La Madonna Negra Robusto Box Press

In June, Black Label Trading Co. commemorated its 10th anniversary in business by releasing a new line consisting of three different vitolas. Named La Madonna Negra—which translates to The Black Madonna from Spanish—the blend is composed of a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper covering an Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos grown in Nicaragua and Pennsylvania.

“La Madonna Negra is a culmination of things I’ve learned over the last decade of cigar making,” said James Brown, founder of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fábrica Oveja Negra, in a press release. “It’s a cigar that not only represents Black Label but also represents who I am today as a cigar maker. It’s bold, as a BLTC cigar should be but, it’s also very refined and elegant. It has layers of complexity and a very unique profile. A mixture of different spice elements combines with aromatic floral notes to create something unexpected. I’m very proud of the result.”

While each of the three vitolas is limited to just 900 20-count boxes, Black Label Trading Co. also released 50 so-called “Collection Boxes” priced at $392 each that contain a mixture of 32 cigars, all of which are the standard three sizes available in the line. The company hosted a lottery drawing on its Instagram page in early June where it announced the stores which would be receiving the Collection Boxes.

Black Label Trading Co. is making the cigar in three vitolas:

• La Madonna Negra Rothschild Box Press (4 1/2 x 48) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• La Madonna Negra Corona Gorda Box Press (5 1/2 x 50) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
• La Madonna Negra Robusto Box Press (5 x 54) — $13 (Box of 20, $260)

All three sizes of the La Madonna Negra are made at Black Label Trading Co.’s Fábrica Oveja Negra factory located in Estelí, Nicaragua, and boxes started shipping to retailers in June.

• Cigar Reviewed: Black Label Trading Co. La Madonna Negra Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica Oveja Negra
• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua and U.S.A. (Pennsylvania)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: 2,700 Boxes of 20 Cigars and 50 Boxes of 32 Cigars (55,600 Total Cigars)
• Release Date: June 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: $13 (Box of 20, $260)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

A reddish, milk chocolate-colored wrapper that is smooth as silk to the touch greets me as I pull the La Madonna Negra out of the cellophane, and the obvious box-press is a nice visual touch. All three cigars are just short of rock hard when squeezed, and a physical inspection reveals no soft spots whatsoever. Aromas from the wrappers include a distinct peppermint note interspersed with sweet earth, creamy cedar, barnyard, leather tack and some black pepper. However, the scents from the feet are quite different, with a strong, sweet hay note easily outpacing aromas of cashews, sourdough bread, cedar and more black pepper. After a straight cut, the cold draws bring flavors of dense cedar, more hay and barnyard, gritty earth, sweet breadiness and baker’s spices.

A combination of spice and cocoa nibs is the first thing I notice immediately after lighting the feet of the cigars, but it does not take long for the profile to shift, resulting in sweet cedar and espresso beans taking over the top spots. Additional flavors of earth, leather, popcorn, cloves and a light vegetal note flit in and out at various points, while the retrohale includes light black pepper and a bready sweetness that reminds me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. My second cigar is less enjoyable: the same flavors that I have noted in the other two cigars seem to be present, but those flavors are not nearly as obvious or easy to pick out. Flavor starts off at a point just over medium while the body and strength end the first third just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, the draws and smoke production are giving me no problems for all three cigars, but one cigar needs a quick correction with my lighter to keep on track.

There are not many changes in the profile of the cigar during the second third: espresso beans and sweet cedar continue as the main flavors, followed by a generic nuttiness, toasted bread, dark chocolate, dry hay and a bit more of the vegetal note I first noticed in the first third. In addition, while there is slightly more black pepper on the retrohale after the halfway point, the amount of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal has decreased slightly. However, the flavors in one of the cigars continue to feature less distinctness and nuance, almost as if they are muted in some way. Flavor increases to land at medium-plus, the body makes it to a solid medium and the strength joins the flavor at medium-plus. Construction-wise, all three cigars continue to exhibit amazing draws and plenty of dense smoke, but the burn on two of the cigars run into just enough trouble to need a minor correction in order to avoid larger issues.

While the same sweet cedar and espresso bean combination continues to take the top spots in the profile of the La Madonna Negra until the end of the cigar, there are some changes to the secondary notes as new additions of dry oatmeal, gritty earth and a light floral note combine with hay, dark chocolate and leather tack. However, the retrohale features virtually no changes, with the same combination of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal sweetness and black pepper compared to the second third. The flavor crosses the medium-full mark, while the body ends at a point just over medium and the strength stays put at medium-plus. Once again, two cigars need a couple of touch-ups with my lighter, but the draws and smoke production are trouble-free until I put the nubs down with an inch left.

Final Notes

• According to Wikipedia, the Black Madonna—also called the Black Virgin—refers to “statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin.”
• I do love how the box-pressed vitola felt when I was smoking it.
• My second cigar was noticeably different compared to the other two: the flavors in the profile were not nearly as rich or distinct, it needed multiple burn corrections, and it ended up hitting a point just under the full mark strength-wise, while the other two cigars maxed out at medium-plus.
• Editor’s Note: The difference between the score of that second cigar and the average score of the other two cigars was eight points. — Charlie Minato
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 36 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the La Madonna Negra cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct and Famous Smoke Shop have them in stock on their respective websites.