We love all things Halloween here in the Corner Of No Hope! Well almost all things, popcorn balls are kinda lame. And there’s an extra hot place in Hell reserved for those soulless people who hand out boxes of raisins to trick or treaters. But other than popcorn balls and raisins, it’s usually a pretty good time.
In a press release, Alec Bradley’s senior brand manager Ed Lahman had this to say about tonight’s cigar, “Filthy Ghooligan offers our fans a fun new spin on a classic. Just as Black Market Filthy Hooligan and Shamrock have become staples of our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, so too will Filthy Ghooligan deliver an unforgettable smoking experience for Halloween and beyond. It’s scary good.”
Scary good, eh? I’ll be the judge of that.
THE CIGAR – BLACK MARKET FILTHY GHOOLIGAN by ALEC BRADLEY
Size: 6 x 50 (toro)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian habano & U.S. broadleaf (barber pole)
Binder: Indonesian Besuki
Filler: Nicaraguan (Condega, Estelí, & Jalapa), Dominican (piloto)
Price: $14.09 (while these samples were submitted for review, please remember when purchasing your Alec Bradley sticks or other fine premium cigars from Famous Smoke Shop to use your new favorite promo code TNCC20 at checkout where it will knock $20 off your purchase of $100 or more)
The Filthy Ghooligan reveals very little in the way of pre-light aromas. The barber pole design is well executed and the slightly lumpy cigar features a few soft spots along the body. I imagine I will feature a few soft spots along my body as well once the kids get home with their trick or treating loot later tonight…
After a quick clip of the cap, the cold draw features a touch of earthiness and dry tea leaves. A smoky mesquite note blasts out of the starting gate via the draw. Upstairs, a crisp spice reminiscent of freshly cut jalepeno peppers floods the nostrils. Once things settle in, a bold black coffee flavor joins the mesquite. A splash of mineral also begins to surface occasionally on the retrohale. Airflow is adequate and the cigar is drawing well here early on.
The Filthy Ghooligan is a strong cigar, I’d recommend eating a handful of miniature Reeses’s Cups or possibly some Kit Kat bars before torching this stick. You know what you shouldn’t eat a bunch of? Raisins. Because raisins suck. The smoking profile remains very consistent here with the core flavors of woodsy mesquite, black coffee, spice, and mineral all holding steady.
Construction continues to impress as the Filthy Ghooligan approaches the fifty yard line. Yes, this time of year also brings us glorious football every weekend and my beloved Chicago Bears suffered a real heartbreaking loss this last Sunday to put it mildly. A last second Hail Mary? Are you fucking kidding me?? Seriously??? I thought we had a “defensive guru” as our head coach!!!!
The Filthy Ghooligan has not shown any complexity or transitions at this point. Every puff is delivering the same exact thing. At a lower price point I wouldn’t mind so much, but when you start creeping up towards $15 a stick I honestly expect something more*.
I reluctantly thump off the strong ash just before it’s time to remove the cigar’s lower secondary band. The coffee note begins to overpower the mesquite here in the second half. The retrohale’s combination of jalepeno and mineral continues to chug along unfettered until a hint of sweetness arises. That sugary sweetness is a very welcome addition to the overall profile, it compliments the coffee note particularly well. Another positive – the Filthy Ghooligan is smoking like a champ producing thick white clouds from both ends.
Unfortunately that sweetness disappears towards the beginning of the cigar’s final act… like a ghost. The remaining few inches provide more of the same ol’ same ol’.
THE NUB
TNCC FINAL SCORE = 86
The only thing scary about the Black Market Filthy Ghooligan is the price point. There’s a scene in the classic film Tommy Boy that comes to mind. You can just slap a seasonal eye-catching Ghost band on a ho-hum cigar and… well… you get the point. As a straight-forward, well-constructed cigar, there are much worse ways to spend 65 minutes. There are also much better options at a much lower MSRP. Happy Halloween!
* I was reminded of the Powstanie Justice when I started contemplating price points versus the smoking experiences delivered. That cigar had a fairly straight-forward profile as well although it was far more enjoyable. Our only criticism of that $13.75 stick was that it burned far too quickly to spend that amount of cash on regularly.
