Cigar Review: Swag Black Lavish

I have to admit, when I first saw the Swag cigars, I rolled my eyes and wrote them off. The name—combined with the over-the-top packaging—led me to assume they were subpar cigars, marketed towards casual smokers who wouldn’t know the difference between quality tobacco and cheap smokes.

After a while, a friend of mine convinced me to try the Swag Sobe, and I was pretty surprised. It certainly was not the best cigar I ever smoked, but it was a solid experience. Later, I learned Swag is part of Boutique Blends, noted most famously for the Aging Room cigars they’ve created. At this year’s industry trade show, the Boutique Blends booth was constantly busy, and they released four new cigars. One is the smoke I’m reviewing today: Swag Black.

This cigar is branded as a “Nicaraguan-level strength” Dominican puro. Personally, I’m not sure what this means. I’ve had plenty of Dominican puros that were filled to the brim with nicotine (I’m looking at you, La Flor Dominicana), and I’ve had some Nicaraguans that were solid medium-bodied smokes.

Swag Black clocks in at around $8, in 4 different sizes. I purchased 3 in the “Lavish” format (5 x 54) for this review, and after about a month in the humidor I figured it was time to light them up.

The construction on all three robustos was great; one cigar had a large vein underneath the band, but it did not impact the smoking experience at all. I straight-cut two of these, and punched the third. Both types of preparation created a smooth, easy draw with a decent amount of smoke production. The cold draw was nice and earthy, with a strong fruity aroma coming off of the foot.

I was hoping that fruity flavor would be the dominant one, similar to Joya de Nicaragua’s Cuatro Cinco. Instead, the first few puffs are smooth and earthy with natural tobacco in the background. This is definitely a full-flavored cigar, but I’m not sure I’d call it full-bodied (more medium- to full-bodied). As the cigar progressed, some of the fruity notes started to develop with a rich berry tone. About halfway through, on each of the sticks, I noticed a dark espresso component. On the third, I decided to brew up an Americano to pair the smoke with, and it really heightened the experience.

With an interesting flavor profile, consistent burn line and draw, and a decent price, the Swag Black Lavish is definitely worth checking out. This is my favorite of the Swag lines, but some of the Aging Room offerings are where one should go to find the best that Boutique Blends has to offer. Still, I like this cigar enough to want to have some around as a hefty morning coffee option. I award it four stogies out of five.

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–Joey J

photo credit: Stogie Guys