Not necessarily the most expensive or highest-rated cigar. What cigar overdelivered, changed your mind, or became an unexpected favorite?

Tell us the cigar, what surprised you, and whether you’d smoke it again.

A cigar is more than its tasting notes. I’m starting a new series exploring the companies, people, and stories behind the cigars I smoke. I'm doing this for my newsletter at blcc.news. Enjoy.

Morphine has an important place in the history of Black Label Trading Company.

James Brown launched BLTC in 2013. Morphine followed one year later as the company’s first limited-edition cigar.

The original idea raised a few eyebrows. Instead of using one wrapper, Brown combined Mexican San Andrés and Ecuadorian Maduro. It created a dark, rich profile that became one of the company’s most recognizable annual releases.

For the tenth anniversary, BLTC introduced this 6 x 54 Toro Box Press. Only 400 boxes were produced.

The blend uses the same dual-wrapper idea with Nicaraguan binder and filler. Earth, oak and black pepper with espresso, dark cocoa, and leather.

Black Label Trading Company built its reputation by making small-batch cigars with a very recognizable personality. Morphine helped establish that reputation.

Ten years later, it still does.

There is a family story behind this cigar.

Years before the Justice became a regular-production Corona Gorda, Mike Szczepankiewicz created a very small batch to celebrate the birth of his middle child. Only 100 cigars were reportedly made.

That early blend eventually helped shape the Powstanie Connecticut line. The 5 1/2 x 46 Justice brought the story back in a regular-production size.

The cigar combines an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper with a Pennsylvania Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Cedar, cream, honey and pepper give it more character than its light wrapper suggests.

A personal story turned into a very good cigar.

Would I smoke it again? Yes.

The weekend is here. What are you lighting up?

Share the cigar, a photo if you have one, and one thought about it. Tell us what you’re pairing it with too.

Most important question: Would you smoke it again?

The turquoise band on the Crux Epicure Maduro has a connection to a 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

Crux says the colors were chosen with that car in mind.

I wouldn't have made that connection looking at the cigar. But once you know, the turquoise, white, and gold make sense.

The company itself started a little farther north.

Jeff Haugen and Joel Rogers owned Tobacco Grove in Maple Grove, Minnesota. In 2014, they took their experience selling cigars and launched Crux.

The Epicure Maduro reached the market in 2019. It was their first maduro, using a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

They also went to AJ Fernandez’s factory to make it, a change from the Plasencia factory they had been working with.

That's a bit of history behind a little turquoise band.

I came outside to smoke a cigar and ended up reading about a Chevy.

Not necessarily the most expensive or highest-rated cigar. What cigar overdelivered, changed your mind, or became an unexpected favorite?

Tell us the cigar, what surprised you, and whether you’d smoke it again.

Last Rites was the first cigar James Brown blended on his own.

He built it around what he wanted to smoke. That makes this one a little more interesting to me.

Black Label Trading Company launched in 2013 with six blends. Last Rites was one of them.

Brown later described it as a personal favorite and a good representation of the company.

I only discovered Black Label this year, so I've been working my way through their cigars. It's easy to get caught up in the newer releases.

After smoking cigars for 40 years, I still enjoy finding a company I hadn't spent much time with.

I'm glad I found this one.

I found something interesting after looking into Liga Tridente.

Marlon Wayans is one of the owners. But he also stopped smoking cigars for about 20 years.

His reason was pretty simple. He was concerned about staining his teeth while building his acting career.

I wasn’t expecting that part of the story.

He eventually came back to cigars and started learning about the tobacco. The wrappers, binders, fillers, and what made different cigars taste different.

That interest helped lead him into Liga Tridente.

There are three people behind the company. Wayans, David Gaston and Victor Curley.

Gaston’s background includes decades of training and teaching martial arts. Curley spent more than 25 years in military and federal law enforcement service. His travels helped develop his interest in tobacco.

Quite a mix of backgrounds for a cigar company.

The part I liked most was how Wayans talks about spending time in cigar lounges. He visits them after shows, sits with people, and shares a cigar.

I can relate to that.

Some of the best conversations I’ve had started with somebody sitting nearby and asking what I was smoking.

You find out about a cigar. Then you find out about the person.

Now I’ve got another company to keep an eye on and the Liga Tridente Yasuke to add to my humidor.

The Quesada Reserva Privada Robusto has a pretty interesting story behind it.

In 1997, the Quesada family harvested an exceptional crop of Dominican San Vicente tobacco. Instead of using it right away, they stored it in bales made from palm bark and palm leaves. This protected the tobacco while allowing it to ferment and age slowly.

It sat there for about 18 years.

That tobacco eventually became the binder and part of the filler in the Reserva Privada. Quesada added Pennsylvania ligero for some extra strength and finished it with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper.

It starts out creamy and smooth, with honey, cedar and pepper.

Do not let the Connecticut wrapper fool you. This cigar starts around medium-bodied and builds from there.

Saving tobacco for 18 years is a gamble. In this case, it paid off.

Would I smoke this again? Absolutely.

Some cigars tell you everything through the band. Others make you curious enough to buy it.

The ADVentura La Llorona did both.

