11. Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut
Black Works Studio
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Fabrica Oveja Negra
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut & Maduro)
- Binder: Nicaragua (Habano)
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Length: 4 1/2 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 46
- Vitola: Petit Corona
- MSRP: $10 (Boxes of 20, $200)
- Release Date: Nov. 13, 2018
- Number of Cigars Released: 700 Boxes of 20 Cigars (14,000 Total Cigars)
- Original Score: 91
If there has been a company who has been making significant inroads into humidors across the country, it is Black Label Trading Co. Known for full-flavored, full-bodied cigars, the company has amassed a good number of fans on its own.
In 2015, James Brown, the founder of BLTC and partner in the Fabrica Oveja Negra factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, realized that the factory could do more than just regular production cigars, and he needed a venue in which to show them off. Enter Black Works Studio, or as it is often stylized, BLK WKS. A boutique project of an already boutique brand and factory. One of its most notable releases in 2018 was the Killer Bee CT, a follow-up to the company’s Killer Bee release. Here, the blend changes a bit to feature an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper with significant Ecuadorian Habano accents, while Nicaraguan tobacco sits underneath as the binder and filler.
The cigar is almost at odds with itself at times: a Connecticut wrapped cigar often signals a lighter and milder profile, but the blend lives up to the Killer Bee moniker with notes of coffee, earth and abundant pepper for strength.
If you were lucky enough to get your hands on some of the 14,000 cigars made, consider yourself lucky. This is an outstanding release from the BLK WKS team that starts off vibrant and full of flavor from the first puff, and burns as beautifully as it looks. — Patrick Lagreid.
