Smoked: West Tampa Tobacco Company Black

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

West Tampa Tobacco Company Black Robusto 5 x 50 features a Nicaraguan binder and filler cloaked in a smooth dark chocolate brown oily Ecuador Habano wrapper aged longer than the tobacco used in the West Tampa White so it’s a darker color. The seams are hidden and the veins are barely visible.

Oak, some cedar, earthy mossy/forest floor/trufle notes, pepper, a fruit component like berries or cherries, chocolate and coffee that meld together like something finely crafted by a barista. This is already an interesting cigar. Some leather kicks in during the second third. The mossy/earthy notes are morphing into vegetal notes. The pepper gets serious on the retrohale along with earth and leather. Medium bodied, medium to medium-mild strength to start. Both body and strength intensify to a medium-full finish.

Open draw, nice even burn line, solid smoke output and ash that held fairly well. No wrapper issues or soft spots. This is a well-constructed cigar.

I enjoyed the West Tampa Black. It’s nothing special, but an interesting cigar. I smoked a Red earlier in the week. The Red remains my favorite of the series.