Four Kicks by Crowned Heads
Being that as of late I have really been enjoying Crowned Heads offerings, I wanted to take a look at the first cigar Crowned Heads produced back in 2011. The company itself was the offspring of a rough separation between Crowned Heads personnel and CAO cigars, after CAO was bought by a larger firm in 2010. The working family of CAO based in Nashville, TN then formed Crowned Heads. The cigar, Four Kicks, is an ode to giving big corporations the middle finger and carving your own path. Hard not to like that.
The vitola I chose was the Carona gorda. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as I am a Carona gorda whore. It is what it is. Sitting at 5 & 5/8 inches x 46 RG, it chants my name. The Four Kicks is blended by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera La Alianza. It is worth noting that this is the first time Perez-Carrillo blended a cigar for an outside company. Ironically enough, no Dominican tobacco is used in the bunch. The Nicaraguan Filler is binded with a Nicaraguan binder. The rustic Ecuadorian Habano wrapper acts as the bow of the bunch.
The construction of the cigar is sound. A minor touch up here and there, but I can be a little OCD(probably could have gone without those). I will admit, a name like “Four Kicks” sounds like a Donkey punch in the face, but the profile of the cigar was medium bodied and quite enjoyable. The profile is classic- meaty, chewy, peppery, with traces of cream here and there. My suspicion is that some aging would bring out complexities. The smoke gets progressively better as it goes along, which keeps me interested.
The Four Kicks is a solid cigar that is priced correctly. In my opinion it is box worthy due to it’s friendly price and aging potential. I also personally feel that the Carona gorda size suits this blend well.
The vitola I chose was the Carona gorda. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as I am a Carona gorda whore. It is what it is. Sitting at 5 & 5/8 inches x 46 RG, it chants my name. The Four Kicks is blended by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera La Alianza. It is worth noting that this is the first time Perez-Carrillo blended a cigar for an outside company. Ironically enough, no Dominican tobacco is used in the bunch. The Nicaraguan Filler is binded with a Nicaraguan binder. The rustic Ecuadorian Habano wrapper acts as the bow of the bunch.
The construction of the cigar is sound. A minor touch up here and there, but I can be a little OCD(probably could have gone without those). I will admit, a name like “Four Kicks” sounds like a Donkey punch in the face, but the profile of the cigar was medium bodied and quite enjoyable. The profile is classic- meaty, chewy, peppery, with traces of cream here and there. My suspicion is that some aging would bring out complexities. The smoke gets progressively better as it goes along, which keeps me interested.
The Four Kicks is a solid cigar that is priced correctly. In my opinion it is box worthy due to it’s friendly price and aging potential. I also personally feel that the Carona gorda size suits this blend well.