Hawk, by Blackbird Cigar Co. and Cigar Culture

I’ve been very bad about reviewing again. A combination of deployment, work, and depression-related fatigue have all combined to put most of my creative endeavors on hold, but I’m trying to break out of that, and, to that end, getting back to it tonight with a stick I’ve had sitting for months, waiting for me to review. If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll know that Blackbird Cigar Co. is one of my favorite new brands, and I’m on a personal quest to smoke and review every blend they put forth. This will put me just that much closer, and I’m thrilled to be able to jump back into cigar reviews with what I’m certain will be a great smoke!

Cigar: Hawk by Blackbird Cigar Co. and Cigar Culture

Vitola: Gran Toro (6” x 54)

Price: $13.30

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Brazilian Cubra
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Body: Medium

Rating (out of 10): 9.1

Appearance:
The Hawk is a soft box press, with a bright white-on-yellow band in the classic Blackbird “pull-tab” style, the difference being the tab on this band is not a small bird, but the partner company Cigar Culture’s brand name.

The wrapper is rich with oil, a dark, chocolatey brown in color, with a lighter, more milk chocolate-colored cap.  

Construction:
The Hawk is well balanced, with a cap that has started to peel, most likely from being moved from humidor to humidor over the past several months. I don’t expect the cut will suffer at all.

Aroma:
The barrel gives me some faint hits of cedar and chocolate, with a more barnyard scent at the foot, but still some chocolate in there, too. 

First Third:
Xikar XO never fails to give a perfect cut. I’ve had this thing for years, and have never had to clean or re-sharpen the blades; it just cuts perfectly every single time.

The cold draw is just a little bit tight, and gives me subtle notes of chocolate and hay. 

Little hints of pepper come in upon lighting, and something a little bit tangy in there, too, that I can’t quite identify.

I always seem to struggle getting an even light on box-pressed cigars. You’d think I’d have gotten it down by this point, but I still just can’t seem to get it right. In any case, wavy though the burn line may be, it’s still burning pretty evenly, leaving a pristine white ash in its wake. 

The draw is much better after lighting. Very light, silky smoke, medium body, medium flavor. Really nice.

Something of a slow burn, but we know I’ve never complained about having too much time with a cigar!

I get little touches of coffee and cedar on the retrohale, it rounds out the sweetness of the flavor profile quite nicely.

About an inch or so down, and we’ve got a runner! The burn suddenly became wildly uneven, but before I got to my lighter to retouch it, it was already self-correcting. Still a little wavy, but crisis averted!

Second Third:
Burning evenly again as we reach the second third, and this seems to be where more of that peppery spice comes in. First third was nice and gentle, but here’s where this thing slaps you in the face and yells at you to “wake up!”

After a quick burst of pepper, we slowly return to that original chocolate profile, again with an unidentified tanginess to it. It’s fantastic, but I don’t know quite how to describe it.

The ash is one of the firmest I’ve ever seen; it refuses to be tapped away, and I’ve literally had to roll it off against the side of my ash tray with a small amount of force (I’m trying to avoid being surprised by ash dropping suddenly into my lap).

Final Third:
Right as the final third started, the burn suddenly went out and required a re-light. Not something I’ve come to expect from cigars during a review, especially Blackbird Cigars. It’s one thing when I get carried away in conversation while smoking, but I smoke alone when I’m reviewing, so I do have to dock points for the burn in the last third.

Flavor is consistent, a touch more cedar on the back end, but otherwise the same.

Burn got a little wild again, but, again, self-corrected pretty quickly.

Apricot. That’s the tangy flavor that wasn’t coming to me. Not super-common, but always appreciated when it shows up in a cigar’s profile.

Closing Thoughts:
Overall, the Hawk provides a great smoking experience. I think the flavor warrants a higher score than it earns in this review, but there were some pretty significant burn issues with this one that I just can’t overlook. That being said, it still scored very well, and I would absolutely smoke it again.