Each: €6.50 Euro ($6.75 USD)
Capa: México San Andrés
Capote: Ecuador Sumatra
Tripa: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
La Fuerza: Medium
Format: 4.75 x 52
Fabricante: Tabacalera Pichardo
First half:
And now for something completely different…. After having regaled you with what these days amounts to Unobtanium before, today we are looking at a readily available and, if Crowned Heads are to be believed, entry-level offering by that house. The OBS has spent about four months (in cello and in box) in my humidor and smokes like every cigar should, but not necessarily does: perfect draw and excellent burn.
It may be a bit rough around the edges though. Woody, some pepper, and dominating roast aromas like you would get from slightly charred toast. Other reviewers keep raving about how chocolatey it is…not this one, not so far. Still, anything but unpleasant. This may also have something to do with expectations. If you know what you have and don’t expect an Opus X or a top tier Padron or Casdagli, you welcome what is there and deal with it on that basis. This way I tend to get the maximum enjoyment possible from a cigar. Management of individual expectations. It is also why I believe that, counterintuitively, you will be getting nowhere by decision by committee when it comes to cigars (and most other situations in life). Instead of relying on the many who may as well as not have done a fair bit of copying of what others have said before them, find yourselves the cigar guy who appears to have a palate like yours. If trustworthy, even if you taste not all the same notes etc., reviews from such a source will be valuable to you, more so than twenty others who you might find less reliable. Blind faith is the enemy of your wallet, especially when it comes to highly individual taste.
But I digress, and I feel bad about it, even though digressing has now again become an integral part of this blog, which I enjoy. Still, you want to know about the OBS, and I can tell you that coming up to the halfway mark, it displays pleasing transitions. I now get the chocolate, I get coffee (black, and therefore still incorporating roast aromas, but based on the coffee), and I welcome the absence of the aforementioned woody notes. This is nice.
Smoke output is generous, burn exemplary, and I wonder why some (much) more expensive cigars have such difficulty displaying the same basic and, let’s be honest, necessary quality of construction. Looking at you, PLC from last time.
Second half:
Did I mention that it is also quite creamy? Because it is, not like a proper (to me) Connecticut, because there is no buttery element, but the smoke does not sting my mouth and envelopes my tongue nicely. The retrohale is more of the same, no overly peppery let alone stingy aspects, just the same cream. I am enjoying this. Also, the ash, while not particularly pretty, is a trooper. I believe you can, under the right circumstances (viz. calmy sitting down), get away with only ashing once. Your mileage may vary.
And I continue to enjoy it, even so the transitions have no packed up and gone home. It is not boring though, thanks to the size of this cigar, and so I keep looking for the chocolate (which may just slightly intensify) and the coffee (which now may come with a drop of milk). No other news to report, the cream remains present to the very end, the last inch or so displays no drop in quality. Hence, the price to enjoyment ratio is top tier. I happily recommend this cigar for what it is. Pair it with what you like, water is always good, but a nice rum might underline the chocolatey parts even more, if that is your thing.
Final thoughts:
In case I have not been clear so far, the OBS is a great offering. What it is not is
– an after-dinner smoke
– a celebratory cigar for the big events in our lives
– a medium to transport you into higher spheres of consciousness
– a fount of surprises every time you smoke it
But: it is a cigar that will not let you down, that will give you a pleasurable 60 minutes or so, wherever you smoke it (outside, inside, sitting in your favourite chair or walking the dog), and that will be consistent and reliable. This was my fifth or so out of a box of twenty, and the experience was the same every time. It will not take the place of your favourite smoke, that cigar we all have that just hits this special spot every time. But it will be there for you through thick and thin.
Final Score: 88
You can purchase Crowned Heads Juarez from Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’), Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code ‘katman’), and Cigar Page (15% off with promo code CROWNED15).
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
