Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto

In 2016, Black Label Trading Co.’s new Bishops Blend debuted with a 94 rating from Patrick Lagreid. He wasn’t the only one who liked the cigar, as it’s gone on to become an annual release for the company.

This year, the company is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has done so with a variety of special releases. That included changing Bishops Blends by introducing a new, amped-up version called Novemdiales. Whereas the regular Bishops Blends uses an Ecuadorian maduro wrapper, the Novemdiales uses a Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuadorian habano-seed binder and a filler blend that includes tobacco from Connecticut, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania.

As with recent releases of the Bishops Blend, it was released in three sizes, each vitola limited to 900 boxes:

• Bishops Blend Novemdiales Petite Corona (4 1/2 x 46) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto (5 x 50) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• Bishops Blend Novemdiales Toro (6 x 48) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)

As for the name, it comes from the Roman Catholic tradition that calls for an official nine-day mourning period following the death of a pope.

• Cigar Reviewed: Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica Oveja Negra
• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Pennsylvania Broadleaf)
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua & U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf & Pennsylvania)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• Release Date: September 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 900 Boxes of 20 Cigars (18,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

As with so many cigars from Fábrica Oveja Negra, this isn’t just a standard parejo. Like the very first Bishops Blend, this one features a unique, slightly tapered cap that comes to a nipple-like point. Of course, once the cigar is cut, it looks like a standard parejo. The wrapper is a dark brown color that has lots of reds. Sometimes, the combination of that brown color and the black mottling creates an appearance that looks a touch purple. The aroma from the wrapper is unlike any cigar I’ve smoked in recent memory. It reminds me of lavender soap mixed with something kiwi-like. It’s so unique that I asked Brooks for his thoughts, he said it reminded him of cologne. Whatever it is, it’s unlike how most cigars smell, not just because of the individual flavors, but it seems like this is a completely different type of aroma than how tobacco normally smells. It’s not a flavored cigar smell, but more like smelling soap. The foot has some of those flavors, though I get a more standard cigar smell of cedar, as well as something that reminds me of the smell of a permanent marker. Across the three cigars, the aromas’ intensities are medium-plus or medium-full. Cold draws are much more in the wheelhouse of a cigar. One cigar is led by smooth chocolate and Cap’n Crunch-like cereal; another has pasta water, cocoa and black tea; and the third is more like the first cigar, though with some cinnamon candy and vegetal flavors added to the mixture. Each cigar’s cold draw is medium-full, though the draws range from open to somewhat tight.

Unfortunately, the wide range in draw resistance continues. The first two cigars are on the open side, though the flavors are completely different. Charred earth, a hot dog meatiness and herbal flavors lead the first cigar. The second cigar has cocoa, cedar and creaminess over pistachio and black pepper, more medium-full. The final cigar has toasty woodiness and cinnamon over some sourness, bitter chocolate and earthiness. That cigar also has a tight draw, at least for the first puff. Each of the three Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robustos’ draws open up as the cigar progresses. That causes a problem within the first 15 minutes of the first cigar, as it goes out completely, no doubt due to the open draw’s resistance and the impact on combustion. After getting caught off guard by that, I take extra precautions with each cigar going forward. Flavor-wise, a smooth and dry white cracker flavor edges out toasty woods for the first inch or so. But at a certain point, the toasty flavor takes over. Secondary notes include cranberries, nuttiness and minerals. The toasty aspect lightens up during the finish, transitioning the woodiness to more of a damp woods, joined by herbal flavors and a lot of indeterminate sharpness. Retrohales bring that pasta water flavor back to the forefront, now joined by nuttiness. The retrohales of the first two cigars are extremely intense, to the point that I limit how many of them I do, though the third cigar doesn’t have that feature. They finish with a cola-like sweetness in my nose as some starchiness and acidity build in the back of the throat. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is medium-full. The first cigar requires the aforementioned relight, the second cigar’s combustion is much better, and the third is somewhat in between, requiring a touch-up to help with combustion and burn line evenness.

