Black Star Line’s Rosewood 1923 Arrives in Stores

Black Star Line Cigars’ first blend from Fábrica Oveja Negra is now arriving on shelves.

The new Rosewood 1923 is offered in a single 6 x 48 corona size. It uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an Ecuadorian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Each cigar has an MSRP of $13.50 and is offered in boxes and bundles of 20 cigars. The cigars that are sold in bundles are listed on the price list as $12.50 per cigar.

“I have always wanted to work with Oveja Negra. I am a huge fan of their cigars and actually James (Brown) was one of the first people I reached out to when I was looking to enter the cigar industry,” said Aric Bey, owner of Black Star Line Cigars, in a press release when the cigar was announced in June. “I ended up gaining JB’s respect through my hard work and persistence with what I have done thus far with AGANORSA Leaf.”

The name references the Rosewood massacre, which killed between 7-27 people and destroyed the entire town with the exception of a lone general store. Rosewood was destroyed as part of racially motivated killings. Following a lynching, Black residents of Rosewood began defending themselves against attacks. In response to their defenses, white mobs came to the town and razed the town, which had an independent Black community. Following the massacre, the town was abandoned.

“I love the name because it not only pays homage to the 100-year anniversary of the massacre but also pays homage to my fraternity brother John Singleton who made a movie about Rosewood in the early 90s. I am a member of ‘Greater’ Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., and Singleton passed away a few years ago.”

That film, Rosewood (1997), starred Jon Voight, Ving Rhames and Don Cheadle.

Update (Aug. 18, 2023) — The Rosewood 1923 is listed on the company’s price list for $13.50 per cigar sold in boxes and $12.50 per cigar for cigars sold in bundles. The story originally listed the price at $12.99.