La Llorona is a character from Latin American folklore, known as “The Weeping Woman.” ADVentura brought that darker story into its ongoing tale of exploration, pirates and life at sea.

Behind the storytelling is ADV & McKay Cigars Co., the partnership between Marcel Knobel and Henderson Ventura. One brings the Swiss attention to detail. The other brings generations of Dominican tobacco experience.

This 2025 Toro was made exclusively for the company’s top retailers, with only 800 boxes produced. Underneath that bronze skull band is an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, dual Indonesian and Dominican binders, and Dominican Medio Tiempo filler.

The cigar brings together chocolate, coffee, caramel with leather, and black-pepper.

Would I smoke it again? Yes.

The weekend is here. What are you lighting up?

Share the cigar, a photo if you have one, and one thought about it. Tell us what you’re pairing it with too.

Most important question: Would you smoke it again?

Sometimes the story behind a cigar is as interesting as the cigar itself.

Charter Oak was named for the historic Connecticut tree associated with the state’s early independence. The cigar also honors Nick Melillo’s grandfather, who worked at Winchester Repeating Arms after World War II and smoked Connecticut Broadleaf cigars.

That history is wrapped around Nicaraguan tobacco, giving you earth, oak, dark chocolate, roasted nuts and pepper.

It was created as an affordable everyday cigar, but it never feels like something Foundation treated as an afterthought.

Would I smoke it again? Of course.

Black Label Trading Company has never looked like a traditional cigar company, and that was intentional.

James and Angela Brown launched the company in 2013. Two years later, they opened Fábrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, Nicaragua, giving them control over the blending, production, and artwork. James even creates the artwork used across the brands.

Salvation is a good example of what they do. The black-and-white band immediately stands out, but the cigar behind it is what matters.

An Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers.

Cedar, earth, cocoa, caramel, coffee, pepper, and toasted nuts give it plenty of flavor.

I found this one while I was in Austin. It turned out to be another reminder of why I keep looking beyond the usual cigars.

Would I smoke it again? Absolutely.

It was getting late and the temperature was dropping, but I still wanted to get outside for a cigar.

I grabbed the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto.

Medium-bodied, naturally sweet and nicely balanced. The cedar, cocao, coffee, cinnamon and earth with a little spice made it an enjoyable cigar on a cool evening.

Nothing complicated. Just a good cigar from a company that has been doing this for a very long time. One of my favorite brands.

Would I smoke it again? Yes.

Not necessarily the most expensive or highest-rated cigar. What cigar overdelivered, changed your mind, or became an unexpected favorite?

Tell us the cigar, what surprised you, and whether you’d smoke it again.

RoMa Craft had the idea for this cigar years before it was released. The original blend was strong, but apparently it was still too approachable to carry the Neanderthal name.

Then they discovered Green River Sucker One, an unusually heavy Pennsylvania Broadleaf tobacco, and they finally had the missing piece. I mean the missing link.

Sitting outside on a cold fall day, I understood what they were going for. This is a rich, full-bodied cigar with dark chocolate, coffee, earth, wood and a considerable amount of pepper. It has plenty of strength.

Would I smoke it again? Absolutely.

Talking with the owner made me curious. Smoking the Red Pill made me glad I asked.

I had Mo Maali from Patina Cigars on the podcast last week. Today, I finally sat down with his Red Pill.

One of the things I enjoy about these conversations is learning how someone ends up making cigars. Mo’s background includes working with the FDIC during the financial crisis. That experience helped inspire the Red Pill name.

That’s quite a change of direction.

Hearing the story gave me another reason to try it. But I still wanted to see whether I’d enjoy the cigar itself.

I did. Enough that I’d happily smoke another.

I’ve been smoking for about 40 years, and I still enjoy finding a brand that gives me something new to look forward to. Boutique cigars keep that interesting. You get a few disappointments, then something like this comes along.

The Red Pill was worth the wait.

Would I smoke it again? Absolutely.

What boutique cigar have you tried recently that deserves more attention?

I sat outside with an Amar by AJ Fernandez today. The story behind this cigar gave me something to think about.

In March 2025, a fire damaged AJ’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Other cigar manufacturers stepped in with equipment and support to help get the operation running again.

Yes, his competitors.

I’ve been in business a long time. You remember the people who show up when things go wrong.

Amar was created as a thank you to the community that stood by AJ and his team. Knowing that made me appreciate the cigar a little more.

That’s one of the things I enjoy about the cigar community. I’ve met some great people over the years, and stories like this make it easy to understand why.

Would I smoke it again? Absolutely. I enjoyed it as much as the story.

What’s something you’ve experienced that made you appreciate the cigar community?

I wanted try try something different today. Let me know if you like it.

Very cool day today. That didn’t stop Dallas from crashing through the door to get to the deck for his cookie.

Apparently, the weather only matters when there’s nothing to eat.

Today I grabbed the Espinosa Laranja Hybrid.

Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Brazil.

I picked up wood, earth and pepper, with some sweetness.

The medium-to-full body cigar was perfect for a cool day on the deck.

Would I smoke this cigar again? Absolutely.

Dallas approved.

The weekend is here. What are you lighting up?

Share the cigar, a photo if you have one, and one thought about it. Tell us what you’re pairing it with too.

Most important question: Would you smoke it again?