Alec Bradley Filthy Ghooligan Review — Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Ghooligan -Cigar Review

Today, we review the Alec Bradley Black Filthy Ghooligan. This limited edition offering from Forged Cigar Company was introduced in the Fall of 2024 as a seasonal release for Halloween. The line was inspired by the Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan, which has been a seasonal release for the past 13 years by Alec Bradley for the St. Patrick’s Day Season.

It was back in 2011 when Alec Bradley introduced the Black Market line. It quickly emerged as one of the most popular lines in the Alec Bradley portfolio. In 2013, the first Filthy Hooligan cigar was introduced. This was a candela-wrapped offering in the Black Market line. Three years later, in 2016, Alec Bradley changed the Filthy Hooligan to a barber-pole offering (keeping the candela as one of the wraps). Fast forward another three years and the Filthy Hooligan Shamrock, a three-wrapper barber pole (one of which is candela). Filthy Ghooligan is a spin on Filthy Hooligan. It’s still a barber pole, but there isn’t any candela this time.

Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Ghooligan – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The barber-pole wrappers of the Filthy Ghooligan’s wrapper are composed of Ecuadorian Habano and US Broadleaf tobacco. The remainder of the blend includes an Indonesian Besuki binder, Nicaraguan Jalapa, Estelí, and Condega fillers alongside Dominican Piloto. STG has not disclosed the factory producing the cigar, but it has disclosed the cigar originates from Honduras.

From looking at this blend, it was hard to find any lineage to the Filthy Hooligans or core Black Market line.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano/US Broadleaf
Binder: Indoensian Besuki
Filler: Nicaraguan (Jalapa, Estelí, Condega), Dominican Piloto
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Not Disclosed

Vitolas Offered

Filthy Ghooligan comes in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro. Filthy Ghooligan comes in 24-count boxes with a total production of 1,500 boxes.

Appearance (*)

The two wrappers that make up the Filthy Ghooligan barber pole have a nice contrast to them. The Broadleaf wrapper is reminiscent of dark coffee beans. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper is more on the lighter side. The dark wrapper is what finishes the cap. There wasn’t much in the way of oils in the wrapper. There were some visible veins present.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Filthy Ghooligan, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence the pre-light draw. The cold draw produced a combination of mocha and cedar. Mocha is a term used to refer to a fusion of coffee and chocolate. Overall, this was a simple yet satisfying pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the Filthy Ghooligan and move into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Filthy Ghooligan started with more mocha, cedar, white pepper, and cream notes. Some fruit notes followed this. The mocha note became primary as the cigar moved through the early phases. Midway through the first third, the fruit notes joined the mocha. Meanwhile, the cream, cedar, and pepper settled in the background. The retro-hale produced an additional combination of cedar and white pepper. Later, in the first third, the coffee component of the mocha notes became more prominent.

During the second third of the Filthy Ghooligan, the mocha notes morphed into a black coffee note. The coffee and fruit notes remained primary as the cigar approached midway. Meanwhile, there was an increase in pepper and cedar production. The pepper and cedar joined the coffee notes just past the midway point. The fruit notes settled in the background with some residual chocolate notes. By this point, the cream notes subsided.

By the final third, there was another increase in the coffee notes, and it got a slight edge over the pepper and cedar for the primary note. The fruit and chocolate rounded out the flavor profile. Toward the end, there was more bitterness from the coffee, creating a slight harshness with the spices. During the final stages, the fruit and chocolate couldn’t balance out the flavors with sweetness. This is the way the Filthy Ghooligan came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Filthy Ghooligan is a well-constructed cigar reflected in the burn and draw scores. The burn had no problem maintaining a straight burn line and path. This was a burn that required minimal touch-ups to keep the burn on track. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash that was silver-gray. Meanwhile, both the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Draw

The draw of the Filthy Ghooligan was also excellent. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance to it. In my book, this was a sweet spot for a draw. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

There was a nice amount of boldness regarding the Filthy Ghooligan. The cigar started out with medium strength and medium to full-bodied notes. By the final third, the Filthy Ghooligan had medium to full strength and was in full-bodied territory.

The body maintained the edge throughout the smoking experience regarding strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

On the positive side, the burnt orange and black look outstanding on the band and the box of the Filthy Ghooligan. I love how the Filthy Ghooligan keeps to the Black Market’s “crate style” boxes. The one negative is the ghosts on the box and the band is a little too cartoonish for my liking.

Packaging of the Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Ghooligan

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

In the first third, Filthy Ghooligan got off to a promising start. I enjoyed the mocha notes and the sweetness coming from this cigar. While the second third wasn’t as good as the first, it was still satisfactory. It was the last third where things fell apart. During this last part of the smoke, things got bitter, and the balance was thrown off. The increase in strength and body amplified this. The construction was excellent, but the cigar had to deliver on its flavor component from start to finish. While Filthy Ghooligan got off to a good start, it didn’t maintain that experience. Because of the good start (which still gave it a respectable 87 points), I recommend you try a sample first and see what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee/Chocolate), Fruit, Cedar, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last Third)
Finish: Fair