Blended up by former Cuban Cohiba mastermind, Avelino Lara, Boss of the Block by Graycliff takes cigar collab projects in a very different, and distinctly colorful direction. 

Traditionally, athletes have been a favorite first-round pick for collaborations, with Mike Tyson's Gurkha cigar launch at PCA 2024 being the most significant recent release. These are followed by actors, TV personalities, artists, and musicians. 

It is the last of these that graces the band and boxes of today's review cigar. A New Yorker from day one, the female DJ known as "P La Cangri" traces her roots back to Cuba, where her grandmother once worked in the tobacco rolling business.  

Long story short, Cangri hit it off with the cats over at Graycliff a few years back, and they decided to team up and make a cigar blend together. What materialized, was a premium cigar blend that is just as animated, intriguing, and colorful as the character whose likeness adorns each cigar band. Let's turn up the beat, shall we?

[Buy 5-Pack]

Unlit Impressions  

While we sell the figurado vitola here at Klaro, the sample cigar that Cangri herself handed me at PCA 2023 was the "Big Boss." A 6-inch long, 60 ring-gauge Gordo/Gigante that lives up to its name. Both heavy in the hand, and outside of a minor flat spot in the center of the barrel, near perfect in its manufacturing, the deeply capped Nicaraguan habano-wrapped blend shines with oils and exudes a light hazelnut color.

It smells nutty too, with a light roasted cashew aromatic along the wrapper lending some sweetness to the smoke's sun-grown cedar and leather habano scents. Cinnamon and sugar are all over the foot, finished with a couple cracks of pepper from the grinder, and a light toffee touch. There's something sticky-sweet here too, like melted vanilla ice cream with caramel and Biscoff cookie crumbles on top.

Cold draws are fruitier, with a rum raisin ice cream taste hearkening back to that smell inside the foot. It's also a touch spicy and a dash darker in its depth and delivers a touch of mineral to the tongue that isn't salty, but more metallic in nature.

Initial Smoke

Strongly spiced and smothered in smoldering cedar, Cangri's first set drops a heavy beat without hesitation. Sharp and a stab bitter, this is a powerhouse of an intro, and may be overwhelming for some. As the tempo gradually slows, things become more melodic, and what proceeds is an absolute banger for the senses. 

1st Half    

As creamy servings of vanilla soft serve, topped with toasted caramel sauce and salted pecan and cashews are served in a saucer of shaved Spanish cedar, I start to wonder if this is going to be the best part of the cigar. If it isn't, it's going to be pretty damn tough to beat, that's for sure.

Retrohales provide some peppery spice, but still manage to maintain that vanilla-like almond milk and sweet cedar taste. Cinnamon also starts to shine somewhere near the center of the first third, with a buttery shortbread cookie flavor simultaneously showing up. Just think of all the graham cracker-flavored cigar junkies out there who have been missing out because they aren't hip to this premium cigar blend... yet.

2nd Half    

Although there isn't much of a difference between the first half and a hefty bit of the second, there is a slight uptick in body and flavor, with strength receiving a final nudge toward the tail end of the final third. This is supported by the light leather notes that have been a constant throughout, and are most rewarding at this particular moment.

Still medium, but much more fulfilling, transitions start with a fistful of rainforest floor and finish with a light molasses and nutbread taste that I suspect comes from that Costa Rican long filler.

Sweeter than ever, this portion of the cigar signals that it does have what it takes to surpass the first half in flavor and fulfillment. Retrohales do detect more dank Honduran topsoil and chewy nuttiness, as well as a bit of heat. However, it all arrives so rhythmically that it seems right at home resting betwixt your nostrils.

Parting Puffs    

Cangri's final set is her strongest and starts to show a common flavor misstep found in the parting puffs portion of a slew of cigar flavor profiles. It's not bitter, but definitely a little resinous, and this forms a campfire smoke taste that does not appeal to me after so much smooth sweetness and cinnamon-spiced milkiness. 

There's still a lot of chewy, oatmeal cookie oriented flavor, but it gets drowned out by the oils within the cigar and feels more like a tired back-up dancer than the main act.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw  

If it weren't for the need for a touch-up at each third of this cigar, a fairly flaky ash, and a touch of excess heat in the first third, this cigar would have scored significantly higher. The draw was ideal with a V-cut, and I presume that a straight cut on the figurado would flow just as well, if not better. 

The smoke itself was wonderful as well. Medium-bodied and satiny, it strikes the senses in all the right ways, and seems sticky enough to be labeled as "creamy."

Final Thoughts  

Could this be the best Graycliff cigar I have smoked to date? Indubitably. 

Am I craving another concerto from El Jefe already? You know it.

Do I think that the combustion issues were damning enough to label this cigar as a waste of time and money? Not a chance.

Should you try out the figurado vitola of Graycliff's Boss of the Block for yourself before turning up the bass to see where it takes you? That's for you to decide. 

Flavor, Aroma & Transitions

Depth & Complexity

Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal

Backstory & Branding

Overall Balance & Repeatability

Stogie Specs

Cigar	Graycliff "Boss of the Block"
Wrapper	Habano (Nicaragua)
Binder	Ecuador
Filler	Costa Rica, Honduras & Nicaragua
Factory	Graycliff Factory (Bahamas)
Size	6" x 60 "Big Boss" (Gordo/Gigante)
Strength	Medium
Pairing Drink	Homemade Ginger Honey & Lime Soda
Rating	4.4 / 5