Robusto, 5” x 50 ring gauge / MSRP ~$7.50 - 8.00
And so we come to the final installment in this Friday series looking at the new blends from 1502 Cigars (part of Global Premium Cigars). The Black Gold is said to be 1502’s strongest cigar, “made to satisfy the discerning smoker who enjoys bold and strong flavors.” The description on the website says it has a double binder and long filler from Nicaragua, as well as a “natural Maduro sun-grown tobacco wrapper,” but does not indicate where that wrapper comes from. It had a nice ripe aroma of earth, though, along with some leathery notes; the foot had a cedary aroma along with more earthiness. The color of the wrapper was dark brown with darker mottling. After cutting, the draw was excellent and the flavor was rich with natural tobacco, earth, cocoa powder and a mild pepper spice.
The promise of bold flavors was upheld right from the beginning as I got a full force of flavor including espresso bean, red pepper, cocoa powder and earth. Through the first third, the flavors did stay rather intense...lots of earth and coffee, although the pepper spice diminished pretty rapidly. The burn line was a bit of an issue as I had to correct 3 or more times in the first third, but with a maduro wrapper, that’s not always unusual, either. The body was definitely in the full range, although not pushing the envelope as I feared it might.
In the second half, I got flavors of anise and raisin to go along with the earth and coffee, but I still got more than my share of burn problems. The burn line needed several touch-ups again and the cigar almost went out me altogether at one point after I hadn’t puffed on it for less than a minute. It might have done a bit better if I had left it to rest a couple weeks longer than I had (which was a couple weeks already), or it might have been better to dry box this one for a couple hours before lighting up. Despite these issues, though, this was a very good cigar that I would like to try again for a full review.
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