Alec Bradley founder Alan Rubin, the son of a hardware importer, jumped in on the 90s cigar boom just before it trailed out. Ever since Rubin released his famous Tempus cigars a few years ago he was met with tremendous success and released many excellent cigars which have received accolades around the globe. One such cigar is the Alec Bradley Black Market.
The Black Market Toro’s filler is a combination of Honduran and Panamanian tobacco. The binder is Sumatra seed tobacco harvested in Ecuador and the wrapper is semi-sweet tobacco leaf grown in Jalapa, Nicaragua. The wrapper is dark and oily with several prominent veins. Even before lighting the cigar I can sense some of this complexity in the pre-light aroma. The pre-light aroma includes rich coffee, anise, cocoa, and earth. This is not at all the generic sweet pre-light aroma I normally get from a cigar. When I light the cigar I get a smooth draw. Burn is a bit wavy, but the ash builds up nicely. Cocoa and coffee predominate along with just a splash of fruit and a hint of spice. More flavors appear in the middle third include espresso and cherry. Flavors don’t evolve or change all that much by the final third, which is okay—when consistency tastes this good, consistency is good.
You can purchase the Alec Bradley Black Market Toro for about $7.50, which makes it a great value. There are many delectable flavors which interplay with this cigar, and even though they don’t change all that much, they are delicious from start to finish. The cigar is medium strength and could be a good smoke for a beginner who has progressed past mild cigars. It’d make a very nice mainstay for any experienced smoker as well. Alec Bradley’s Prensado was the Top Cigar of the Year according to Cigar Aficionado. While the Prensado is great, it certainly isn’t the only wonderful offering from Alec Bradley. The Black Market is just as satisfying in its own unique way.