BLTC Orthodox Corona Gorda

Debuting 11 years after Black Label Trading Co. first hit the market, the Orthodox cigar returned the focus to the company’s gritty origins. It’s safe to say that James Brown, creator of the Black Label brand, has expanded both his vision for BLTC and his knowledge and expertise in the craft over the past decade. He is now considered a leading example of the next generation within the industry. With the Orthodox, he comes full circle, expanding on the high-intensity Nicaraguan while—perhaps—showcasing a few new tricks he’s picked up along the way.

“Orthodox is really about Black Label getting back to its roots. We’ve done a lot over the last 10 years but at our core we are about highlighting the strength & intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco. That’s what I went for with the Orthodox. It’s extremely bold with spice throughout the palate and nose. Its intensity is balanced by flavors of dark fruits, cherries, raisins and finishes with star anise. This cigar is bold but very balanced and extremely complex.” —James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

BLTC Orthodox Corona Gorda Breakdown

Appearance

The Orthodox Corona Gorda presents itself with a stocky looking straight pigtail cap sitting atop a triple-cap construction. The chocolate-hued maduro wrapper displays a muted sheen, giving it a subtle elegance. While the seams are pretty good overall, the leaf slightly lifts in some spots—likely due to the thickness of the wrapper leaf. Medium veins run along the body but remain fairly flush rather than protruding, contributing to a clean appearance. The cigar maintains BLTC’s conventional skull-themed band—nothing fancy, with decent paper quality but minimal (if any) embossing. That said, the design features a nice color scheme that proves fairly eye-catching despite its simplicity.

In the hand, the Orthodox offers a sturdy feel when squeezed, suggesting a medium or medium-plus bunch density. The wrapper presents mineral aromatics primarily, accompanied by muted chocolate notes and a touch of barnyard musk. Moving to the foot, there’s an interesting hint of stone fruit (almost reminiscent of a Belgian sour), more musk, and hardwood characteristics. With a straight cut, the pre-light draw comes across slightly on the firm side, offering flavors of baker’s cocoa, clay, and chocolate cordial.

Smoking Experience

The Orthodox begins with a subtle yet noticeable sweetness that incrementally intensifies with each puff. There’s a light saltiness on the tongue, complemented by a creamy retrohale that finishes with an antique shop dusty wood pinch through the retrohale—a characteristic I’ve come to describe as “grandma’s coat closet.” This initial profile features whipped butter on molasses toast and Swiss Miss hot cocoa powder, making you want to chew every puff to extract and extend the flavors. The smoke is fully retrohalable if properly paced, lacking the stinging spice that often accompanies heavy Nicaraguan blends. Chocolate lingers pleasantly through the finish, giving way to a slight bitterness reminiscent of Angostura bitters (or, as we like to say at Cigar Dojo, Aganorsa bitters).

The burn line displays some waviness but nothing concerning, producing a white, somewhat flaky ash that holds for about an inch. The draw sits on the firm side without being problematic, delivering medium smoke output that primarily registers on the tip of the tongue before spreading to the front sides and back. The profile clocks in at medium-full in flavor, medium-light in body, and mild-medium in strength. The texture is distinctively chalky or fatty, coming across like the smoke embodiment of the waxy residue left on your fingers after handling fermented tobacco.

As the cigar progresses, an intriguing silky sweetness persists, evolving into notes of Mexican hot chocolate that prompt you to lick your lips between puffs. This is about as sweet a maduro as I’ve come across, though it never becomes cloying—the sweetness feels entirely natural. What’s particularly interesting is how each finished puff immediately leaves you wanting another, with over-puffing becoming the primary concern. The profile is at full flavor, medium-plus strength, and medium to full body.

At the halfway mark, the sweetness recedes slightly in favor of a creaminess with that pinchy antique store finish. The previous cream characteristic begins picking up a crème fraîche quality with its characteristic twang, all while maintaining a cool smoking temperature that undoubtedly aids the overriding sweetness throughout. The Orthodox remains fairly consistent through this segment, adding only subtle root-like notes and toasted hardwoods into the mix. The final third brings increased heat, introducing burnt sugar taffy, heightened anise, and charred hardwoods—all while maintaining that lingering sweetness that’s been the cigar’s calling card. The smoke output gradually pulls back to medium-light, but the flavor intensity compensates accordingly, riding through to the finale.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

Yes. Just… yes.

This is my kind of maduro—loaded with flavor, sweetness, and texture, all without veering into the muddied waters of dark leather or other overly charred qualities that often detract from such blends. I’ll definitely be on the hunt for the other sizes in the line—especially the Toro.

• While the overall release was limited to 54,000 cigars between the three sizes, it’s not entirely clear whether this is a limited/annual (as BLTC is known to do) or a one-off, limited-edition release.
• I found it interesting that the cigar was described as such a powerhouse. While the technical blend may contain enough nicotine to qualify as such on paper, I experienced it more in the full flavor territory rather than strength or body.
• The Orthodox cigar ranked as the No. 5 Cigar of the Year for 2024 from Cigar Dojo.
• Currently, the Orthodox cigar ranks on Dojoverse as “100% Smokable,” placing in the top 12 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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