Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 4.75 x 52 “Robusto-Box Pressed”
Body: Full
Price: $8.75 MSRP ($7.00 @ Small Batch Cigar minus coupon code of Katman10 that gives you a 10% discount = $6.30) Best pricing around. The first batch will go quickly.
Today we are taking a look at the brand new Jericho Hill OBS by Crowned Heads.
I must thank Andrew at Small Batch Cigar for the samples.
The line was released in August 2014 and is a regular production cigar. It made its debut at the 2014 IPCPR trade show. And is made at the My Father Cigar factory. The cigars come in boxes of 24.
OBS means Orange Blossom Special from a song by Johnny Cash.
From Cigar Aficionado:
“The song, a toe-kicking tune Cash made famous during his performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, is the story of a criminal named Willy Lee, who gets off to a brisk start in the ballad by murdering his lady with a .44 after a shot of cocaine. He makes a break for the border, but fails to get away, and is captured by the authorities in Mexico before being brought to justice by a sheriff from Jericho Hill.
“Crowned Heads’ first three regular-production brands are made by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s La Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic.
“Jon Huber of Crowned Heads told Cigar Aficionado there was “No change in relationship with Ernesto or La Alianza. We currently have three regular-production brands (Four Kicks, Headley Grange, and J.D. Howard Reserve) coming from that factory and that won’t change.”
Crowned Heads is using the Mexican San Andrés wrapper for the first time.
OBS- 4.75 x 52: $8.75 (Orange Blossom Special)
.44S- 5.125 x 44: $7.95 (Caliber of gun that Willy Lee used)
Willy Lee- 6 x 54: $9.75
LBV- 6.5 x 46: $8.95 (Long Black Veil)
Thanks to Andrew at Small Batch Cigar. They carry the OBS, LBV and the Willy Lee.
This is a nicely constructed cigar. A nice soft box press. Tight seams. Few veins. Well executed triple cap. A shiny coffee bean colored wrapper that has quite a bit of tooth. The cigar is tightly packed. No soft spots.
But I have a caveat about the construction. I got mine in a 4 pack. And the cigars are not really that consistent. One might be a sparkling Cinderella and the other is the Grinch. That being said, I shall use the best looking of the bunch for my photos.
I clip the cap and find aromas of sweetness/molasses, cocoa, wood, spice, and rich earthiness.
Time to light up. But before I do, I gotta get this off my chest. Too many reviewers spell the Mexican leaf as San Andreas. San Andreas is a fault line running up the central corridor of California and not a tobacco leaf.
The first puffs are very sweet…with a wood overtone. Black pepper immediately goes to work. The draw and outpouring of smoke is spectacular. For such a thick and jam packed stick, it defies the laws of physics.
The strength hits classic medium right away. The cigar’s biggest draw for me is its rich earthiness. Another cigar in which you can just about taste the soil.
The char line is spot on.
Creaminess appears. The cigar is going to explode any moment and hit flavor bomb status with only the minimal amount of flavor distinctions.
Lemony citrus appears now. It has become sweet and sour.
With 1” burned, it moves up to medium/full body.
Leather pops up. New, sinewy leather.
Here are the flavors: Spice, creaminess, sweetness, citrus, wood, and leather.
The flavor profile hits flavor bomb status.
For some reason, in my photos, it looks like the cap is a beanie on top of the cigar. And is about to fall off. And that is exactly what it looks like as I examine it closely. Go figure I pick one with a defective cap. I literally, peel back all three caps and expose the binder. It seems no worse; just a sloppy torcedor. And I picked the wrong cigar to review.
This cigar is turning into a manly experience. The flavor status is very unique and complex. It reminds me of a mixture of Illusione, LFD, and the Nunchuck. Flavors bounce around like a beach ball at a rock concert.
This cigar is for the very experienced palate. I am getting flavors and nuances I don’t recognize. For as many cigars I’ve smoked and reviewed, this doesn’t happen that often.
I am struggling with trying to define things.
The creaminess makes a big surge and moves to the front of the line while introducing coffee to the mix.
The second third begins.
The strength moves to full body.
Floral notes appear. Honeysuckle. Then butterscotch.
