Cigar Review: The Angel’s Anvil 2016 by Crowned Heads

• Vitola: Box-Pressed Robusto Grande
• 5.5” x 54 ring gauge 
• Price $11.49
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

It’s that time again…in recent years we have seen a veritable flood of annual limited editions and it always seems to start—at least in my mind—with Crowned Heads’ The Angel’s Anvil. There may be a couple annual limited releases that came out earlier in the year, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head; after this Anvil will come Crowned Heads’ Las Calaveras, La Flor Dominicana’s TAA release, Tatuaje’s TAA release…well, a bunch of other TAA releases, really…and a bunch of other annual LEs. ’Tis the season!

The Angel’s Anvil (TAA for short) is in its third year of release as a cigar available only to Tobacconist Association of America (also TAA for short) member stores, of which there are between 70 and 80 nationwide. I am privileged to work at one of those stores, so I have pretty easy access to this and other TAA releases. All three years, Crowned Heads has turned to their original blending and production partner, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic.

Both of the previous two years were unique blends (2014 being completely unique, as far as I know; 2015 being very close to the Mule Kick blend) and the 2016 is no exception. They opted for a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves, as well as a box-press on the large Robusto / small Toro size.

I have to be right up front…I expected to enjoy this year’s Angel’s Anvil because of the tobacco make-up…and like it I did. I’ve smoked about three samples before this review stick and I paid for all of them.

Prelight

The band is the same design used in previous years; the practice here is to keep the design consistent but change the color scheme. In 2014 it was blue and ivory with gold foil; 2015 showed red, black and ivory with gold foil; this year has red on a white background and gold foil. It’s a good contrast with the wrapper leaf with its dark brown, mottled coloration.

The wrapper was smooth and oily to the touch with an aroma of wet earth and natural tobacco. The foot had a slightly more pungent manure note to it, along with touches of wood and freshly cut peppers.

The cold draw was excellent; cold flavors were mostly deeply earthy…for some reason it made me think “wet forest”…but that could have partly been the fact that it was raining outside when I reviewed this and my house is surrounded by trees.

Flavor

The 2016 Angel’s Anvil started off medium-plus in body with a marked earthiness and touches of dark fruit and coffee playing second fiddle. There was some black pepper on the finish, while the retrohale had more earthy notes and some red pepper. The more I puffed, the more I could taste a hint of floral notes, too, making me think that at least some of the filler was from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua…leaf grown there often hits me as “floral” in flavor.

The first third of The Angel’s Anvil burned fairly quickly and before I knew it, I was into the second third. I noted an increase in cedar flavor, making it about as prevalent as earth in the mix. Secondary floral and earthy notes were still there, but were also joined by some espresso bean and a bit of undefined sweetness. Pepper had died down on both the palate and the nose.

The last third had more sweet earthiness and espresso, with the floral and cedar notes fading a bit. I was a bit surprised to have no resurgence of pepper in the last minutes of the cigar.

Construction

I had to touch up the burn line a couple times, but that’s not unusual with a Broadleaf wrapper. The draw was great and the ash was solid until I forcefully tapped it off.

Value

Like all Limited Editions, this cigar is a little pricey, but it was very good and unique in the Crowned Heads portfolio, so I’d say it was worth it.

Conclusions

This Broadleaf-wrapped cigar stands as a great counterpoint to Crowned Heads’ other sought-after Broadleaf cigars, the Tennessee Waltz being the one I’m most familiar with. While both The Angel’s Anvil 2016 and the Waltz are Nicaraguan blends wrapped in the same leaf varietal, they are very, very different animals. It points out the different blending philosophies of the factories in which they are made: My Father for the Waltz and Alianza for the Anvil. The Anvil is a very nice medium-plus bodied smoke with a strong earthiness and not nearly the amount of chocolate sweetness you get in the Waltz. I enjoy both of these cigars and am very happy to be able to get both of them…at least for now.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10