During my second cigar, I write, “the cigar tastes how it looks” in my tasting notes. That’s a reference to the dominant toasty woody flavor that has taken control of each cigar. It sits atop a more generic cedar, leather, and a touch of white pepper. While the three cigars started quite differently, they have ended up in a remarkably similar place in terms of flavors. I can’t pick up much of a difference during the finish, perhaps the woods drop off a bit—meaning the toastiness is a touch more earthy—and there’s some apple cider sweetness. Retrohales are a bit different between the cigars. The cigar with the pasta water in the first third retains both the pasta water flavor and the extreme intensity. The other two are more similar with toasty cedar and gingerbread before some white pepper and sharpness come into the profile. There’s not much of a difference with the finish in terms of flavors, though some added saltiness and ginger—not gingerbread—add themselves to some puffs. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is medium-full. Construction is much like the first third. The second cigar continues to burn without much issue, the third cigar needs two more touch-ups and the first cigar requires two more touch-ups, though is struggling more than the final cigar. To go along with that, the first and third cigars have draws that seem to be getting more open, whereas the second cigar seems like the draw is thankfully tightening.

The second Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto I smoke delivers one of the most impressive final thirds I’ve tasted of late. Puffs oftentimes start with sugar cane hitting the palate a second before everything else arrives. A very intertwined, toasty mixture of earthiness, straw and woods follows in a dominant fashion. At the back of my throat, I taste some potato-like starchiness, black pepper and acidity. Eventually, creaminess and sweetness enter that area of the palate, turning the starchiness into a flavor that’s a bit more like a sweet potato than just a normal potato. The finish is remarkably clean with toastiness, burning woods and barnyard. Retrohales have toastiness and minerals—still dominant, but not as strong as those flavors are in the mouth—along with some sugar sweetness. As the nub crosses the one-inch mark, I begin to taste an olive oil-like flavor that dramatically increases the complexity. I’m not really able to tell a difference between the first few seconds that the smoke has left my nose and the proper finish, but given how good the flavor is, I don’t mind. Unfortunately, the other two cigars are struggling with combustion and it seems to have reduced the nuances and increased the bitterness. Fortunately, it doesn’t destroy the profile, but those two cigars are not in the same league compared to the second cigar. Flavor remains full, body is full and strength is medium-full.

Final Notes

• For the second review in a row, draw issues are the story here. The first and third cigars didn’t have much of a chance due to an open draw. While I’ve never studied it, I’m guessing that I cut off less of the cap than the median cigar smoker. Even still, the draws on those two cigars were open enough to be causing combustion issues within the first half inch of the cigar.
• As I’ve mentioned countless times before: if the draw isn’t in the right place, it will affect how the tobacco physically burns, which in turn means that the cigar’s flavor will be impacted—oftentimes negatively—because the tobacco isn’t burning properly.
• Even the worst of the three cigars—the first one I smoked—was a decent enough cigar that I’d smoke it again, but I’d pay double to get the second cigar’s experience. It was that good, that much better.

• These were some of the most consistent cigars we’ve weighed and measured to date.
• I’m not sure how to quantify this, but the finish was very clean. Oftentimes, a cigar that has a dominant flavor leads to an aftertaste that is predictably that flavor. That didn’t happen with the Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto. My mouth still tasted like I smoked a cigar, but it didn’t taste like toastiness.
• Similarly, the flavors—while oftentimes in the more aggressive part of the flavor wheel—were quite smooth. Full, heavy, but smooth.
• I’m concerned about how this cigar will age. This seems like one of those cigars that is going to perform best in its current stage. Perhaps you may like it better when it’s aged, but it seems quite clear that it’s blended to taste like a strong and powerful cigar.
• While it’s full-flavored, full-bodied and has a dark wrapper, strength never got into the full category, staying solidly in the medium-full range.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was a relatively quick one hour and 30 minutes on average. The first and third cigars were a bit quicker than the second cigar, but within about 10 minutes.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend Novemdiales Robusto.