Vitola: Toro- 5.875” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $11.25
- Purchased from Burns Tobacconist
Background
It was eight years ago that we first saw the Mule Kick, a Limited Edition version of Crowned Heads’ first blend, Four Kicks. The story went that there was a batch of wrapper leaf that was just a shade too dark to be used on Four Kicks, but instead of rejecting it, they decided to add a little Ligero to the filler and release it as a very limited variation on the theme. It was amazing and sounded like it would be a one-time-only thing. Until a few years later when they recreated the same blend…and the year after that when they did a Maduro version (that ended up being similar to the Four Kicks Maduro release)…and last year when they released a Sumatra-wrapped version.
For 2020, we have another variation on the theme…a Mule Kick that uses a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper grown in Jalapa, instead of the Ecuadorian Habano that’s on the original Four Kicks and the original Mule Kick. It’s not stated that filler and binder are the same as the original Mule Kick blend, but they are Nicaraguan leaf for both, making this the first time that a Four Kicks or Mule Kick release has been a Nicaraguan puro.
I bought a couple of these at Burns, smoked one and liked enough that I ended up buying a 10-count box before I even got to the second one. This review sample is the third one overall I’ve smoked of this blend. If your local store doesn’t carry Crowned Heads, you can get these at Small Batch Cigar, a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor. Background information came from Cigar-Coop.
Prelight
Right up front, I don’t like the blue-green box used for these. It’s a minor thing, and really just meant for differentiating this release from previous ones at a glance…but I don’t think it goes with the aesthetic built up by Crowned Heads for the Four Kicks brand over the last 8 or 9 years. Thankfully, when you slide the top open, you are greeted with spider paper and the familiar and beautiful Four Kicks band that you have come to know and love. A secondary band reveals that this is a Limited Edition 2020, while the foot band has the Crowned Heads logo. And I have to say that I really don’t like that foot band. I can’t remember if I’ve said that before…hell, I may have actually liked it at first!…but I really don’t like it now.
When I first saw these, I thought this was a redux of the original blend Mule Kick again because the wrapper leaf is close enough in color to that release that it’s hard to tell…at least in isolation from other similar cigars. The wrapper is slightly darker than a peanut butter brown, with a slight redness to it, a moderate amount of veins, and a smooth oiliness under my fingers. It smelled like barnyard and wood, while the foot had a mix of cedar, hay, earth, and a floral note.
The prelight draw was a bit snug but displayed a nice range of the flavors I enjoy from the Four Kicks line…sweet molasses, a touch of bell pepper, cedar, and earth…along with some floral notes this time around.
Flavor
The first few puffs of the Mule Kick 2020 were much the same…I got the molasses I love from the Four Kicks Robusto, the pepper spice I get from the Corona Gorda, and the cedar that comes through so strongly on the Selección No. 5…then a light floral sweetness on top of that. In my experience that is the influence of the Jalapa wrapper leaf; tobacco grown in that region frequently has a floral note to it. It was medium-bodied at the outset with a retrohale that mixed roasted peanuts with red pepper flake.
Getting into the second third, I still got a really complex mix of flavors, highlighted by the dueling floral and molasses sweetness notes and accented by the red pepper flake that had migrated off the nose and onto the palate. It was still medium-bodied…probably the lightest-bodied Mule Kick release so far…but just tremendously tasty, with more roasted nuts, cedar, and a touch of earth.
The last third had more earthiness while the molasses faded a bit. The floral sweetness held on nicely and there was plenty of cedar and spice hanging around still.
Construction
The draw was a bit snug throughout, but it didn’t impede the smoking experience. The burn line was even enough and the ash was solid.
Value
Although the price keeps creeping upward, this is a very good cigar and worth it.
Conclusions
I have to admit that the last couple variations of the Mule Kick formula didn’t quite do it for me. I liked them, but didn’t love them. This 2020 Limited Edition Mule Kick represents a return to form in my opinion, with perhaps the most complex and enjoyable version of the blend to date. While I still slightly prefer the original Four Kicks in the Robusto or Sublime size, this 2020 Mule Kick might just be the best thing this year has had to offer so far.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
