We are humbled to present our newest exclusive release here at Smokingpipes: Flamingo Lancero by Blackbird Cigars. Learn more about this cigar, only at Smokingpipes, out now on-site.

[Tyler Caldwell]: Personally, I am actually very excited about this release. This is the first time being a cigar specialist and a huge cigar fan for nearly 20 years that I've ever had an opportunity to actually get my hand, so to speak, in a blending process and creating the project that you see here today.

[Steve Mawby]: Yeah, I know this is something that we've all been really excited about. Everything that Blackbird has come out with recently has been killer. Jonas just never misses, but this in particular, being the Smokingpipes exclusive and being something that yourself and that we as a company had a hand in creating, definitely makes it even more exciting. I think the end result for the product speaks for itself because it's a killer cigar.

Blackbird Flamingo: A Labor of Love

[TC]: It's kind of a funny story how this whole cigar came to fruition. Jonas Santana of Blackbird Cigars has been a close personal friend of mine for many years. We brought Blackbird to the Smokingpipes portfolio a couple of years back and it's been very successful for us so far. Blackbird is one of those brands that in the next 10-20 years I believe will be huge in the market.

[SM]: Yeah, absolutely. When he's approaching his blending for his cigars he's thinking about it in a very layered fashion, from the filler, to the binder, to the wrapper, and how everything's going to fit together. You can really tell he cares about curating his cigars and with this one I think, in particular, it's very complex. There's a lot going on but it's all very harmonious and well balanced.

[TC]: Yeah, when Jonas and I spoke going on the better part of two years ago about originally coming up with an idea for an exclusive cigar to only be sold at Smokingpipes, we talked multiple times about different ideas and never really planned anything out. We were still new to the aspect of growing with cigars. Everything that we had released or were going to release were basically size extensions or line extensions, such as the Dapper La Madrina Lonsdale and the Aladino Queen's Candela, which have turned out incredible.

I explained to him that one thing that we haven't done that I think could really benefit us as well as Blackbird is to release something unique. Something created from scratch, and this is the blend we came up with after many samples.

[SM]: Yeah, I think you can definitely see all that work that went into this. This is definitely a labor of love, and it's something unique in the Blackbird portfolio. It's the first Lancero they've ever done.

[TC]: I do know that he had plans for the future of creating Lanceros but again, like with a few of our projects that we discussed before didn't fall into play and for him to release a Lancero just didn't fall into play for Blackbird yet. To me, Lancero cigars are always what I lean towards. It works for my palate, my taste, and my envisionment of what I want to smoke.

Whenever they release something, it's always named after a particular bird.

[SM]: "Can't clip his wingz."

[TC]: Maybe he's trying to fly away into the sunset. He asked me what the name would be and the joke was that a flamingo is a tall bird, with a long, skinny neck. Lanceros are tall, long, skinny cigars, right? The more we talked about it, the more we floated around the idea, and this is the result.

[SM]: I think most of our best ideas start out as a joke. That's the way that we operate a lot of times.

Full-Bodied Complexity

I think because of that smaller ring gauge, you get a little bit more of the flavor notes because you're not getting as wide of a base. It's composed of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, US and Connecticut Broadleaf on the binder, and then the filler is US Nicaraguan and Dominican.

[TC]: Yeah, you'll get a more gristled-meat kind of profile to it. There's a little hint of floral sweetness from the Dominican and a strength with a spicier tone from the Nicaraguan that's blended with it as well.

[SM]: This is absolutely checking all my boxes for me. It's very complex. There's kind of a barbecue flavor to it. I'm still starting off on this one, but there's already a lot going on here in the cigar.

[TC]: In my opinion, there's not a whole lot of Lanceros out there that are very full bodied. It's more nuanced, more about the flavor and less about the strength. The Flamingo is a full-bodied cigar that is full across the board. This isn't necessarily something you want to smoke first thing in the morning, especially on an empty stomach. If you are an evening smoker after a great meal, you might want that extra lingering flavor to go with what you just ate. This is gonna go perfectly with it.

[SM]: Yeah, this is gonna bring out a lot of those kinds of notes. I haven't eaten anything today and it's still just absolutely powerful with the flavor. You're going to know that you're smoking a cigar when you're smoking this. If you're anything like me, it's great to smoke on an empty stomach, but it's definitely the kind of thing that a lot of people would want to have a meal first before they get into it.

[TC]: From a pairing standpoint, if you are a fan of real thicker, heavier espresso, that's going to go well with it, like a really nice dark roast coffee is going to go well with it. If you do like to enjoy a good adult beverage, there's always this indication in the cigar industry where cigars pair with bourbon or something like that. I think for the people out there that are more of a peaty Scotch drinker, this is going to go well with it.

[SM]: I would pair this with a ribeye. This would pair great with a nice medium-rare steak.

[TC]: I would even say if you're a fan of a good, darker Añejo tequila, this would go well with this too. I know it's a little more specific, but yeah, it's a perfect pair.

Blackbird Cigar's Flamingo Lancero, available exclusively at Smokingpipes now.