Cigar Review: Le Careme Limited Edition 2018 by Crowned Heads

• Vitola: Belicoso Fino
• 5.5” x 52 ring gauge 
• $10.99
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

Hard to believe the “Morning Maduro” has been on the shelf at the local tobacconist for a year and a half now. I first tried this cigar soon after the 2016 IPCPR trade show, then reviewed it in January 2017. I rated it highly and I’ve stuck with my assessment through many a cigar from the Le Careme blend since then. 

The first Limited Edition for 2018 from Crowned Heads is a classic Cuban size for the “Breakfast Broadleaf”…Le Careme in a Belicoso Fino. The cigars are still made at the EP Carrillo factory in the Dominican Republic and they are still made of Nicaraguan fillers, an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and a Grade A Dark Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper.

The LE 2018 Belicoso Fino comes in boxes of 12 sticks, of which they made 1,500 boxes (a total of 18,000 sticks). This is the first time this blend has not been released in a trunk-pressed vitola. I bought a couple of these at Burns Tobacconist, where I work; this review is based on my second smoking of the blend.

Prelight

I still love the band on Le Careme. In the struggle to make packaging look unique without being overdone, this one really hits the mark…classy, beautiful, interesting with its scalloped die cut. The extra “Limited Edition 2018” band is pretty standard fare for Crowned Heads…and for a lot of other manufacturers, for that matter. 

The wrapper leaf was a dark roast coffee brown with some slightly lighter mottling and a few veins showing through. Not that unusual since it is a Broadleaf. It had a slightly oily sheen in the light, but a much heavier oiliness to the touch. Giving the cigar a good sniff, I got earth and black licorice notes from the wrapper. The foot had an even stronger, riper earthiness with more licorice, along with some cedar.

Longtime readers will know that I avoid torpedo-tipped cigars whenever possible. The bottom line is I never got a good enough draw at first, ended up with tarry buildup, recutting, then unraveling…it’s always a challenge and rarely worth it. A more recent suggestion was made to v-cut this type of cigar. The first stick I had of the Belicosos Finos Le Careme I cut in the shop using a Colibri deep-v-cut. This time I was at home and only had my old Xikar VX…normally a solid cutter, but it really didn’t seem to cut that deep on this pointy stick. The prelight draw was okay and I hoped it wouldn’t get tighter, but I was going to go with it. The flavors were earth and cocoa powder, cedar and spice, with just a tiny amount of copper in the mix.

Flavor

After firing up I got the tremendous sweetness that I’m used to in Le Careme, along with a touch of cedar and twist of citrus. The smoke was, as expected, on the milder side of medium-bodied but the retrohale was more peppery than I normally encounter in this blend. It seemed like the draw, although a bit snug, would be fine in the long run…the tale will be told over the next hour or so. That last sentence was a little premature…I really just couldn’t stand the minimal draw, so I went ahead and recut with a straight cutter and got a much better draw that allowed almost immediately amplified the citrus and pepper notes. I haven’t mentioned chocolate yet because there really wasn’t as much in this vitola…at least not until I really concentrated and searched for it. Then it took on the form of a mild milk chocolate sweetness.

Chocolate came through much more prominently in the second third, mixing with the citrus quite nicely. I did have to re-cut the cigar again right around the start of the third…hopefully that would do the trick. The retrohale was slightly nutty with just a little pepper component. Sadly, another re-cut was necessary before the second third was fully reduced to ash.

Construction

The burn line was even enough and the ash held on very well, but the draw…ack…it only reinforced my decision to avoid pointy-tipped cigars.

Value

The price was a little elevated (Belicosos are more difficult to make and it is a Limited Edition), but not too bad. If you like this blend (and I do) it’s worth it.

Conclusions

I haven’t changed my mind about Le Careme. It is simply a fantastic medium-bodied Maduro that works quite well early in the day…I still love it first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. The blend really accentuates the sweetness inherent in Connecticut Broadleaf and I highly recommend it to just about anyone that will listen. I also haven’t changed my mind about torpedo-tipped cigars. The first sample I had worked well with a deep V-cut, but this one was almost ruined by having to re-cut several times to get the draw to remain open and tar buildup to stay away. Then it started unraveling on me. If you absolutely love Belicosos, buy this cigar…if not, got for the Robusto size of Le Careme. Either way, I think you’ll be happy.

At the time of this writing, Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, Small Batch Cigar, did have some 5-packs of these in stock still, but no boxes. Pipes and Cigars, also a site sponsor, does not list the LE 2018 on their website, but they do carry the regular sizes of Le Careme. 

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10