Here's a review of the new colorful Alec Bradley Black Market Illicit.
I picked up a box of 22 back in early December when they were $69.99 for the 22 count box and Thompson Cigar gave me an email coupon code that knocked down the price down to slightly less than $56 for the box so how could i go wrong? I also picked up a couple of 10 count boxes of the AB Black Market War Dog and AB Black Market Phanthom since they were even cheaper at ~$24 per box.
I've had this cigar sitting at 69% Rh for 32 days and decided that it was time to light it up and see if i scored big or not. The cigar is really quite beautiful with a light cream colored wrapper. The wrapper is much lighter than the regular line so I was curious to the effect it would have on the flavor profile. Bonus was that the gigantic foot band slide off easily unlike the regular line where i have to tear it up to remove.
I light it up and wow the blend is similar but in my opinion greatly improved from the regular line. Its starts up much brighter without any of the darker maduro like flavors that the regular line possess.
The flavors i'm getting are a rich and balanced tobacco flavor that is quite complex in a subtle way. The finish is short but with a very oily mouth texture. It's smooth, sort of creamy, sort of woody, sort of nutty, sort of sweet, with a nice low pepper in the background. Its very well balanced and its difficult to describe the flavors since they all bounce around and come and go. The foot smoke is profuse and has an intense sweet walnut type smell. The draw is on the tighter side but i'm getting plenty of flavor and smoke. The burn is a little wavy and its burning super slow.
This is a great cigar with the flavors continuing to develop with the only constant flavors being a nice creamy, sweet, rich tobacco that is complemented with a low but constant pepper, nuttiness (walnuts/pecans), leather, and at times a tart to slightly bitter note. The finish is nice and oily but surprisingly short and clean. The draw remains on the tighter side but its a torpedo so its expected. I'm really digging how slow the burn is because the flavors are great.
After about 50 minutes the baseline flavors (oily sweet tobacco) are joined by a light coffee that is complemented with a continued low pepper, nuttiness, and leather that varies in intensity. The foot smoke is incredible with how sweet and nutty it is. The only negatives are a wavy burn line that requires a few minor touch up every time i knock off the ash.
At about the hour and 10 minute mark the cigar starts to burn slightly hotter and the flavor profile changes to a rich milky coffee that is complemented by a slightly increased pepper, with the sweetness and nuttiness become more of a background flavor that comes and goes. The body is a classic medium while the strength starts to make an appearance now that i'm reaching the last two inches. I had to pair the AB BM Illicit with a can of Squirt because i'm getting the tell tall signs of too much nicotine. Wow, Grapefruit soda really pairs well with this Black market. The citrus and carbonation completely cleanses the palate.
I have to put down the Black Market Illicit at the 1 hour and 30 minute mark because i'm starting to get a little light headed. I was going to nub it even more but it wasn't meant to be. Other than a slightly wavy burn this is a great cigar and its a shame that its either been sold out or the price has been jacked up to $7 a pop.
Here's the rest of the burn progression:
I picked up a box of 22 back in early December when they were $69.99 for the 22 count box and Thompson Cigar gave me an email coupon code that knocked down the price down to slightly less than $56 for the box so how could i go wrong? I also picked up a couple of 10 count boxes of the AB Black Market War Dog and AB Black Market Phanthom since they were even cheaper at ~$24 per box.
I've had this cigar sitting at 69% Rh for 32 days and decided that it was time to light it up and see if i scored big or not. The cigar is really quite beautiful with a light cream colored wrapper. The wrapper is much lighter than the regular line so I was curious to the effect it would have on the flavor profile. Bonus was that the gigantic foot band slide off easily unlike the regular line where i have to tear it up to remove.
I light it up and wow the blend is similar but in my opinion greatly improved from the regular line. Its starts up much brighter without any of the darker maduro like flavors that the regular line possess.
The flavors i'm getting are a rich and balanced tobacco flavor that is quite complex in a subtle way. The finish is short but with a very oily mouth texture. It's smooth, sort of creamy, sort of woody, sort of nutty, sort of sweet, with a nice low pepper in the background. Its very well balanced and its difficult to describe the flavors since they all bounce around and come and go. The foot smoke is profuse and has an intense sweet walnut type smell. The draw is on the tighter side but i'm getting plenty of flavor and smoke. The burn is a little wavy and its burning super slow.
This is a great cigar with the flavors continuing to develop with the only constant flavors being a nice creamy, sweet, rich tobacco that is complemented with a low but constant pepper, nuttiness (walnuts/pecans), leather, and at times a tart to slightly bitter note. The finish is nice and oily but surprisingly short and clean. The draw remains on the tighter side but its a torpedo so its expected. I'm really digging how slow the burn is because the flavors are great.
After about 50 minutes the baseline flavors (oily sweet tobacco) are joined by a light coffee that is complemented with a continued low pepper, nuttiness, and leather that varies in intensity. The foot smoke is incredible with how sweet and nutty it is. The only negatives are a wavy burn line that requires a few minor touch up every time i knock off the ash.
At about the hour and 10 minute mark the cigar starts to burn slightly hotter and the flavor profile changes to a rich milky coffee that is complemented by a slightly increased pepper, with the sweetness and nuttiness become more of a background flavor that comes and goes. The body is a classic medium while the strength starts to make an appearance now that i'm reaching the last two inches. I had to pair the AB BM Illicit with a can of Squirt because i'm getting the tell tall signs of too much nicotine. Wow, Grapefruit soda really pairs well with this Black market. The citrus and carbonation completely cleanses the palate.
I have to put down the Black Market Illicit at the 1 hour and 30 minute mark because i'm starting to get a little light headed. I was going to nub it even more but it wasn't meant to be. Other than a slightly wavy burn this is a great cigar and its a shame that its either been sold out or the price has been jacked up to $7 a pop.
Here's the rest of the burn progression: