Jackdaw by Blackbird Cigar Co.

Finally wrapping up my reviews of the six cigars in the Blackbird Sampler! I will freely admit, I put this one off until the end, because, as a general rule, cigars wrapped in Connecticut leaf are not my favorite. I anticipate this one's going to take some hits on flavor, but I'll also point out that flavor preference is highly subjective, so don't let my taste buds taint your smoking experience.

Cigar: Jackdaw, by Blackbird Cigar Co.

Vitola: Robusto (5” x 50)

Price: ~$7.50

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Corojo, USA and Dominican
Body: Mild

Rating (out of 10): 8.9

Appearance: The standard Blackbird peel-tab band on the Jackdaw features a black-on-orange color scheme, with just a tiny spot of discoloration. The band goes quite nicely with the cigar's golden-brown color. The barrel features nearly-invisible seams and a perfect cap.

Construction: There are absolutely no visible cracks, tears, or damage to the stick. It cuts perfectly, and I'm ready to go.

Aroma: The barrel smells sweet and softly musky, and there's a nice floral scent at the foot.

First Third:
The cold draw offers the tiniest bit of resistance. The taste is sweet and earthy, with just the softest hint of cracked pepper.

The burn gets off to a bit of an angled start, I'll wait to see if it corrects itself.

Oh. Oh. There's some sweet citrus in here, it's very nice. Orangey. More sweet than sharp.

The burn has self-corrected and is nice ad even now, with a white-grey ash behind it.

Hints of cracked pepper on the retrohale.

The burn has started to canoe, and looks like it will probably need to be touched up this time

Second Third:
I did have to touch this up at the start of the second third.

The same sweet citrus carries through here.

The burn struggles to remain even. Have to touch it up again around the halfway point.

The flavor isn't changing much, but I've never looked at that as a negative thing. I happen to feel like a good, consistent flavor profile makes for a great casual cigar that can be enjoyed with company, over conversation. That sweet, orangey profile with hints of pepper lingers through the second third.

Some cedar on the retrohale, and the peppery spice picks up just slightly as the cigar burns down.

Final Third:
The wrapper cracks right at the start of the last third, but it doesn't expose the binder, so it shouldn't have too significant an effect on things.

I might have spoken too soon. The crack in the wrapper did, in fact, affect the burn, which had to be touched up again.

The flavor profile is consistent throughout the smoking experience, just a tad spicier near the end.

Like the Rook I smoked yesterday, the burn on the Jackdaw slows toward the end, once again allowing for a longer smoking experience, before finally concluding.

Closing Thoughts:
The flavor on this was better than I anticipated. Unfortunately, this particular stick took a bigger hit on the burn issues and the cracked wrapper than they would have on flavor. After having reviewed the other Blackbird sticks in the sampler, I can say for certain that I see this as out of the ordinary for Blackbird smokes. If a sweet, mild Connecticut smoke with a consistent flavor is your thing, then I strongly recommend this smoke.