Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Limited Edition LC54 2021
Posted on December 06 2021
Vitola: 5.75x54
Smoking Time: 142 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 3
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatran Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
MSRP: $12.96
Crowned Heads is quickly rising through the ranks of the boutique cigar industry. This brand is one who releases quite a large amount of limited edition, and limited release cigars throughout the year. Which has amplified their fans' desire to acquire more, to be a part of each release. This release of Las Calaveras has been limited to 1,250 boxes of each vitola, and 1,750 samplers.
Visual Inspection: Each release of Las Calaveras features a different color band, this year is yellow, and before was purple, and so on. As most limited edition Crowned Heads’ do as of late, a secondary foot band as well. The wrapper is dubbed a sumatran oscuro, however it isn't terribly dark in color. It looks to be along the lines of a habano; it has a light, but not creamy, cup of coffee color to it. The aroma coming off of this cigar is immense, I can smell it as it lays on my desk as I write this. There are bold notes of cinnamon, hay, and pastries, just to name a few.
Ringing in at 66% RH, the cigar is firm, but leans towards the more fragile side, as opposed to tightly packed, and no soft spots are present. The head of the cigar is tough, and wears a triple cap. Seams on the wrapper aren't hidden, but blend in nicely, with help of veins that are marbled in color along the entire cigar. A cold draw brings immediate flavors of horchata, and a spearmint mouth feel.
First Third: Upon first light, the spearmint flavors were present but shifted towards a sweet, black cherry note, then left the profile altogether. While there isn’t a huge amount of complexity, it is still very early. Notes of pecan, walnuts, black cherry, cinnamon, and charred wood are most prevalent. A retrohale brings more charred wood into the profile, and a dash of black pepper.
The burn line isn’t perfect, but far from needing a touch up. So far this cigar reminds me of Rojas’ Barbacoa Street Taco, there is no shortage of sweet flavors or charred wood notes. There haven't been any issues with the LC54 yet, the head cap is perfect, and no splitting or busting has happened to the wrapper. The ash is grey in color, and appears to be weak, but it isn’t flaking at all.
Second Third: There haven’t been many changes to the profile since the first third, except for a few changes that made it more enjoyable. Charred wood is still in charge, the horchata from the cold draw has showed up which blends very well. The notes of nuts have faded, but still are present after exhaling. The retrohale still brings pepper to the profile, which is welcoming to me. There is a green chili note developing and helps to tie this cigar together.
The burn line is less rough than the prior third, but now is dipping on one side. It is clean, but simply dips a quarter of an inch. The body of the ash has stayed consistent but is stronger than I expected before. So far this cigar is rather versatile, if you don't like pepper, or spice, don’t retrohale, and it's hardly present. But if you like the punch, retro away, and you’ll find ample amounts of spice.
Last Third: While this cigar has very full flavors, there isn’t much complexity. Notes come and go, bringing new ones as an old one leaves, but the main flavors stay very consistent. My ash was about an inch long, then fell off mid puff, but retained its shape and I was able to pick it up with little mess. The construction of this cigar is amazing, no flaws have occurred the entire time. Airflow is exceptional, bringing ample smoke each drag. Charred wood still takes charge, followed by horchata and black cherry. At the end of the cigar, it has become progressively spicier, black pepper is very up front.
Final Thoughts: I have only smoked this blend once before this review, it was the 2020 release, LC56 to be exact, which I enjoyed only a month ago. This release is much more refined, even though the 2020 had almost a year of age, this blend truly shines. While this cigar has pepper, it is largely prominent on the retrohale, so I would have no problem recommending it to those who aren't fans of spicy cigars. The Ecuadorian Sumatran wrapper is unique, and brings a very unique flavor to the cigar it covers. If you like the Street Taco Barbacoa, you’ll like Las Calaveras too. I’d call these box worthy!
-Sam