Cigar Review: Blackbird Rook Sumatra Robusto

Initial Thoughts:

One thing I like about Blackbird Cigars is their color scheme for their labels. You never have to remember what cigar you liked (or disliked) from them, all you have to do is remember the color. Today's cigar is the sky-blue Rook from Blackbird Cigars.

The first thing I noticed about the Blackbird Rook Robusto was the massive vein complex up near the smoking end. While taking the Rook out of the cellophane, I saw two pretty significant leaf stems running the length of the cigar.

Other than the two stems, the rest of the cigar looks great. The label is lined up evenly, and the colors are consistent. With a guillotine cut, the draw was about perfect, if not just slightly on the side of being too loose.

While the burn got off to a rough start, perhaps due to the wind, the flavors were good and delivered spice from both the Sumatran wrapper and the Habano binder.

CigarScore:

cigarscore 3 cigar rating

Brand: Blackbird
Line: Rook
Size: 5 x 50
Cut: Guillotine
Light: Torch
Price: $8.25

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: TBD Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Smoke Time: 50 minutes


Final Thoughts

The Blackbird Rook Sumatra Robusto was a combination of delicious complexity and disappointment. While the flavors were good, the burn became significantly uneven multiple times over the course of the smoke.

The flavors were good and were only of spice. If you're looking for a creamy or sweet Dominican-filled cigar, the Rook is not it.

While I enjoyed the taste of this cigar, I felt like I had to fight it the entire time, having to stop and relight it every so often. For these reasons, the Blackbird Rook Sumatra Robusto earns a CigarScore 3.

The CigarScore Rating System Explained

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