Vitola: Toro- 5.875” x 52 ring gauge
- $12.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Time keeps flying…it’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since the original Mule Kick Limited Edition release by Crowned Heads. That version used the original Four Kicks blend, along with a little extra “kick” in the filler and a wrapper that was slightly darker than the regular version’s leaf. It seemed destined to be a one-and-done release until 2017 when they did a second release of it. 2018 had a new Mule Kick release based on the Four Kicks Maduro with a similar Connecticut Habano wrapper leaf. This year the Mule Kick is something completely different…a Sumatra wrapper leaf, reportedly Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr.’s favorite wrapper type (he blended these lines for Crowned Heads).
The filler and binder are still Nicaraguan tobaccos, reportedly modified only slightly from the regular Four Kicks release. They are making a total of 2,500 boxes of 10 cigars for this release and they should be available everywhere Crowned Heads sticks are sold by this point.
I got some background info from Cigar-Coop’s news story on this release. Cigar and Pipes is currently showing these in stock. Small Batch Cigar does carry the Mule Kick 2019 but is showing them out of stock at the time of this writing.
Prelight
The 2019 Mule Kick box is white, differentiating it from the previous releases which were natural wood (2012 and 2017) or red (2018). The regular Four Kicks band is still in use on this Limited Edition release, although a secondary band reading “Limited Edition 2019” is added. A foot band makes its first appearance on a Crowned Heads product here, as well. The gold band has a black “Crowned Heads” logo with trim lines above and below. Not sure if this is going to be a new thing on all CH releases or maybe just LEs…it also appears on the 2019 release of Las Calaveras.
The wrapper was a medium brown color with the lighter colored veins running through it, typical of Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf. It had a moderately oily feel and a very earthy aroma to it. The foot of the cigar had notes of earth, as well, but a little lighter, along with some cocoa powder and cedar aromas mixed in. Feeling along the cigar, the foot felt quite soft and there were a couple other softer spots in it, as well; I wondered how these would affect the burn.
After clipping the head I had a good draw that was maybe a bit too loose. It had flavors of hay and citrus, earth and a little of that coppery note I get from Sumatra leaf.
Flavor
Once lit, there was plenty of Nicaraguan earthiness, pepper spice and a mild sweetness on the palate. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big fan off the coppery flavor I get from Sumatra leaf, but here it was very well-balanced with other flavors so as not to be overwhelming or off-putting. The retrohale had tons of red pepper and a slightly honey sweet note. The first third burned through fairly quickly, but the flavor profile was uniformly pleasing, with a nice mix of the aforementioned notes.
The second third had the coppery notes still, but the sweeter notes diminished in favor of more earth and an introduction of cedar. Pepper spice was still present, although greatly diminished.
The 2019 Mule Kick ended with an increase in pepper spice and continuation of woody and coppery notes, riding on a medium-to-full-bodied smoke.
Construction
The burn line was very even and the ash held on well, but the draw was actually too loose and caused the cigar to burn quicker than it should have.
Value
Good cigar and I felt like it justified the price, although with the price creeping upward with just about every release it’s getting closer to the point where it won’t anymore.
Conclusions
The 2019 Mule Kick Limited Edition is an interesting twist on the formula established in previous versions of Four Kicks and Mule Kick releases. It has a little extra body like the first Mule Kick, but a lot more pepper spice like the 2018 version, though not as much sweetness as that one. It is a complex and pleasing cigar, although being slightly underfilled made it burn quicker than normal. It also makes me wonder if this presages a new installment in the regular Four Kicks line. Maybe we’ll find out later this year.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
