Alec Bradley Black Market Toro Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro

Filler: Panama & Honduras

Price: $7.50

As many of you know, Alec Bradley is constantly pumping out new blends. The Black Market is one of his newest blends that I have had my eyes on. When I finally got my hands on a couple, I smoked one right away and set one aside to do this review on. I have been asked several times when I was finally going to review this cigar, so I gave in a reviewed it.

The Maduro wrapper is very nice. It is dark brown, oily, and very smooth. There are also no thick veins throughout the entire length of the cigar. There are a couple very thing veins, but these would not throw off the burn pattern in the slightest. This cigar is also very solid except right around the cap. There is a very distinct smell off sweetness and coffee coming off of this cigar as well. The band is also eye catching. It covers from the foot to about halfway up the stick with a black stamp saying “BLACK MARKET.”

Upon lighting up this cigar, the flavors jump out immediately. The start is very creamy with strong coffee notes. As the cigar slowly progresses, the black coffee notes get much stronger. This is the strongest coffee flavor I have ever tasted in a cigar. Just about an inch into this cigar, there are some earthy tones that begin to develop. Also the black coffee flavor starts to build on my palate. Once the palate is coated, I started to pick up some nice wood notes. A little spice begins to build as well.

It wasn’t until about the start of the second third that the coffee notes begin to mellow out. Once the coffee mellows, the earth and wood notes pick up the slack. The mild spice also begins to mellow out. By the midpoint of this cigar, there is some wood notes that combine with the coffee flavor on my palate.

Just around the start of the final third, there is a sweetness coming out. It was the taste of sweet tobacco. It wasn’t chocolaty or sugary, just the taste of a sweet tobacco. There was also a slight flavor of leather that came out. There were also a few little notes of spice that came back. The finish was very flavorful with a balanced flavor profile.

The ash was a darker shade of gray and held on until about the halfway mark. The burn started out a little uneven due to the wind, but once I touched it up, it stayed even through the finish. The draw was also very easy and helped to produce a good amount of thick white smoke. The smoke gave of a very earthy aroma, but I also picked up the scent of coffee in the aroma.

This is a great cigar through and through. If you like the taste of black coffee, please pick up this one. This is definitely a box worthy cigar. I give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Enjoy,

Zack the Stogie Man