Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- $8.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
In 2015, Crowned Heads did a “prerelease” release of Las Mareas, a new brand slated to fully debut at the 2016 IPCPR trade show. They elected to do something very similar for another new brand: Luminosa. While initial shipments of the new brand happened prior to the August 8, 2016 date when the FDA began regulation of all newly created cigar blends, they did another “prerelease” shipment of a couple vitolas of Luminosa in November. Perhaps “prerelease” is an incorrect term, as it indicates that it could be an incomplete product. The truth with Las Mareas and Luminosa is that the blend is done and this is the way it will ship in quantity when the time is right. So maybe it’s best to call this a “pre-full-release” cigar.
Luminosa is meant to fill a notable gap in the regular release catalog for Crowned Heads: a mild cigar blend. Crowned Heads has released a mild blend or two, but only as limited edition cigars. EP Carrillo’s Dominican factory is the birthplace of this new blend, a place where Crowned Heads also gets Four Kicks, Headley Grange, J.D. Howard Reserve, and Le Careme…but also where the EPC New Wave Connecticut comes from. This new blend has undisclosed filler and binder (although everything else they have ever done relies heavily on Nicaraguan leaf) with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper.
I smoked one of these when they first showed up at Burns and wasn’t very enthusiastic about it. A few weeks later a rep for the company gave me another one and I found it much better. I figured the cigars might benefit from a little time after initial shipment before I smoked for review, so I waited until mid-January before buying this review sample. I gleaned some information about the Luminosa from halfwheel’s news report.
Prelight
The band of the Luminosa (“luminous” in English) recalls Aztec artwork, though with just a touch of desert southwest Native American (Hopi or Navajo, perhaps) influence. It’s an attractive and original design, though the font is a little hard for some people to read, probably just due to the size.
The wrapper of the cigar was a light caramel color with plenty of darker mottling, plus a light spot unfortunately near the front of the band. To be blunt, it’s not a beautiful example of Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade leaf. While it definitely would look out of place on a $20 Davidoff, I have seen closer-to-flawless leaves on cigars at this price range plenty of times in the past, so that’s why it sort of puzzles me. It did have a slightly oily feel that most Connys do, while being smooth and a little papery under my fingertips. The aroma from it was of fresh hay and natural tobacco, while the foot had aromas of earth and hay and caramel and bell pepper.
I cut the head with my typical straight cut and tested the draw. I found it to be very open and free, with flavors of molasses, pepper spice, hay, and natural tobacco.
Flavor
As I was toasting this cigar, I got a whiff of the room note…that aroma that a cigar puts out into the air of a room when it’s burning and something you can’t really smell very well if you are the one puffing on it. Suffice to say, it was a very nice, mildly sweet aroma that put me in a cigar store mentally even though I sat on my front porch physically. Once I did actually puff on it, the Luminosa had a hay note that was uniquely odd…something grassy, but at the same time strong and tart. There was a little creaminess in there, too, along with a very peppery retrohale and ample amounts of earth. The body started at the high part of mild on the scale of body.
As I headed into the second third, I picked up on some citrus twang in the mix, along with more earth, more creaminess, and a continuous low-level burn toward the back of the palate.
The last third had more citrus zing with a little bit of sweetness mixed in as well. The core flavor was still earthy and creamy, though the pepper died off quite a bit.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
The price tag on these is right in line with the rest of Crowned Heads’ catalog, and right in the “sweet spot” for most cigar buyers.
Conclusions
I went into the Crowned Heads Luminosa hoping for a kind of redux of the EPC New Wave Connecticut and to be honest, it did not disappoint. The blend is different enough from that cigar that it’s not a repeat of the same thing, but the overall experience was similar enough to be extremely enjoyable and something that would bear repeated smoking. If mild-to-medium bodied Connecticut Shade smokes are your thing, you really should get this cigar; I suspect you won’t be disappointed.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
