Black Label Trading Co. Last Rites

If there's any core principle that holds true in the realm of boutique cigars, it's this: skulls sell! Kidding aside, Black Label Trading Company (BLTC) has some of the most badass bands in the biz, loading up their portfolio with more skeletons than a Tim Burton movie since debuting back in 2013.

This includes the Black Label Last Rites cigar, a punchy Nicaraguan maduro that takes its name from a term in Catholicism referring to the last prayers and ministration given to someone who is dying. As you might expect, the cigar features a gritty skull with a cross through its forehead—haunting imagery that lays the groundwork for the dark smoking experience to follow.

Rolled out of BLTC's own Fabrica Oveja Negra factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, the Last Rites cigar begins with an Ecuadorian maduro wrapper, concealing a Honduran binder and fillers of Honduras and Nicaragua. This brings about a heavy smoking texture loaded with rich flavor, offering a medium-full body and syrupy flavors of earth, black pepper, black coffee, and semi-sweet dark chocolate.