The Bird Series · Limited Edition

Black Tern

A five-year-aged rarity, rediscovered — and shared only with the cigar nerds who call SMoKE home.

The Story

Years ago, Kosta worked with the folks at Cavalier to produce a small run of coronas for his personal collection — 500 cigars a year, and that was that. During the pandemic, the factory kept rolling those 500 a year and simply began aging them in place, since no shipping instructions ever came. Everyone except the rollers had forgotten about the project.

In 2024 they were rediscovered: five years’ worth, 2,500 cigars, all aged between one and five years. When Eric got his hands on the blend, it reminded him of the first time he found a rare bird on his own — a Black Tern at Cape Henlopen that no one else had reported yet. Just like sending the alert to fellow birders, he knew we had to share these. And so the SMoKE Black Tern was born.

Black Tern cigar Black Tern bird

The Cigar

Produced at Fabrica Centroamericana de Tabaco in Danli, Honduras. On first light, earthy cocoa with a hint of black pepper; as you settle in, the pepper recedes and cola and freshly-ground coffee take over alongside dark chocolate; it finishes sweet and woodsy with a clean minerality.

Earthy CocoaBlack PepperColaCoffeeSweet Wood
  • Size 5″ x 44 (Corona)
  • Wrapper Mexican San Andrés
  • Binder Brazilian Arapiraca
  • Filler Nicaragua & Honduras
  • Origin Danli, Honduras

The Bird

An outlier in a world of white seabirds, breeding Black Terns are a handsome mix of charcoal-gray and jet black. Their delicate form and pointed wings give tremendous agility as they flutter and swoop to pluck fish from the water or veer to catch insects. They nest in large freshwater marshes in small, loose colonies and winter along tropical coastlines.

Size & Shape
A small, delicately built seabird with a thin pointed bill, long pointed wings, a shallowly forked tail, and short legs.
Behavior
Forages by flying slowly and gracefully, dipping to the surface for small fish or insects, or catching insects on the wing. Breeds in colonies on freshwater lakes, nesting on floating vegetation.
Habitat
Nests in freshwater marshes and bogs; winters in coastal lagoons, marshes, and open ocean. Migrants may stop over in almost any wetland.
Color Pattern
Breeding adults are dark gray above with black heads and underparts and pale underwings. Nonbreeding adults are gray above, whitish below, with a dusky crown and ear-patch.

Bird facts via allaboutbirds.org

Ask for the Black Tern.

A limited rarity — while it lasts, only at SMoKE.

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