Black Label Trading Co. is known for offering some pretty full-strength cigar blends, so when the company announced that it would be bringing one of its boldest new blends to the 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show, it had no trouble attracting the attention of its fans and retailers who attended the show.
The new cigar is called Orthodox, and it uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an Ecuadorian habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua. It is available in three sizes, each limited to 900 boxes, with the cigars made at Fábrica Oveja Negra in Nicaragua, the home of Black Label Trading Co.’s portfolio, including Black Works Studio.
Note: The following shows the various Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox vitolas. Some of these cigars may have been released after this post was originally published. The list was last updated on Sept. 3, 2024.
- Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Short Robusto (4 1/2 x 52) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
- Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda (5 x 46) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
- Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Toro (5 3/4 x 50) — $13 (Box of 20, $260)
90
Overall Score
While I don't smoke Black Label Trading Co.'s offerings on a regular basis—or any company's, for that matter—I was a bit surprised to see that the company was releasing a cigar designed to get back to its roots. I never thought that that the company had necessarily deviated from its roots, but rather had simply evolved and expanded over the years. I find it interesting that James Brown said "at our core we are about highlighting the strength & intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco," yet neither the wrapper or binder come from Nicaragua. What I will say is that Brown and Black Label continue to get more and more refined with blending and delivering cigars that are more than just strength. The Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda is a cigar that moves quickly, pulls no punches, and hits a lot of the right flavor notes with deftness and accuracy. For a no-nonsense cigar, the Orthodox Corona Gorda delivers from the first puff to the last.
“Orthodox is really about Black Label getting back to its roots,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co., in a press release. “We’ve done a lot over the last 10 years but at our core we are about highlighting the strength & intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco. That’s what I went for with the Orthodox. It’s extremely bold with spice throughout the palate and nose. Its intensity is balanced by flavors of dark fruits, cherries, raisins and finishes with star anise. This cigar is bold but very balanced and extremely complex.”
The company began shipping the cigars in early May.
- Cigar Reviewed: Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Fábrica Oveja Negra
- Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
- Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Length: 5 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 46
- Shape: Round
- MSRP: $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
- Release Date: May 2024
- Number of Cigars Released: 900 Boxes of 20 Cigars (18,000 Total Cigars)
- Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3
I’m almost always enthusiastic about smoking a corona gorda like this one from Black Label Trading Co., as the vitola seems to offer a great balance of flavor, time investment and overall performance. The Orthodox Corona Gorda sports a rich, dark brown wrapper that is very even in color with small veins and nearly invisible seam lines. Its texture is on the dry side, which reveals a lot of tactile sensation for my fingers. One cigar’s wrapper has so much texture to it that I am reminded of touching growing tobacco, and in particular, the little hairs, or trichomes, that the leaves have on them. All three cigars appear to be rolled well, finished off by a tight twist of tobacco on the head stands at attention. The foot has aromas of cool and flat cola, with a bit of black pepper and rich earth in the background. The cold ranges from idea to being a bit firm, with a touch of jerky consistently in the mix and one cigar having a bit of packaged chocolate milk.
The Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda starts off with an interesting sweetness in the first puffs of two cigars, sort of like cola syrup that had been cut with plain water. The third cigar doesn’t have that flavor and instead offers a sharper, almost metallic funkiness out of the gate, but quickly gets on track with the other after just a couple of puffs. Retrohales are just a bit lighter than the flavor thanks to some chalk but match up fairly well with the flavor, expanding the breadth of the flavor rather than doubling down on it. A touch of light creaminess comes in at the end of this section to shift the flavor’s direction ever so slightly. Flavor is medium-full with some puffs landing on either side of that designation, body is medium and strength is mild but feeling like it will increase. Construction is very good, with no problems for any of the three cigars.
The second third of the Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda starts with the creaminess nudging its way further and further into the front of the flavor profile, while the supporting flavors are earthy and rich with a subtle sweetness in the background that reminds me of grape jelly. There is some good pepper through the nose, punchy but not overly bright, almost a dull tingle of sensation. When it’s time for the flavor to change, it does so fairly quickly, with little in the way of transition time. It then takes off as the combustion rate of the cigar seems to pick up as well, and the next thing I know, this section is coming to a close. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium but starting to thicken up as this section comes to a close, while strength is medium-minus and feeling poised for an increase. Construction remains very good, with the burn rate picking up just a touch in this section. One cigar struggles with combustion towards the end of this section and needs a relight.
The smoke gets a bit warmer and drier as the final section of the Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda gets underway, and I’d be inclined to say that the smoke turns hot to be more accurate. The pepper brightens up in the nose as well as this section gets underway, and it also begins to irritate the eyes at times. There’s a new woodiness leading the profile, and when combined with the pepper in the nose, makes for a pretty vibrant profile that is very engaging and enjoyable that ends up carrying the cigar to its conclusion. The flavor and body are both medium-plus, while the strength is medium-minus. Construction is near perfect when it comes to the burn line, draw, and smoke production. As for combustion, after the occasional slowdown in the second third, the final third of each cigar performs quite well.
Final Notes
- I sort of wish that the Orthodox work mark on the band was a bit more readable at first glance, but I respect the decision to choose the font.
- The name is an interesting one to me, especially given James Brown’s comments about the cigar being about Black Label getting back to its roots, and highlighting the strength and intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco.
- For a cigar of any size, the ash on the Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda held on quite impressively, though it felt even more impressive given the vitola’s slender ring gauge.
- I thought the Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda would have more nicotine strength than it did, but I didn’t feel any nicotine effects after smoking any of the three cigars.
- I have not yet had the chance to smoke the other sizes of the blend, so I can’t speak to which one best shows off the blend.
- The company lists these as a 5 x 46 corona gorda. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review. The cigars were measured from the natural top of the cap and not the end of the tip.
- The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
- Final smoking time was one hour and 20 minutes on average.
- Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Famous Smoke Shop, JR Cigars, and Smokingpipes carry the Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda.
90
Overall Score
While I don't smoke Black Label Trading Co.'s offerings on a regular basis—or any company's, for that matter—I was a bit surprised to see that the company was releasing a cigar designed to get back to its roots. I never thought that that the company had necessarily deviated from its roots, but rather had simply evolved and expanded over the years. I find it interesting that James Brown said "at our core we are about highlighting the strength & intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco," yet neither the wrapper or binder come from Nicaragua. What I will say is that Brown and Black Label continue to get more and more refined with blending and delivering cigars that are more than just strength. The Black Label Trading Co. Orthodox Corona Gorda is a cigar that moves quickly, pulls no punches, and hits a lot of the right flavor notes with deftness and accuracy. For a no-nonsense cigar, the Orthodox Corona Gorda delivers from the first puff to the last.
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
