Cigar Review: J.D. Howard Reserve by Crowned Heads

Originally published at Tiki Bar Online

HR52 (Toro), 6” x 52 ring gauge / ~$10, Burns Tobacconist

In a love-letter of sorts to their fans, on Valentine’s Day this year Crowned Heads released news of their next big release through a particular “lifestyle” magazine’s website. They usual are reliable for cigar information, so I’m using their article for a bit of the background; for the full read, click here. The short story is that for a short time the outlaw, Jesse James, lived quietly in Nashville, very likely under the alias of J.D. Howard. Crowned Heads principles Jon Huber and Mike Conder sought to pay homage to this slice of Nashville history in this release. The cigar itself is being made (like their others) by the EP Carrillo Cigars Company in the Dominican Republic. It features Nicaraguan fillers, a Sumatran binder, and a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper that could be justifiably called “Maduro” if you are just looking at Maduro as a color classification, but from the experience of smoking a few of these before now, I believe they are true Maduros, having gone through the extra fermentation required to be “ripe.” J.D. Howard Reserve comes in 5 different sizes; I’ve smoked several of a variety of vitolas and I honestly don’t remember where this review sample came from…I’ve bought some, I got one from the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, I’ve been given others by Mr. Huber. Let’s just assume I probably didn’t pay for this sample, but also specify that that fact will have nothing to do with the final score it received.

The J.D. Howard Reserve continues Crowned Heads’ flirtations with classic Cuban designs mixed with American West influences. The band is reserved and stately, a cream color with burgundy and metallic gold ink and strategic embossing. The cream colored background along the outer edges of the band is a great contrast to the dark milk chocolate brown of the oily, toothy wrapper leaf. Bringing it to my nose, I got a rich sweet aroma on the wrapper…some dried fruit, some earth, a bit of chocolate. The foot was even richer, with earthiness leading the way, but plenty of sweet notes still. On prelight, the draw was very good and had a mellow semi-sweet cocoa note.

The HR52 lit up quickly and easily with a single-flame torch. Initially, I got flavors of hay and earth, along with a bit of mild, sweet chocolate on the palate, while the retrohale was nutty with the slightest bit of pepper spice. As the first third burned, I found this cigar to be medium in body, or maybe even slightly milder than medium. The flavor was very good, although not quite what I had expected from a Brazilian Maduro wrapper. At this point there was ample sweetness on the palate, but more in the way of hay than the chocolate or dark fruit notes that seem to be more common with Maduros. The retrohale continued to be easy and nutty. I can say that if you haven’t learned to retrohale (exhale the smoke through your nose), you are missing a big part of the taste experience in smoking cigars…and I can say that this cigar (at this stage, anyway) is probably a good cigar to learn how to retrohale with…it wasn’t demonically spicy like so many tend to be (and you may learn to love that fiery spice…I did!).

As I got into the second third, I noted a bit of citrus sourness on the palate, along with a slightly more intense sweetness. The retrohale also took on a little more pepper spice than it had previously. Construction was typically (for EP Carrillo) excellent; I experienced a great draw, very even burn line and a solid ash.

While the JD Howard Reserve was a pleasant smoke through the first two third, the change as the final third got underway was somewhat dramatic and really made the cigar something special. A medium-level red pepper spice built up on the palate and nose; at the same time earthier flavors of black coffee and cocoa powder came into play and the sweetness became more of a dark chocolate mixed along with subtle notes of dried fruit. Hay was still detectable underneath it all as well.

Taken as a whole, the JD Howard was a slow-building, complex cigar that ran through a gamut of flavors. All the while the body slowly ramped up to the medium-to-full range. For me personally, the Four Kicks (Crowned Heads’ first release) is still my favorite, but this ranks a close second. If you can’t find them at a store near you, call up Burns Tobacconist at 423-855-5200.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10