Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid

As I sit here writing this review in the weeks before the Christmas holiday, I’ve had a couple of announcements about samplers land in my inbox: essentially a handful of cigars put into a dressed-up, easy to wrap box and usually with some sort of added item like rocks glasses, a lighter, a mug, or really any kind of branded item that isn’t regularly available. While only a fairly small percentage of companies seem to release them for the holidays, they are a pretty standard holiday tradition.

However, that doesn’t mean that samplers are limited to the winter holidays—far from it, in fact. Case in point, at the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show in April, Black Label Trading Co. showed off the Black Works Studio The Five Temples Seven Star Fist of Shaolin, a new, 24-count sampler for its Black Works Studio brand.

For those not familiar with Black Works Studio, it is a brand that was launched in November 2015 as a way to showcase unique premium cigars coming out of Fábrica Oveja Negra, the factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, that is home to Black Label Trading Co. and which opened in February 2015. It’s often stylized as BLK WKS as opposed to using the spelled-out version.

“Part of the motivation for opening our own factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra, was to experiment and develop unique blends highlighting Nicaraguan tobacco; Black Works Studio is my first opportunity to use our factory as my playground,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fábrica Oveja Negra, when the project was announced.

The Black Works Studio The Five Temples Seven Star Fist of Shaolin comes with a selection of seven blends, with multiples of each included.

• 4 Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid (5 x 54)
• 4 Black Works Studio Killer Bee Maduro Pyramid (5 x 54)
• 4 Black Works Studio Killer Bee Sumatra Pyramid (5 x 54)
• 4 Black Works Studio Shaolin Candela/Ecuador Maduro Belicoso (5 3/4 x 46)
• 4 Black Works Studio Shaolin Habano/Ecuador Maduro Belicoso (5 3/4 x 46)
• 2 Black Works Studio The Hornet Pyramid PA Broadleaf (5 x 54)
• 2 Black Works Studio The Hornet Pyramid San Andrés (5 x 54)

Each sampler has an MSRP of $312 and production is limited to 1,000 samplers.

“This collection is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said James Brown, founder of Black Label Trading Co., in a press release. “I’ve been rolling various blends in this pyramid size for the last 12 years for myself. It’s finally time to do a production release. The vibe I wanted was an old-school Kung Fu movie, and The Five Temples – Seven Star Fist of Shaolin definitely has that feel. The concept was to create a collection that not only introduces a new vitola for the Bees & Hornets, but also showcases different wrappers. Each cigar is a unique representation of the blends, and the pyramid shape symbolizes the form of a Shaolin temple. The icing on top of all that is the two new versions of the Shaolin. Overall, I think this is the most exciting collection we’ve done for BLK WKS. For anyone who’s a fan of the Killer Bee and Green Hornet, this is a must-have!”

• Cigar Reviewed: Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica Oveja Negra
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut & Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $13*
• Release Date: October 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: 4,000 Total Cigars*
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*As noted above, the sampler has an MSRP of $312, or $13 per cigar, and there are 1,000 samplers. Each sampler contains four Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramids.

Given that the cigars are part of the Black Works Studio brand, I’m not surprised to see a more decorative cigar in a unique shape; both are things that the brand has become fairly synonymous with, especially considering that the brand is described as “an expression of art, showcasing the talent, technique, and tobacco of our boutique cigar factory.” All three cigars look good with no immediately apparent issues with how the cigars were rolled or the decorative additions were applied. The first cigar is fairly firm, though I do notice a bit of variation in spots, where a small spot has more give than the rest of the cigar. I can say the same about the second cigar, which reminds me of a really well-rolled burrito; even the best one is going to have some give to it. The third is a bit of a midpoint, a bit of give in some spots, firmer at the head. The covered foot is a bit of a smush job, as the tobacco was gathered and then pressed into the foot. It looks fine on the whole; it’s just not as tidy as I have seen elsewhere. The foot has a pretty mild aroma, mainly a generic dry tobacco scent with some plain Cheerios and not much in the way of sweetness or pepper. I also find a dry maple syrup aroma, with the second cigar eliciting two very hearty sneezes. The cold draw is smooth and easy, even with the covered foot, a feature that can occasionally become an impediment on some cigars. Like the aroma, the flavor is pretty mellow, reminding me of dry pretzels but with black pepper instead of salt, and with touches of creaminess.