My grandfather, when he visited two weeks twice a year from Pittsburgh, would always have a roll of Life Savers Butter Rum candies. As soon as he got off the plane I had my hand out for one of those little round delectables. I taste butter rum in this profile.
Flavors are now outrageous. Holy shit. This is a carnival of all those weird food kiosks rolled into one.
The flavor of melted unsalted butter reaches out to my palate. Cocoa arrives. And yes, it is Diet Coke time for that beloved egg cream experience.
Here are the wonderful flavors: Creaminess, spice, coffee, butter rum, honeysuckle, wood, cocoa, citrus, and leather. And each flavor is a huge component.
If the Jericho Hill flavor profile was a boiling pot, it would be overflowing and spilling everywhere.
What a magnificent cigar. Crowned Heads is masterful at blending cigars such as the Four Kicks, Headley Grange, JD Howard Reserve, and Las Calaveras. There is also a blend I haven’t tried called the Angel’s Anvil.
They don’t crank cigars out like a Patel or Hansotia, but what they do put out is incredible blending talent. Jon Huber and company are a group of geniuses.
You won’t find a better price than Small Batch Cigar. And $6.30 after your discount and free shipping is insane for this cigar. They could have been greedy and charged $10 for this stick. And beware because there are a lot of online stores selling this stick for MSRP prices. I checked and all the old standby stores are selling this stick for $8-$9.
I am at the halfway point and a big dose of nicotine kicks in. Time slows down. My fingers won’t do what my brain tells them to do.
An incredible cigar.
And now my little secret….I dry boxed my 4 pack for 24 hours and I am now smoking and reviewing the Jericho Hill. Ka-Pow!
The last third kicks in and the strength is full bodied +.
I take a closer look at the caps. One stick has a perfectly applied cap and another is sloppy. Crowned Heads should spank quality control. But on a cigar this good, it doesn’t matter to me. It caused nothing more than a tiny inconvenience.
Last time for flavor line up: NICOTINE, creaminess, spice, cocoa, coffee, butter rum, honeysuckle, wood, citrus, and leather. And a massive dose of rich earthiness.
With each sip of my Diet Coke, flavors jump up and down as if on a trampoline.
I definitely want more and this time I want to try the LBV (6.5 x 46).
I just sent off an email to Andrew at SBC to ask why he doesn’t have the .44S? And to please provide 4 packs for the LBV.
Andrew is pretty good at customer service so I expect as soon as he gets my email, these things will happen. So stay tuned. It should happen sometime today.
The nicotine takes a break and is now more than tolerable. That few minutes was like a tsunami of nicotine. But it is OK now.
As soon as Andrew gets the LBV into a 4 pack presentation, they are mine…all mine!
This cigar is going to bump one of my cigars on the Top 25 cigars of 2013-2014 list. And it will be somewhere near the top.
Spectacular cigar!!
The cigar finishes cool and without bitterness.
Don’t pay $8-$10 for these sticks. Really. Go to Small Batch Cigar. And tell Andrew the Katman sent you. And don’t forget to use the coupon code of Katman10 to get your 10% discount.
NOTE: I got a personal response from Jon Huber of Crowned Heads today (8-18-14). I think it is pretty cool that he did this. I want to share with you what he said in his email:
“Phillip – Your recent email was forwarded to my attention.
“I wanted to ‘personally’ thank you for taking the time to review JERICHO HILL. I also appreciate the constructive criticism, as well. Prior to your email, I’d received two other similar comments regarding the caps. As such, I’ve been in communication with Jaime (Garcia) at My Father about this topic.
“To date, we’ve sampled out 1,400 Jericho Hill cigars (IPCPR show), and have shipped several thousand boxes into the market place. With the exception of these 3 comments (includes yours) regarding the caps, the feedback has been 100% positive. I also think it’s important to keep in mind that the cap is really a ‘cosmetic’ attribute of the cigar; if–once the cigar is cut and lit–the feedback were that the blend was ‘off,’ I would have more cause for concern. Personally, I’ve smoked /many/ high-end cigars (Padron Anniversaries, for example) that had less-than-perfect caps, and they smoked fine. The cap did not deter me from smoking another nor did it deter me from recommending that cigar.
“Thanks again for your review and input.
Cheers.
