I'm a huge Fan of the Alec Bradley Black Market and was curious how it would do with some age on them. I bought a 10 pack back in the beginning of December 2015 from famous when they were on clearance for 23.99 plus free shipping. I was gluttonous with these and smoked 6 out of the 10 within a 1 month period and it took a shit load of will power to put the rest away for aging.
Fresh rolled these were great with a really nice chocolate, coffee, cream, with just a hint of spice and an interesting tangy sweetness. They are extremely consistent in their flavor profile with zero transitions but that's what made them so great. I really dug the flavor profile and did not want it to change.
Here's the cigar after almost a year sitting in my glass top 50 count humidor (28 Robusto size cigars actually) at 69% rh and at 67 degrees Fahrenheit. The cellophane has yellowed just a bit and i was ready for my chocolate fix.
Well after lighting it up and puffing away i was extremely disappointed in the decline of one of my favorite cigars. Zero chocolate but interestingly enough i tasted quite a bit of pepper to start off.
The body was a classic medium and the strength a low medium but wow the flavors have really changed with time. Its meaty, smooth leather, oak, some earth, a little pepper, with a hint of creaminess. The tangy sweetness that i loved before basically morphed into a a tart almost burnt toast. The finish is slightly oily and long but interestingly clean and somewhat dry. Where did my chocolate go
?
Well It remained extremely consistent with zero changes and lasted one hour and 10 minutes. The burn was wavy and required a couple of touch ups. The ash held on for close to 1.5 inches until i had to take a piss and i paid the price for having so much confidence in it holding on for so long that i got a big fat ash right to my lap.
So people i learned a valuable lesson, don't age the Alec Bradley Black Market but instead be a glutton and smoke those right away. This is a cigar that taste best fresh rather than aged. Unless of course you enjoy a super consistent, meaty, leathery, and tart cigar that is medium/full in body and medium strength in terms of nicotine. Its not a horrible cigar aged but i was quite bored by the half way point and once the ash fell on my lap i only took a few more puffs before i called it quits.
Btw, the construction was great except for the sloppy double cap. If you're a chomper or salivate heavily then the cap might be a problem.
Here's the burn progression:
Fresh rolled these were great with a really nice chocolate, coffee, cream, with just a hint of spice and an interesting tangy sweetness. They are extremely consistent in their flavor profile with zero transitions but that's what made them so great. I really dug the flavor profile and did not want it to change.
Here's the cigar after almost a year sitting in my glass top 50 count humidor (28 Robusto size cigars actually) at 69% rh and at 67 degrees Fahrenheit. The cellophane has yellowed just a bit and i was ready for my chocolate fix.
Well after lighting it up and puffing away i was extremely disappointed in the decline of one of my favorite cigars. Zero chocolate but interestingly enough i tasted quite a bit of pepper to start off.
The body was a classic medium and the strength a low medium but wow the flavors have really changed with time. Its meaty, smooth leather, oak, some earth, a little pepper, with a hint of creaminess. The tangy sweetness that i loved before basically morphed into a a tart almost burnt toast. The finish is slightly oily and long but interestingly clean and somewhat dry. Where did my chocolate go
?Well It remained extremely consistent with zero changes and lasted one hour and 10 minutes. The burn was wavy and required a couple of touch ups. The ash held on for close to 1.5 inches until i had to take a piss and i paid the price for having so much confidence in it holding on for so long that i got a big fat ash right to my lap
.So people i learned a valuable lesson, don't age the Alec Bradley Black Market but instead be a glutton and smoke those right away. This is a cigar that taste best fresh rather than aged. Unless of course you enjoy a super consistent, meaty, leathery, and tart cigar that is medium/full in body and medium strength in terms of nicotine. Its not a horrible cigar aged but i was quite bored by the half way point and once the ash fell on my lap i only took a few more puffs before i called it quits.
Btw, the construction was great except for the sloppy double cap. If you're a chomper or salivate heavily then the cap might be a problem.
Here's the burn progression:
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