For a cigar without much going on before lighting it, the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid puts off a good amount of flavor once the flame touches the foot. It’s an amped-up Connecticut blend out of the gate, with more pepper and more grain cereal than what I think of as average for such a blend, yet it’s not as full as the company’s other blends that helped put it on the map. While each cigar is unique, I consistently get some dry pretzels that occasionally taste burnt, along with some toast and black pepper. In the early going, retrohales are fairly lively, not overpowering but not shy about tingling my nostrils. They are also the first part of the cigar to get a bit heartier, a change that happens a little after the first clump of ash falls off. That means more black pepper that delivers a more intense tingle and a bit of heat, changes that begin to make their way to the flavor as well. Flavor sits around medium-plus, maybe medium-full in this section, while the body is medium and strength is mild. Construction is great with no issues thus far.

The second third of the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid continues with a slightly fuller, more concentrated flavor, driven by black pepper while keeping the lighter toast and pretzel flavors from earlier. There’s just a touch of creaminess that shows up, but never grabs hold of the profile. I’m intrigued by how the smaller ring gauge is affecting things, as it now feels like I’m smoking a thin cigar, lancero-like or thereabouts, but a notable contrast to the ring gauge of the first third. Around the midpoint, pepper becomes even livelier with pepper, brightening up and really tingling my nostrils, another example of how they shine in this section, and I must say they do a great job carrying the cigar when the flavor mellows. The flavor comes back to medium for most of this section, while body holds around medium and strength is up to medium-minus. Combustion and construction continue to perform well, and I don’t have any notable issues with any of the three cigars.

Retrohales continues to be bright and a bit punchy as the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid gets into its final third, and is probably more in line with what I think of from James Brown’s blending style. While the size of the head of the cigar hasn’t changed, the body continues to get more and more slender, and I feel like I’m getting a touch sharper expression of the pepper than earlier, but the flavor doesn’t change all that much. If anything, it might be a bit simpler than what was offered in the first third, but I can’t say that I’ve picked up a drastic difference. The final inches feel like the cigar has become too small to smoke, a weird sensation that doesn’t feel like the kind of combustion issues I’ve found in other cigars, but rather that there’s just not enough tobacco to deliver the kind of profile that would shine in the way the first third did. Flavor continues to simplify and get more distilled, coming back to a combination of a warm pretzel with some black pepper the most notable components. Flavor finishes medium-plus, body is medium and strength is medium-minus, but far from being enough to impart much of a sensation. Construction and combustion remain very good, though I find that the final third seems a bit more prone to struggling in combustion between puffs. Thankfully, it never becomes an issue as I just puff the cigar a bit more quickly.

Final Notes

• Even with the cleanest of cuts, the darker stripes of tobacco around the head came off of each cigar.
• This is the second time Black Label Trading Co. has released a sampler in a hexagon-shaped box, as in 2021, the company released The Hive sampler, which also came with Killer Bee and Hornet cigars, just not the same ones as in this sampler.
• Growing up when I did, I can’t help but shout “Wu-Tang!” whenever I hear the word Shaolin.
• Charlie Minato recently reviewed the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Maduro Pyramid, one of the three Killer Bee releases in the sampler, joined by the Killer Bee Sumatra Pyramid.
• He also reviewed the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut in December 2018, a 4 1/2 x 46 petit corona that earned a 91 point score.
• I’d love to put that cigar side-by-side with this one to see if my suspicions are correct that the blend would be better in a parejo, or at least a cigar without as much of a taper as this pyramid vitola.
• Given that this is a blend that uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper, I wasn’t expecting much nicotine strength, but knowing that James Brown seems apt to blend a strong cigar, I was ready for some strength. I didn’t find enough to be really noteworthy, but there’s a little bit in there.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 5 x 54 figurado. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 30 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Famous Smoke Shop, and Fox Cigar carry the Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut Pyramid by way of the sampler.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Suns. I was previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, and Goodyear Ballpark, spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I’m a voiceover artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.