Cigar Extra: Les CHATTeaux by Crowned Heads

• Vitola: Box-pressed Corona Gorda
• 5.625” x 46 ring gauge 
• $8.99
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

I first heard rumblings about a store exclusive from Crowned Heads in the second half of 2015. Burns had already taken delivery of an exclusive from La Aurora…the 100 Años Lancero featuring a Cameroon wrapper…and another from Guayacan…Sabor de Chattanooga, another Lancero featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper (sold out at the moment, but we may be getting some more in). And we were on the cusp of receiving the Caldwell Blind Man’s Bluff in an exclusive Corona vitola. But Mike (the owner) was already planning the next exclusive in partnership with Crowned Heads.

For those who don’t remember, Crowned Heads was founded by several of the people whose jobs left them when CAO Cigars was taken over by General and the company operations moved to Virginia. They have worked with the EP Carrillo Cigar Company and the My Father factory to produce several fantastic regular production lines, as well as a steady stream of limited edition products. Their first regular line was the Four Kicks, a fantastic medium-bodied smoke blended by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr., and featuring Nicaraguan fillers and binder, along with a dark gold Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The first LE from Crowed Heads was a spin-off of Four Kicks, prompted by a darker-than-desired batch of wrapper leaf…a little extra Ligero was added and Mule Kick was born. It sold out extraordinarily quickly.

A couple weeks back, Burns took delivery of the first shipment of Les CHATTeaux, the new cigar developed by Crowned Heads exclusively for the shop. CH again worked with the EPC factory, bringing back the Mule Kick blend (or at least a close blood relative to it) in an almost perfect vitola: box-pressed Corona Gorda.

I got a box almost immediately (even with my broken leg, I found a way!) and started smoking a few. While just about ready from the first day I cracked the box open, I waited a few days before smoking the second and it was better…and now I’m ready to fire up another one. I won’t be doing the full review, since this is a total conflict of interest…I work for Burns and want to sell lots of these!…but I figured some notes about the stick wouldn’t be out of line.

Notes

“Chateau” is French for castle. They played with the spelling to have the all-caps beginning be “CHATT” which is short for “Chattanooga,” where Burns is located. The cliche of the castle on the box does not actually represent anywhere in Chattanooga.

Pre-release samples had just a burgundy ribbon on the foot, similar to how the Tennessee Waltz has an orange ribbon and the Yellow Rose has a yellow ribbon. The final release has just a simple regular band with the name printed in a cream color on a burgundy background. The color of the bands is similar to the red color Burns uses as its official color.

The wrapper of Les CHATTeaux was, like the Mule Kick before it, a slightly darker shade than the golden Habano leaf used on Four Kicks. The soft box-press felt good in my hands and I really like the Corona Gorda Vitola…definitely one of my favorite sizes.

I got notes of sweet hay on the wrapper and a mix of earth and leather on the foot. The cold draw has been excellent on every sample I’ve smoked and I got flavors of earth and a touch of molasses sweetness.

Les CHATTeaux differs from Four Kicks mostly in the balance of flavors. This size of the Mule Kick blend in particular gives more earthiness and extra pepper to the proceedings. The sweetness I get from the Four Kicks Robusto is a little muted and the cedar I get in the FK Selección No. 5 is almost absent.

So it’s a different animal, but definitely a worthy addition to the Crowned Heads lineup…and to Burns, too.

You can get a box of 12 Les CHATTeaux delivered anywhere in the U.S. For about $108. If you buy 2 boxes at the same time, they knock off 10%, so it’s closer to $195.  Sales tax applies in the state of Tennessee. If you’re a Crowned Heads fan, you definitely don’t want to miss this, but that also applies if you are just a fan of the Four Kicks blend, EP Carrillo blends, or great Nicaraguan-based blends. This is a great stick for a very good price.