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Initial Smoke

Standard maduro tastes of coffee and soil are all over this blend, with the equally common combo of sweetened chocolate milk and leather loading in behind. The bovine hide side is a bit more pronounced thanks to its reappearance on the retrohale, which works well with smoked peppercorn tastes on the tongue. Draw flow rates are good and not too tight or open, and as the medium-bodied beginning melds into the first third, a drier taste of oak and iron floods in. 

1st Half

Although that blend of oak and iron remains secondary to the peppercorn and coffee concoction on the palate, the tannins and unique mineral note associated with iron really do linger long after each exhale or retrohale. But as the body of the cigar builds, the sweetness inside the finish increases, and with the texture of the smoke taking an oilier, darker trajectory, the shift toward medium-full occurs early on.

Hidden within the funky, fermented folds of those undisclosed innards comes that leather-like, aged tobacco taste that only stronger cigars can produce. Bubbling up beside it are the oily, earthy aromatics of oscuro leaf, which bounce off the mineral, oak, and iron still rolling around in the background. These drier, somewhat lighter tastes keep the blend from going 100% full for much of the second third, which has more to do with the finish than the flavor and body found up front on the tongue.

2nd Half

For a moment in the middle of the cigar, the coffee and coca recede for a second, and those smoked peppercorn notes take full advantage of this lull in the cigar. Spicy, smoky, and very familiar, these peppery pops of flavor form a fun little intermission in the midst of all that oscuro action.

But it doesn't take long for the blend to get back to business as usual, with those earthy, dank, soil-filled depths delivering the first blow. A touch of oak remains intact, though, and with its refined dryness, it manages to maintain a toasted barrel taste and aroma for secondary cigar flavor profiles to follow. Cracked walnuts, milled grains, and a bit of coffee bitterness all take advantage of this oaken blanket, and make the final third a bit more balanced-feeling.

Parting Puffs

Clean and somewhat controlled, parting puffs push the Glitch Maduro blend all the way into a full-flavored domain. Peppercorn tastes, and tingles hit spicy status, while mineral notes and any remaining oak and iron aromatics move to the front for one last time. Those roasted dark coffee and bittersweet chocolate flavors have bounded back into the smoke too, and the sweetness of the smoke makes the whole profile feel bigger than ever.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Commendable construction and a kickass burn keep this installment in Blackbird's Glitch Series at the top of the tobacco heap when it comes to cost performance. Ash accumulation, cone formation, burn rates, temps, draw rate, and smoke levels all score a near-flawless overall rating.

Final Thoughts

While we do not know whether or not Blackbird reblended the darkest entry in the Glitch Series when it rebranded the line, I must say that it tastes far better than what I remember from a few years back. Perhaps that has something to do with age, as there appears to be far more tooth on this blend than before, but it also could be that there have been some minor adjustments within the cigar.

Whatever it might be, the Glitch Maduro has become a worthy dark EDC option for those craving a medium-full, closer-to-full at the finish line sort of stogie. It has many of the traditional oscuro profiles that we seek, both prelight and during combustion, and the burn on each stick seems to be superb. You aren't going to get a revolutionary smoking episode, but neither will you find yourself wanting at the end either. It's that $30 a fiver sort of smoke that manages to deliver the goods in an affordable manner, but sacrifices depth and complexity for affordability and easy accessibility. 

But for me personally, I found the best thing about this blend to be its agreeable nature. Beyond a pinch of bitterness in places, there isn't anything about this cigar that is unpleasant, out of place, or entirely too intense, even though it most certainly is a dark, oily, full-flavored smoke. Which says a lot considering that the vast majority of average maduro cigars are exactly that... average.

Overall Balance & Repeatability