Continuing with the 2020 run down on Blackbird Cigars, this is our 4th review of their craft, this time we focus on the Blackbird Crow. A crow is one of those birds that have stuck in my head, ever since I lived in Japan about 10 years ago. I remember the sound of the crow in the wee hours of the early morning as I would walk back to my apartment after a long night of weekend party fun. Now, whenever I hear, or even speak of the crow, those fond memories become front and center in my thoughts. Thanks Jonas Santana for keeping that memory alive.
The Blackbird Crow is one of six blends that were introduced to the market at the 2019 PCA Trade show in Las Vegas, NV. A new company, based out of Hialeah Florida, with master blender Jonas Santana at the helm, took the industry by storm offering a flock of cigars for the discerning palate.
The company describes the rich blend of the Crow as:
- Wrapper– Mexican San Andres
- Binder – Habano
- Filler
- Nicaragua
- Pennsylvania
- Corojo
- Criollo 98
The Blackbird Crow is expressed in three popular vitolas, each packaged in beautiful cedar lined 21-count boxes, You can also get this as part of a Balckbird sampler pack that includes the full lineup of the Blackbirds:
- Robusto (5 x 50) MSRP $7.52
- Gran Toro (6 x 54) MSRP $9.52
- Doble Toro (7 x 60) MSRP $11.52
For this review, I sampled the Blackbird Cigars Crow robusto, which was part of the sampler pack I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press. It has been resting in my humidor for about a year, and registered a 67% humidity reading on my HumidiMeter.
Pre-Light Examination
The Blackbird Cigars Crow, has a toothy dark brown wrapper with a decent oily sheen and some marbling throughout the leaf. It is solid to the touch and seems to be well packed. There are virtually no veins running though it. The cigar is neatly finished with a simple cap and a closed foot.
Like all Blackbird Cigars offerings, the crow is branded by a large single band and in the case of the Crow, it uses a bright red and black motif. On one side of the band it denotes this as a “Blackbird Cigar Co.” product and the other side declares it as the “Crow”.
Running the Crow across the nose, I did not detect much pre-light aroma along the barrel while the foot exuded a deep earthy note.
I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded with a few cold puffs that had a decent draw and offered notes of white pepper and a touch of fruit.
With the pre-light acceptable, I moved to fire the Crow up using my triple flame torch. The closed foot took to the heat well and easily fired up to an even orange glow as I drew in the first puffs of peppery smoke. Follow along as I burn the Blackbird Cigars Crow to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial light hits awakens the nose with a rich pepper burn
- Cedar and dry fruit notes move in as the pepper recedes
- Solid light grey ash evolves on a thin char line
- Chocolate nuance fills in the early profile
- Sweet syrupy aroma wafts off the foot
- Earthy notes find their way
- Ash fell in a nice chunk revealing a slightly off centered cone
- Sweet roasted oak notes join the mix
- Slight off burn develops but does not require a touch-up
- Toasted caramel and spice deep in the second third
- Dark chocolate notes take you the end
- Medium to full in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 45 minutes
Overall, the Blackbird Cigars Crow was a fine medium strength and full body cigar that had a complex array of flavors and aromas that were balanced and enticing throughout the journey. It did have a mild wave in the burn and a slight off burn but never required a touch-up. With the rich flavor profile and wallet comfortable price point, this is certainly a box buy and I rate it a solid 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Off Burn; (-1) Off Centered Burn Cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Buy a Box
