Blackened
Blackened is a Nicaraguan cigar brand born from a collaboration between Metallica guitarist James Hetfield, master distiller Rob Dietrich and the maker Drew Estate, led by Jonathan Drew. Its best-known lines, the M81 and the S84, combine well-aged tobaccos with flavour profiles echoing whiskey and music.
History
The brand was built on a simple premise: carry rock-and-roll attitude, boldness and well-aged leaf into the cigar world. The M81 came first, with a San Andrés Maduro wrapper, a Connecticut River Valley Broadleaf binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania Broadleaf. The S84 "Shade to Black" followed, featuring a Connecticut Shade wrapper that darkens as it is toasted, over a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. Hetfield and Dietrich smoked and tasted samples for more than two years before settling on the final recipe.
