Crowned Head's Four Kicks

This week's review is of the first cigar from Crowned Heads called the Four Kicks. Crowned Heads is Jon Huber's newer company (along with a few other former CAO employees) and the Four Kicks is being made for them by EP Carillo in the Dominican Republic. This cigar features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler. I am reviewing the Corona Gorda which measures in at 5 5/8 x 46, a favorite size of mine. 

The Four Kicks has a flat brown wrapper with very even coloring to it and is slightly dry to the touch. The aroma at the foot is of light barnyard. The prelight draw has just the right amount of resistance and some floral flavor to it with more of that barnyard coming through. Once lit, this starts out with some black pepper spice that really hits the tip of the tongue. The pepper backs off fairly quickly and some cedar and citrus zesty flavors have shown up. I am also getting some floral undertones to the flavor profile as well. There is a nice complexity to this smoke. The snowy white ash holds on for about an inch and the burn has been mostly even so far. The pepper occasionally sneaks back into the profile but in the background and some dark chocolate has entered the mix. Through the first third I would say this is medium across the board as far as body and strength goes. I like how light the smoke is on the palate, its very flavorful but isn't heavy. 

At the halfway point the flavor has remained consistent and the burn needed a slight touch up. Entering the final third and the cedar flavor has become more of an oak and a slightly bitter walnut flavor has shown up. The citrus and floral characteristic is gone at this point with some leather and more of that dark chocolate. This cigar has really changed from beginning to end. I prefered the first half but am still enjoying it in the final third. The strength has gone up a bit, just a little above what I consider to be medium. 

The Four Kicks by Crowned Heads was a solid cigar. I was really interested in trying these because I have been a fan of some of the cigar EP Carillo has been making lately. This one doesn't really remind me of any of his other cigars. The first third with the peppery start followed by the citrus and floral flavors with the dark chocolate behind them were the highlights of this cigar. I didn't love the more bitter wood and nutty flavor at the end but it wasn't offensive or anything like that. These aren't being widely distributed yet, I think around 66 shops nationwide got them in. This size sells for $6.95 making it a very affordable cigar. I would probably pick up a few more to try if I came across them but I can't see myself going out of my way to track this one down. I really did enjoy the complexity that this cigar offers though, it has some major flavor changes throughout the smoke.