutes brewing in Bend, Oregon the Abyss variants have repeatedly found their way into my reviews throughout the year. They are one of my favorite beers the company makes and consistently pair well with bolder cigars. The beer is an imperial stout brewed with Molasses, licorice, vanilla beans and cherry bark. This particular variant is aged in Rye Whiskey barrels. The beer leads with massive amounts of sweetness, vanilla, oak, dark chocolate, and malt with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more sweetness and vanilla, musk, malt, dark chocolate, coffee, and just a dash of rye whiskey. This sticky mixture fo flavors is almost identical to the existing flavors present in Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend and made for one of the best pairings I have had in such a long time. The most impressive part of the pairing is that both the cigar and beer could easily overpower just about any other selection, but in this case not only held their own but helped create a hell of an experience. 

The post Black Label Trading Co’s Bishop’s Blend appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Selected Tobacco has been around for a few years now but we have more recently been hearing the name thrown around as their U.S. Distributor (United Cigar Retailers) has announced that the tobacco restrains which once made their blends very limited has been overcome and the cigars would be much more widespread available. Selected Tobacco which is run by Nelson Alfonso has 3 unique blends under it’s belt, the Atabey, Byron, and Bandolero, all of which carry tightly kept secret blends. The only thing we do know is that the Bandolero and the Atabey are both made in Costa Rica. The Bandolero is offered in many sizes with the prices starting at $12 ranging into the upper $20/lower $30 range making it the more affordable offering out of the 3 Ultra-Premium brands under Selected Tobacco.

The Bandolero is sold is 3 different Packs as well as a gift set, all of which are said to be different blends. We’ll start with the Europe exclusives (Bandolero Pack I) which come in humidified canisters: Salvajes (4 x 50), Audaces (4 3/4 x 60), Osados (4 3/4 x 60), and the Sagaces (4 7/8 x 42).

Outside of the European exclusives we have Bandolero Pack II which also come in humidified canisters: Barbaros (4 3/8 x 70), Traviesos (5 x 50), Sorberios (5 1/2 x 50), Colosales (6 x 54).

Next is the Bandolero Pack II which also comes in humidified canisters: Tremendous (5 x 50), Picadors (5 1/2 x 50), Vanidosos (6 x 54), and the Pretenciosos (6 1/2 x 60).

Lastly, we have the Bandolero Premium pack which the format I am reviewing belongs too. The Premium pack carries 5 different formats, each packaged in their own humitube: The Magnificos (5 3/4 x 55), Bravos (5 1/4 x 52), Atrevidos (4 7/8 x 52), Ironicos (4 2/5 x 50), and the Intrepidos (4 x 50). It’s mind blowing how many different offerings the Bandolero comes in and I kindly thank Cigar Coop for all this information. Also, big thanks to Selected Tobacco for sending these samples are way.

Size: 5 1/4 x 52
Wrapper: Secret
Binder: Secret
Filler: Secret
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: ~$32.00
Pairing: Deschutes Doppel Dinkel (Double Bock 10.5% ABV)

Prelight:

As I stated before this cigar comes from the Premium Pack which packages each cigar in their own humitube. Basically what this means is the cigar is packed into an aluminum tube with a clear window which showcases the cigar. While that’s common what you don’t normally see in your average tube is the bottom portion is actually a ventilated humidified chamber filled with a humidified sponge which will keep the cigar at optimum humidity levels for extended durations of time. It’s interesting to say the least and only adds to the “Ultra-Premiumness” of this cigar. Once removed from he tube the Bandolero’s foot is covered in a sheet of cedar with a “Selected Tobacco” band around it. Underneath this is a beautiful looking cigar. The wrapper is a consistent medium brown color with some lighter areas around the smaller veins which run through the body of the cigar, and some darker areas around the foot, and the natural webbing int he wrapper tobacco leaf. The Bandolero’s wrapper is very smooth and silky to the touch with a good amount of oils leading up to a stubby, round, triple cap. The cigar is very heavy, and very firm with absolutely no soft spots. The cigar is polished off with a double band. The first band is black in color with a red and gold “Tabacos Bandolero” crest on it while the second is mostly gold with red and black trim stating “Premium” across the front, just in case you didn’t already know that.

The wrapper on the Bandolero gives off some slight musk and grassiness while the foot of the cigar carries a lot of black pepper and natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produced a small amount of pepper, some oak, musk, and grain flavors.

First Third:

The Bandolero starts off with a nice amount of cayenne pepper, and sweet spice. Once the pepper starts to fade there is some nice oakiness, brown sugar, raisin, and lots of natural tobacco flavors. It’s a great mixture and starts off with more body that I expected it to. The draw is absolutely flawless, each little puff kicks out a massive cloud of thick, white smoke while producing a very minimal amount of stationary smoke as the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line on the Bandolero is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a trail of compacted dark gray/black ash which held on for a bit over and inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Selected Tobacco Bandolero and the flavors are still holding up quite nicely. The raisin and brown sugar are the more dominant flavors in the mixed backed by the oak, spice, and still a good amount of pepper which oddly enough doesn’t dominate the other flavors, it adds quite a bit to the cigar’s character. The retrohale is very smooth coating my nasal passage with some deep oak and spice. The burn line is still flawless as I close out the second third and I am feeling nothing in terms of nicotine.

Final Third:

The flavors have remained pretty consistent in the Bandolero. The pepper is finally completely gone while the brown sugar is still in there it’s the oak that’s now front and center backed by the raisin, spice, and natural tobacco. There’s also some interesting pine notes starting to sneak in as I close out the cigar. I smoked this bad boy down to the very nub and experience absolutely no harshness at all, in fact, the cigar finished incredibly creamy and smooth. I never once had to reach for my lighter in the 1.5 hours it took to take this guy down and it left me feeling almost nothing in the nicotine department.

Overview:

The Bandolero is definitely an interesting one. It’s hard to come into a market with new brands running upwards of $20 a stick, but they have to be doing something right cause I’m not the first one to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. All in all it’s a good cigar. Life changing? No, but it’s bold flavors and unique profile made me really enjoy the time I spent with it. I couldn’t quite find an exact price for these cigars, but in all honesty, leave out the cost for the humitube and I’d probably carry quite a few of these on hand for those nights when I am craving something a bit different.

Pairing:

The Doppel Dinkel is a collaboration beer brewed by Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon partnered with Distelhauser. This Double Bock comes in at a whopping 10.5% ABV and carried enough bold flavors to give the Bandolero a run for it’s money. The beer is actually a whole lot smoother than I imagined it being leading off with some soft sweetness, brown sugar and malt with a medium mouthfeel before finishing very crisp with a good amount of caramel, apple, and a splash of citrus. Despite the high ABV it’s relatively easy to drink and there isn’t a whole lot of booziness in there. The cigar would also pair wonderfully with a ruby port, some sweet bourbon, and a nice sweet stout.

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