Note: somehow I forgot to take a photo of this cigar when I smoked it, so I borrowed the attached photo from the manufacturer’s website.
A few days ago, I was happy to share with you my thoughts on the Bariay 1492 Red Label. Today we turn our attention to the Bariay 1492 Black Label, thanks to review samples again provided by the company. The company name didn’t ring any bells for me at first, but it is “named in honor of the place where Columbus first encountered the sacred smoke of the Taino people”…and to the island where the art of cigar-making was born. The Bariay 1492 lines were crafted by Cesar Ramirez, who learned all about cigars in Cuba before escaping in 1994 at the age of 32.
The wrapper of the Black Label is Mexican San Andres Maduro, while the filler and binder leaves all come from Nicaragua…Esteli, Condega, and Ometepe regions to be exact. It is intended to be full-bodied, but with medium strength. “I blended it to be bold, yes—but layered, too….It’s a deep, complex cigar with a rhythm of its own—never rushed, or a single note.”
The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown color with a moderate amount of oiliness under my fingers. It had a rich sweetness to the nose, more so than maybe any other Mexican Maduro I can remember. It was very much that “mocha” mix of chocolate and coffee aromas, with little to no earthiness at all. The foot had more earthiness, along with wood and vegetal notes. The cold draw had notes of semi-sweet chocolate and espresso bean.
Once lit the Bariay 1492 Black Label had much more pronounced cedar notes, backed up with earth, anise, and espresso bean. Surprisingly for a cigar so bold and, yes, full-bodied, there was very little pepper spice…just a quick hit on the retrohale. After a few puffs, some sweeter notes of chocolate came through on the palate. Being the weekend after Thanksgiving when I reviewed this, I paired the cigar with some Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit. The well-aged and well-balanced bourbon gave more sweet and spicy notes to the pairing, which made it really interesting.
I enjoyed the rest of the Black Label…quite a bit more than the Red Label, for that matter. As advertised, it was definitely full bodied, but the strength was never beyond medium-plus. It gave tons of flavor from beginning to end…chocolate, anise, espresso bean, earth, baking spice, just a little pepper spice. Were I still giving numerical ratings, this would score very high. Be on the lookout for these cigars!
