Crowned Heads Headley Grange Drumstick, Limited Edition 2013

This 7 1/2 X 38 lancero cigar has a medium brown wrapper and invisible seems.  The wrapper appears a little stretched as it goes along the 7 1/2 inch length of the stick.  The caped end of the cigar has pigtail end.  This will be the smallest ring gauge cigar I have ever smoked.  If you read this blog, you will know that I gave my "cigar of the year 2013" to the Headley Grange Estupendos, I rated it a 95.  Only one other cigar that I have written about on this blog has received a higher rating.  The Estupendos absolutely blew me away.  After being in love with the Crowned Heads first release: Four Kicks, I thought there was no way that they would be able to make another cigar that would hit my pallet as perfectly as Four Kicks did. I was wrong.  The Estupendos blew me away, constant flavor all the way through.  Very complex but very balanced.  Needless to say I am very excited to try the lancero  and see if the limited edition can stack up to my favorite cigar of all time.  They only made 15,000 of these cigars.  I am lucky enough to have three left from a 10 count box that I purchased.

At first light I'm met with a blast of black pepper.  Its quite strong during the first three or four puffs or so.  I would put it at a 6-10 on the pepper/spice scale. There is a sweet earth that is mixing in with the spice and quite delightful.  The burn is just about razor sharp.  The draw is slightly tight, but is not an issue.  Large amounts of smoke are being produced with good amounts of flavor.

After about an inch or so the nougat/graham flavor is starting to come into play. The earthiness has dropped off a bit, but still present on the after taste.  The pepper has also died down considerably and is now 3-10 on the scale.  The slight sweetness is still present and mixing nicely with the nougat/graham, which is now the dominant overall flavor.

A half an hour has passed and the cigar has burned down about 3 1/2 inches or so.  The nougat/graham is still the dominating flavor.  Its sweet, and creamy on the draw.  The after taste is nougat/graham and the slight black pepper.  The after taste is quite dry, but not so much so that it requires water or another type of beverage to pair with it.  The burn is still razor sharp and the draw remains the same.

 As I smoke it another inch and a quarter the flavors remain the exact same.  A chard dark tobacco flavor is starting to mix in and the cigar is getting a little warm, and slightly bitter.  I put it in the ash tray for the last time at the 1 hour and 35 minute mark.

This cigar was good overall. Very pleasant, but lacking the complexity and other flavors that the Estupendos and the other sizes in the line offer.  As far as it being the smallest size I have ever smoked, after a while I couldn't really tell a difference.  It was definitely a smaller feel in the hand, but the large amounts of smoke and flavor made it a nice transition.  Overall, it was a very good cigar, but the Estupendos keeps its place a top of StogieBinks mantle.

Price: $9.95
Appearance: 94
Draw: 89
Burn: 95
Flavor: 90
Burn Time: 91

Overall Score: 92