Black Label Trading Founder Launches Black Works Studio

James Brown, the creator of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, Nicaragua, is launching a new project called Black Works Studio that he says will showcase unique premium cigars coming out of the factory.

In a press release, Brown said that “part of the motivation for opening our own factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra, was to experiment and develop unique blends highlighting Nicaraguan tobacco; Black Works Studio is my first opportunity to use our factory as my playground.” He sees the project, which gets stylized as BLK WKS, as a way to showcase his abilities as a cigar marker as well as what the factory can do, while also bringing new brands to the market.

Three cigars will launch on Dec. 11 as part of the project’s debut at Club Humidor’s Thousand Oaks location in San Antonio, Texas, with additional BLTC retailers having access to the cigars following the event.

The NBK (6 x 46, $9) is a box pressed corona larga vitola that uses an Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper and features a closed foot. The Killer Bee (4 1/2 x 46) is a petite corona that gets an Ecuadorian maduro wrapper, highlighted by what is being referred to as a “signature linear cap.” Rounding out the trio is the Rorschach (5 x 38, $4.30), a petite panetela with an Ecuadorian habano wrapper.

The binder and filler blend are not being released yet, but the three cigars are completely unique blends, however, not variations of existing Black Label Trading Co. blends. Details about the project’s formal release date and images about what the packaging will look like will be released in the coming weeks according to a company spokesperson.

The company is also withholding information about how many cigars will come in a box and what the production numbers will look like.

Patrick Lagreid

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.