Jon A. Huber”
I wrote back and this is what Jon had to say:
“Phil – Congrats on the success of your review site….keep it up!
I’ve got my eye on this (cap situation) as do the Garcias.
Regards.”
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
Thank you Mr. Katman! I am recieving these today and now after your review, I may have to fake an illness to get out of work to go home a have one!
BUHAHAHA!! I have the LBV! 😛
I’m sure Andrew will get more!
Off topic a bit but I was just notified by email that Smoke Inn is offering “THE ROBIN WILLIAMS MEMORIAL SAMPLER.
15 premiums for only $40.
If you adored Robin Williams, show him your adoration and respect by purchasing this loving memorial to him from Robin’s friends at Smoke Inn.
Disgusting.
One hour later: Smoke Inn issued an apology and removed the sampler from their web site.
BUHAHAHA Yourself. I spoke to Andrew and he put a few LBV 4 packs up for sale.
Your issue with the cap is not an isolated case. I’ve read several posters (they posted pictures too) who were in disbelief, because they opened up their boxes of Jerico Hills only to discover that most of the cigars had the same issue with the caps–only theirs looked far worse.
Great review as always.
Thanks. That’s a major quality control issue.
But the cigar is so damn delicious, I am willing to over look it.
Maybe I should send them a note.
In fact, I just took the time to send Crowned Heads a complaint about this issue. I will report back if they contact me.
katmensch – great review! Others have talked about the QC issues with thie new Jericho Hills. What I don’t get is that our Father Who Art In Esteli makes them – and I have never had QC problems with any of Pepin’s many brands including Tatuaje. Very weird.
From the photos posted at a cigar forum, the caps were many, many times worse and the wrappers were banged up too. I would post a link to the thread, but the site’s moderators took the thread down–the poster stated that the retailer agreed to replace the box and I think that the moderators assumed this was an isolated case (there’s a healthy level of respect and support for crowned heads, as there should be). Still, there’s no way that crowned heads is still in the dark at this point.
Methinks there is a bigger problem than just Jericho Hills and Crowned Heads – their first deal with My Father was Las Calaveras, which was a smashing success – and is right near the top of Katman’s top 25. I love ’em! But, Las Calaveras was a limited release – with no time pressure (I think Katman nailed that issue with respect to rushing the JH to market after IPCR). Could it be that the Garcia dynasty has grown too much too fast? They make a butt-load of smokes under their brands and a large number of other brands (i.e., Tatuaje, 601) – the My Father quality control process had to be the first level of failure, and apparently Huber’s people weren’t present when the smokes were made, and didn’t do much about inspecting the finished product before putting it into distribution. I would love to be a fly on the wall at Huber’s office – I would bet at least one AJ Skull Crusher that heads are rolling somewhere. I feel badly for Huber and his troops – they deserve the praise that Katman heaps on them – but this is a fuck-up of epic proportion. Do I hear the word “recall” echoing from the mountain-tops?
Oh – I forgot to mention, that I found five packs of Liga Unico Series smokes at SBC while looking for Epoca and Jericho Hills Cigars – you get a five-pack with Dirty Rat, UF-13, Feral Flying (Rutting) Pig, Nica Rustica and an LP-9 for $62 – a deal in itself – less $6.20 thanks to Katman’s discount – which makes it a fabulous deal with some very hard-to-find smokes. Thanks to Andrew and the Katmensch! I bought two – there are 11 left, and they just went live today.
Jon Huber from Crowned Heads got back to me. You can read his email in the last portion of the body of the review.
Thanks Jon.
Katman, I think your review is spot-on (as usual). The aroma of this smoke is enchanting and the flavor never became harsh or bitter… a lovely smoke that ended only when I burned my fingers. My cap was also wonky but I chose a punch cut and after wetting the cap, it settled right down and never gave me a problem. Mine required 2 or 3 touch ups as it had a tendency to canoe throughout the smoke but this didn’t detract from a most enjoyable smoke and might have been a case of user error on lighting. I’ll definitely be buying more… thanks for the review!
Just ordered a four pack from Small Batch along with some Nica Rustica’s, Curious to see if the Jericho’s I get have the same cap issues. Anyways great review as always!
I got a four pack of the LBV size and every one has a perfect cap.