Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5.875 Inches x 52 Robusto Larga
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $11.95

My sticks have been in a naked coma for over 3 months.

BACKGROUND:
Blender: Ernesto Perez Carrillo / Jon Huber
Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
From Atlantic Cigar Co.:
“For the first time since 2020, and for only the sixth time since 2012, Crowned Heads will be releasing the popular limited release extension to its Four Kicks brand, Mule Kick. For the first time in the brand’s history, the 2022 Mule Kick blend will feature a Mexican (San Andres) oscuro wrapper, while the binder-filler tobaccos will remain the same as the previous years releases. The 2022 Mule Kick is impeccably balanced with great structure, and exhibits a uniquely smokey-spicy-sweet favor profile. Total production of Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2022 will be limited to 4,000 (10-count) boxes.”

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Construction is pretty solid. But there is a plug. Out comes my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool magical mystery tour, and with one swipe, the plug at the cigar band area disappears into the mist.

Good start…flavors appear during the lighting adventure and a sense of depth is immediately apparent. Hope is adjunct to neediness.

The cigar begins with dark cocoa, espresso, black pepper, generic sweetness, malt, a heavy nuttiness, cedar, and a slight floral note.
Pretty much what I expected from a cigar with stats that include a Mexican wrapper with Nic guts. I really think that the cigar industry has gone one toke over the line in re-using the same formula over and over. I am happy to see some progressive manufacturers using more exotic blends.

So, if this blend is very good…as this is the path I’m guessing it will be on, it will taste like a lot of other blends with the same tobacco stats. The trick is that some know how to make this concoction work and others fall flat on their face. AJ seems to be the master of his domain in mastering this technique.

Good flavor points. A nice complexity is exiting its cocoon. Transitions are minimal. And the finish is a smothering black pepper spiciness.

“Fire On The Mountain” by The Marshall Tucker Band is playing on Pandora. Big band in the 70’s.

The cigar’s length is 5-7/8”. Why not 6”? No fucking idea.

The Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2022 is a nice cigar with 2” burned. I believe that the comfy zone for this blend has been reached.

The second half might just surprise me…but a bit more intensity won’t change the fact that this over used cigar blend has seen the light of day so many times that my brain shuts off and just listens to the music.

Sweetness manifests itself with notes of peppermint candy, candied citrus peel, and chocolate covered malted milk balls. Very long ago, Charlotte had the idea to do just that to me during hot monkey sex. I must say it was an interesting experience, but I admit that there was some trepidation on my part that my boys would catch fire.

The blend is improving as its foot disappears. I feel like a fake fortune teller. I can predict exactly where this blend is going. Been there, done that.

The burn is wonky. But nothing to cause any clenching of anatomy parts.

Strength has been medium/full almost since the start.

Are you watching “My Life as a Rolling Stone” on Epix? A nicely done documentary.

Transitions begin to flow and flood my giant open maw. The spiciness has calmed down. The black pepper is hogging and directing the cigar’s progression.
Nevertheless, I am enjoying the journey…thanks to the increasing complexity.

Due to the very limited number of cigars released, this cigar will be gone in a month or sooner.

Watching the news and seeing half the country under duress from drought, fires, and flooding is disturbing. On the other hand, Wisconsin is reacting to climate change by turning itself into SoCal. Weather has been wonderful all year. Who da’ thunk it?

The intensity of the blend seems to have maxed out. Just past the halfway point, I sense that the cigar has displayed all it is going to share with me. Still…a decent blend.

When I see the term, Limited Edition, attached to a cigar blend, I knee jerk react that this will be something special. Usually, it isn’t. The Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2022 falls into this category. Good cigar, but not special.

If you love this style of blending, this is a cigar you must try.
But because limited quantities are available, the price point is generally right at the MSRP. I find no significant deals. Maybe a buck less.

Strength is now full tilt. Nicotine flies in on the wings of the devil.

I’m so old (How old are you?) that I remember that in my high school days a dress code was in place ala the 1950’s. Girls had to wear skirts…no pants allowed. Boys could not wear shorts and their hair must be clean cut. Long hair would get you expelled. Although, in my senior year, mustaches were allowed. Every guy in the school began growing one. By the end of the year, only 4 of us still had them…me and 3 Armenian boys.

The blend has reached the stasis point. Nice flavors but they’ve run out of gas.

And so have I. With 1-1/2” to go, the cigar becomes a bit harsh. And there is a heat element that eliminates most of the flavor profile.

You can purchase these cigars from my sponsors, Atlantic Cigar Co. and Small Batch Cigar (Promo code: katman gets you 10% off).

