Cigar Review: Vicarias Black

Vitola: Robusto Size: 5.5” x 50 ring gauge MSRP $7.75 Received from the company

Background

Welcome back to the 3rd consecutive Monday of living “Vicarias-ly.” I actually took a break between smoking the Vicarias White and finishing up with this Black label. Not something I often do, but I ended up with about 2.5 weeks in between last Monday’s review and today’s (speaking of the days between when I actually smoked the cigars here). At the end of the initial release from Vicarias we have the Black, a cigar that I’ve heard some people say is their most interesting. It is made with Nicaraguan fillers, a Dominican binder, and a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. I would like to again thank TRE J Cigars for providing cigars for review (by way of their local area rep who happened to stop by Burns recently) as well as detailed information on the blends. “TRE J” is shorthand for “3 J’s” and they are Jay Clark (CEO), John Johnson (President) and Jerry Garrett (Vice President).

Prelight

Again the band styling is the same as the other colors of labels, although black and gold always seem to go together very nicely. The wrapper leaf that the band was looped around was a dark chocolate shade of brown with a bit of lighter mottling, a couple of largish veins and an oily feel under my fingertips. Up to the nose, the wrapper had an aroma of earth and dark coffee, with just a touch of chocolatey sweetness. The foot had earth and grassiness mostly, with maybe a little woodiness in there, too. The cold draw was without blockage and tasted of anise, earth and coffee.

Flavor

The Vicarias Black lit easily and evenly; it started off with an oily, full-bodied smoke that had notes of espresso, earth, and leather. I picked up more anise and a hit of black pepper on the nose. Halfway through the first third, the anise had tapered off a bit on the palate and nose, while earth, coffee and pepper notes were coming through more strongly. That progression continued into the second third, which was more full-bodied, more earthy, and had more espresso than before. There was still a good amount of pepper, too, and enough sweetness to balance the profile well. The final third didn’t show a lot of change in flavor profile, but it did continue to display excellent earth and coffee notes with plenty of body and a subtle sweetness.

Construction

I saw excellent construction qualities on the Vicarias Black: excellent draw, very even burn line, and solid ash that held on for half an inch or more.

Value

As with their other offerings, the Vicarias Black is very reasonably priced.

Conclusions

Seems I saved the best for last in this case; the Vicarias Black is an excellent full-bodied smoke. It displayed up-front flavor while never overpowering with strength and was enjoyable all the way down to the nub. This is definitely a cigar I could see buying plenty of over the years and I think it will appeal to full-bodied maduro enthusiasts.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2 Construction: 2/2 Flavor: 4.5/5 Value: 1/1 Total: 9.5/10