Crowned Heads Four Kicks Robusto Extra
Posted on November 09 2021
Vitola: 5.5x56
Smoking Time: 70 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 3
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
MSRP: $9.66
Crowned Heads was established during a merger between Swedish Match and ST Group (CAO’s parent company, where Jon Huber worked). Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, C.H. was created to bring love and passion back into cigar making. Most often named after songs, or lyrics, Four kick is based off of a Kings of Leon song, and others are most commonly from Johnny Cash Lyrics. “Four Kicks is about sticking to your guns, and remaining loyal to those whom you love, and the hometown that brought you to the dance.” Carve Your Own Path.
Visual Inspection: A rustic coffee brown wrapper, almost broadleaf in appearance, featuring a good amount of tooth. Seams are very visible, but the leaf is very high quality. Providing a strong, firm, and enough give when squeezed, feel. The Four kicks is an elegant stick. The size is right up my alley, the thicker ring gauge robusto is welcomed.
Aromas are very chocolatey, with notes of almond, and earth. The chocolate is very sweet and up front, definitely one of the sweeter cigars I’ve smelled. The cold draw is very sweet as well, it is a cherry sweetness, with undertones of earth and oak, the draw is ample.
First Third: Immediately all the sweet flavors have vanished. Strong notes or almond and espresso are large and in charge. Light flavors of bakers chocolate and pepper represent, but nothing more at this point. The cigar is burning relatively quickly, at around 10 minutes, I've burned an inch already.
Going along with that, the burn line is rough. It’s dipping around a quarter inch on one side of the cigar. Flavors are remaining the same for now, there is a slight sweetness trying to push through, but as of now, to no avail. So far I am not getting a complex profile, but the smoke is heavy. The ash is firm, and isn't flaking and the color is a dark gray. A retrohale brings pepper back and continues trying to pull sweetness into the profile.
Second Third: As mentioned, there is little complexity, but the flavors are really nice. Almond, bakers chocolate, and just enough pepper. Still no sweet flavors are coming through, but I do enjoy it teasing, coming and going.
While still having the same issues with the burn line, touch ups here and there, but my attempts are futile. It comes and goes, but always returns to canoeing on one side. The ash has slightly lightened in color, but staying dark gray. Flavors of almost-burnt toast have arrived, and met with a heavier nut, walnut, and charred oak.
As I mentioned earlier, the cigar was burning fast, I’m noticing it is much better now. I would attribute it to simply having less filler leaf on the foot. Pepper is becoming more prevalent, but is no longer lingering in the retrohale, which reveals more of the heavily toasted bread and the slightest touch of half and half.
Last Third: Flavors of chocolate have taken a back seat, and have made way for very upfront, hints of toast, and are met with walnut, oak, and char. This is a sneaky habano, it has been rather subtle until the end of this third. Now showing a lot of pepper, whereas prior it has been only present on the retro.
Finally! The burn line is tidy, at long last. Draw is still ample and gives off a clean white smoke. The ash gets lighter in color each time it is ash it, and is now a light gray. Now with little less than an inch left, the cigar is getting almost too hot to smoke.
Final Thoughts: While this is not my favorite from Crowned Heads, I really enjoy the medium profile of this cigar. Most similar to the La Coalition, this cigar provides a tinge more spice due to its habano wrapper. I would recommend this to any fan of habano wrappers, or those who enjoy Crowned Heads, as I do.
-Sam