Black Label Trading Co. Morphine 2022 Robusto Torpedo

By Tony Casas | November 28, 2022

I hope that everyone had a fun, safe, and relaxing Thanksgiving break! Right back at it this week I bring you the Black Label Trading Co. Morphine 2022 Robusto Torpedo paid with a can of The Bruery’s All the Cows bourbon barrel aged imperial stout.

The Good Stuff:

After being skipped over in 2021, Black Label Trading Co. has released this year’s version of the Morphine. This year’s morphine features two different wrapper variations. This specific format, the Robusto Torpedo features a dual wrapper consistent over Mexican San Andres and Ecuadorian Maduro while the other two formats in the line use only the San Andres. All three sizes utilize binder and fillers from Nicaragua. Crated at their Oveja Negra facility in Nicaragua, the 2022 Morphine is offered in 3 sizes: Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 48), Lancero (7 1/4 x 42), and Box Pressed Robusto Torpedo (5 x 54). Each come packaged in boxes of 20 ranging between $11 and $12 per stick at only 800 boxes of each being produced. Big thanks to my boy Jake for hooking it up with a handful of these.

• Size: 5 x 54
• Wrapper: Mexican San Andres / Ecuadorian Maduro
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $11.50
• Pairing: The Bruery All the Cows (Imperial Stout 13.2% ABV)

Prelight:

The Black Label Trading Co. Morphine starts out with a very deep, very consistent, very dark brown wrapper. Laced in between the dark brown wrapper is a sliver of what looks like a whale lighter wrapper. In a few of the sticks I have the sliver is very visible, while in another it’s the exact same color. The wrapper’s texture is both very toothy and very oily. The wrapper itself feel decently dense while the cigar as a whole gives very little when pressed between my fingers. The short, stubby, soft-box pressed body showcases only minor veining as it leads up to the cigar’s tapered torpedo cap. The cigar is finished off with the standard Morphine black and white band we’ve seen for quite some time as well as a secondary black and white foot band with the “Morphine” logo printed across the front.

The Black Label Trading Co. Morphine’s wrapper gives off little more than just cashew and espresso aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more oaky, spicy, and carries bold natural tobacco aromas. The cold draw produces notes of caramel, cherry, spice and tobacco.

First Third:

The Black Label Trading Co. Morphine starts out with a mild black pepper punch with fades extremely quickly allowing the cigar to release bolder espresso, dark chocolate, dark berry, spice, and cedar flavors. I may be reaching but it almost tastes like a nice root-beer type mixture of flavors. As I continue to smoke on the root-beer becomes more and more prevalent. The draw is absolutely perfect as each puff kicks out a great amount of thick, white smoke which really sticks around for a while before dissipating while the cigar just pours out stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white and light gray ash which held on for almost an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Black Label Trading Co. Morphine and things start to level out a bit here. The flavor profile is now lead by a creamy espresso and dark chocolate over lighter notes of spice, cedar and berry. That crazy root-beer mixture has started to fade away quite a bit now however when I retrohale the cigar it comes back pretty hard. I close out the second third with a decent little nicotine kick already.

Finish:

Man, this cigar just takes off in the final third! The Black Label Trading Co. Morphine is kicking out tons of black cherry and creamy espresso now over bold dark chocolate and lighter notes of spice, cedar, pecan, and a really nice anise. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this stubby little guy down the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. Just a warning though, this little cigar did hit me with a pretty big nicotine punch.

Overview:

I have always been a big fan of the Morphine ever since it first came out (shout out to my boy Drew for turning me onto them). While I don’t smoke every year’s version, I smoke enough to know that this year’s blend is something special. It offers the same bold experience you’d expect however the flavors seem both more refined and more complex. I also really love the box pressed torpedo robusto format. This is going to go fast, and is probably already sold out basically everywhere, but if you stumble into any then this is easily a box-worthy purchase.

Pairing:

The Bruery’s All the Cows is a bourbon barrel aged imperial milk stout brewed with Madagascar Vanilla beans. Coming in at 13.2% ABV the beer leads with dark chocolate, sweet malt, cinnamon, vanilla, and a nice little bourbon kick with a very heavy and sticky mouthfeel before finishing with toffee, dark chocolate, sweet malt, vanilla, and even a touch of caramel. This isn’t an overly complex beer and it doesn’t need to be. The sweetness really paired well with the drier Black Label Trading Co. Morphine pushing the experience forward creating a more balance profile for both parties involved.