Cohiba Black is a somewhat recent extension of the Cohiba line from General Cigar.  There are no inexpensive Cohiba's, and the "Black" line is no exception.  When announced in 2006, the Cohiba Black was described in a press release from General in the following:

"Developed by iconic Cigar Master Daniel Núñez and meticulously handcrafted in the Dominican Republic, COHIBA Black cigars are adorned with a hearty Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper that is aged on the plant to yield an exceptionally rich, dark and bold leaf. Bound with sun-grown Dominican Piloto Cubano which is aged in tercios for three years, and filled with a blend of hand-selected tobaccos, each also aged in tercios for three years, COHIBA® Black contains Mexican and Dominican filler. An espresso of a cigar, COHIBA® Black cigars boast a characteristic deep color and rich, complex flavor."

In our opinion the Dominican Cohiba gets a bit of a bum shake from cigar smokers...perhaps deservedly so.  It seems that many folks have a hard time swallowing the Cohiba name on anything other than the famous Cuban cigar that made Cohiba famous.  Calling a cigar other than a Cuban cigar "Cohiba" almost seems as if you are trying to capitalize off of someone else's hard work.  Charging an arm and a leg ($16.55 MSRP) for a non-Cuban Cohiba, probably doesn't add to the sour taste left in people's mouths.

We sent out a batch of unbanded Cohiba Black Churchill's, 7 x 49 sized cigars, and were surprised by the responses.  We expected better reviews since people did not know up front what they were smoking.  All reviewers noted the jet black wrapper, unfortunately all also noted some flaws in the taste profile.  Construction was uneventful.

"This cigar has a wrapper that is black as a cloudless night"

"This cigar looks like it wants to be strong, and it is.  Unfortunately it is one of those forceful cigars that is strong simply for the sake of being strong.  There is no complexity.  This is strength without talent."

"I wanted to like this cigar, I really did.  It looked fantastic, and I am sure it is a high end maduro of some type.  The taste was really average, it tried to get complex, but simply overpowered itself."

"This cigar was okay.  There were numerous spices available, and some grassiness as well.  If you smoke multiple cigars in a day, make sure this is the last one, as it will leave your palate tired."

So there it is, unbanded Cohiba Black Churchill's did not wow anyone.  There are better ways to spend $16.55.

Vital Statistics:
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico
MSRP:$16.55