Alec Bradley Ships Black Market Estelí Diamond

After a bit of a delay, the limited edition Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Diamond is on its way to stores.

It is notable for the box press that it receives; instead of a traditional box press that results in a rectangular shape, the cigar is given a diamond shape, with two obtuse angles and two acute angles.

The Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Diamond measures 6 1/4 inches long with a 54 ring gauge, and uses the same basic blend as the other sizes in the line: a Nicaraguan wrapper, dual binders from Nicaragua and Honduras, and  fillers from Nicaragua. However, there is an extra leaf of ligero in the filler, giving the cigar a stronger and bolder profile than the core line, which debuted in 2017.

Only 1,500 boxes of 16 cigars are being made, a total of 24,000 cigars, with production handled by the Plasencia factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, Individual cigars are priced at $9.85 while boxes are $157.60, before taxes.

The Black Market Estelí Diamond joins the line’s five regular production sizes:

• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Churchill (7 x 50) — $8.75 (Boxes of 22, $192.50)
• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Gordo (6 x 60) — $9.20 (Boxes of 22, $202.40)
• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Robusto (5 x 52) — $7.55 (Boxes of 22, $166.10)
• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Toro (6 x 52) — $8.50 (Boxes of 22, $187)
• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Torpedo (6 1/2 x 52) — $8.75 (Boxes of 22, $192.50)
• Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Diamond (6 1/4 x 54) — $9.85 (Box of 16, $157.60)

The cigar had been originally scheduled to ship in June, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the cigar’s release until now.

Alec Bradley has used the unique diamond press vitola before, first in 2014 with the Nica Puro Diamond Rough-Cut and bringing it back in several subsequent years as a limited edition release. That cigar is also made at the Plasencia factory and also measures 6 1/4 x 54.