Kicking off the 2022 cigar season, James Brown and his Black Works Studio introduced a limited cigar known as the Intergalactic produced at the company’s Fabrica Oveja Negra facility in Estelí, Nicaragua. The cigar has been released to retailers in the US, Germany, and Belgium. Production is limited to just 750 boxes of each vitola.
In a press release for the cigar, James Brown noted:
“I would consider it in a more traditional wheelhouse in terms of its overall profile with a definite Oveja Negra twist. The blend starts with bold spice followed by herbal and cedar notes. The finish is a balance of different layers. The spice and earthy notes of the Nicaragua filler tobaccos are gently brought together with the creamy, subtle sweetness of the dark Sumatra wrapper.”
The Black Works Studio Intergalactic blend is described as:
- Wrapper: Indonesian Sumatra
- Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
- Filler: Nicaraguan
The Intergalactic is expressed in two vitolas:
- Robusto (5 1/2 x 50) – MSRP $10.50
- Corona Larga (6 1/4 x 46) – MSRP $10.50
Both come packaged in 20-count boxes.
For this review, I sampled one of the Intergalactic Corona Larga, which I purchased from the Cigar Box, in Las Vegas, Nevada while visiting this year for the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) trade show in January.
Pre-Light Examination
The Black Works Studio Intergalactic is a well crafted cigar sporting an oily medium to dark brown wrapper that has a decent amount of marbling and a few veins. The barrel is firm to the touch from head to foot. It is neatly finished with an expertly applied pig tail triple cap and a closed foot.
A single band adorns the cigar which uses a black, blue, and silver motif. It features a skull wearing a space helmet in the center. The Black Works Studio logo is printed on the side.
Running the Intergalactic along the nose, I picked up a pungent fermented leaf along the barrel and an enticing walnut note with a hint of spice off the foot.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder of the cigar, I gave it some cold draw puffs that I found to be nicely restricted and offering notes of natural tobacco sweetness, peppery spice, and an undertone of nut.
Using my double flame torch, I warmed the foot gently, which took to the heat well with its closed foot, and drew in the first puffs of natural sweetness and pepper. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial lit puffs brings natural sweetness and black pepper notes to the palate
- Coffee and cinnamon notes enter as the pepper recedes
- There remains a delicious underlying sweetness
- White ash forms on a thin and slightly wavy char line
- Nutty nuances fill in the early profile
- Ash fell early revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Light spice notes begin to form moving into the second third
- Ash grew longer in the second third
- Cedar notes enter more forward pleasing the palate
- Strength picked up a notch from medium to medium full
- A chocolate nuance enters in the final third mixed with the ever present cedar notes
- The early nut evolved into a walnut flavor
- Medium to Full in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 45 minutes
Final Analysis
The Intergalactic is a another fine craft coming out of Black Works Studio and Fabrica Oveja Negra. It is sad that this is such a limited blend as I feel it is one all enthusiasts should include in their rotation, especially in the corona larga format. I found this to be a well balanced cigar that had a cedar forward note especially through the 2nd and 3rd parts of the burn. I also liked the nuances of chocolate, cinnamon, and nut notes through the journey. There was a slight wave in the burn but never needed a touch up. If you can find these, pick up a five pack for sure. I rate this a solid 93.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave; (-1) Flat Burn Cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Complex and Balanced
