Black Star Line is turning to Fábrica Oveja Negra for its newest line, which honors the 100th anniversary of the Rosewood massacre.
The Rosewood 1923 is a new line that will debut in a 6 x 48 corona size. It uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an Ecuadorian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic Nicaragua. The MSRP is set at $12.99 and it’s a regular production item that will be offered in boxes and bundles of 20 cigars.
“I have always wanted to work with Oveja Negra. I am a huge fan of their cigars and actually James (Brown) was one of the first people I reached out to when I was looking to enter the cigar industry,” said Aric Bey, owner of Black Star Line, in a press release. “I ended up gaining JB’s respect through my hardwork and persistence with what I have done thus far with AGANORSA Leaf.”
As for the name, it references the Rosewood massacre, which killed between 7-27 people and destroyed the entire town with the exception of a lone general store. Rosewood was destroyed as part of racially motivated killings. Following a lynching, Black residents of Rosewood began defending themselves against attacks. In response to their defenses, white mobs came to the town and razed the town, which had an independent Black community. Following the massacre, the town was abandoned.
“I love the name because it not only pays homage to the 100 year anniversary of the massacre but also pays homage to my fraternity brother John Singleton who made a movie about Rosewood in the early 90s. I am a member of ‘Greater’ Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and Singleton passed away a few years ago.”
That film, Rosewood (1997), starred Jon Voight, Ving Rhames and Don Cheadle.
Black Star Line says the Rosewood 1923 will begin shipping shortly after the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, which takes place July 8-11 in Las Vegas.
Charlie Minato
I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I handle the editing of our written content, the majority of the technical aspects of the site and work with the rest of our staff on content management, business development and more. I’ve lived in most corners of the country and now entering my second stint in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy boxing, headphones, the Le Mans 24-hour, wearing sweatshirts year-round and gyros. echte liebe.