RATING: 89

And now for something completely different:
The Eddie Munster Chronicles 1983:

It was the day before the first shoot. I hadn’t written a script yet because Butch kept putting off getting together with me. Thank goodness I got a hair up my ass, the night before the shoot, and whipped out a shooting script in twenty minutes. No changes needed. I find it so amazing what the brain can do under stress. I wrote 33 scenes for a 2-minute song.

The first shoot was an exterior. There is a line in the song that says, “I got up and left school.” So, we got the iconic car customizer George Barris to loan us John Travolta’s souped-up Trans Am. George insisted that he provide the driver. The scene was two shots. It was Butch running down the steps of Hollywood High School in cap and gown. And the second was the Trans Am burning rubber taking off from the school.

We fooled the cops on Sunset Blvd and shot right in front of the school and blocking traffic. But that was only 2 scenes. My shooting script had 31 more scenes to go. We looked so professional, that the cops never approached me about a permit. In fact, they helped guide traffic for us. Of course, it was really Butch Patrick glad handing with the cops and signing autographs and taking photos…The cops were thrilled to have the real Eddie Munster to hang with while my crew and I busted our asses.

I scoped locations. In San Pedro, there is a permanently docked boat that had a couple of restaurants and a chapel on top.
The chapel would be perfect and I made financial arrangements with the chaplain.

I gathered my crew, and my extras, and the band, and we showed up at the Princess Louise around 6pm.
I was immediately met by the owner of the boat who said the chaplain had no authority to allow us to shoot.
“FUCK! (%#^$#%&**&!!!!”

$4000 was demanded right there ($12K in 2022 dollars) on the spot. The owner stood next to his brand new Rolls Royce. All I thought was that this guy was a real prick.

I drove home like a maniac while the crew was moving their gear to the chapel. I went into my safe and grabbed the dough. Only a few of my crew knew what had happened. I couldn’t afford another disaster like the mortuary catastrophe. (Another story)

I had rented 5 outlandishly decorated caskets from Cassandra the Casket Queen in Hollywood. We were forced to hold them over our heads as we transported them upstairs to the chapel. We actually had to weave our way through a crowded restaurant to do this. Customers’ forks fell in unison. And all conversation came to a halt.

The camera crew set up in the chapel while our make-up artist did her thing with the band members…Eddie in white; while the Monsters were in green make up. All good looking boys. In fact, one of them was Butch’s brother, Mike.

I went over the script with Marvin Rush, my cinematographer (Who went on to be one of the most important cinematographers in L.A. He did some Star Trek movies.)

One of his crew members voiced an opinion that 31 scenes can’t be done in one night. Marvin immediately told him to shut up. He told the guy that “Phil is the director,” and they will do whatever it takes to get it done.

The 50 extras were ready. I picked regular folks. No models or pretty people.
I quickly spent a few minutes, with all concerned, to tell them what I needed from them.

And then…“Action.”
We had begun to shoot our first scene of the night. Now mind you, the song was just barely 2 minutes long and I had written 33 scenes to shoot. That meant an edit every 3.6 seconds. The same way the Bourne movies are edited. Only I did it 20 years earlier. Blink and miss a scene.

The first shot was of the 50 extras dancing into the chapel while the music played. I purposely picked a huge array of types; fat women, fat men, a rainbow coalition of ethnicities, young and old, and they were all thrilled to be there and have their 15 minutes, or shall I say 7.2 seconds of fame? The longest scene of the video.

One of my friends, Ben, brought his friend, Jasper. Both were very well dressed in three-piece suits. So, I put them up front for two reasons…they were dressed to the nines, and they could move their fat asses like no one else in the crowd.

One of the shots had the camera on them as they sang the chorus. All they had to was lip sync the title of the song. It turned out that it was the only shot of the night that required more than two takes.

Jasper, could not for the life of him, remember the words, “Whatever Happened to Eddie?” So, his mouth moved in total non-unison with the song. It was driving me nuts and taking too much time.

It was the only time I acted like a prima donna during the whole project. I screamed at Jasper “Are you stupid or what?” It was like talking to Forrest Gump. He just couldn’t do it. He promised he would get it right on the threat of being sent away. I had 49 other extras lip syncing perfectly and there was Jasper in the second row fucking it all up.

“Action!”
I didn’t want to look at the play back. I had to move on…But I heard Marvin laughing so I knew that Jasper had failed miserably. That was the only scene where we needed extras so, upon completion of that part of the video, I sent them home.

And then we moved on to the parts with Butch and the band.
And it got really hairy at this point…things happened…the night turned into morning and everyone was running on cocaine…tempers were out of control…. but we finished all the scenes as the sun was rising.
Next time…The Mortuary Incident.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS