There have not been many cigars that have surprised me as much as the Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2014 LC550.

At the time, Crowned Heads  had just three lines and a limited edition for two of those. Las Calaveras was the company’s first project with My Father Cigars S.A. and while the Garcías have rolled their fair share of bonafide greats, the Las Calaveras was a standout amongst the best of the best.

The cigar used a dark Ecuadorian habano oscuro over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It was offered in three sizes and featured some of my favorite packaging of recent memory. It was inspired by La Calavera Catrina, a zinc etching by José Guadalupe Posada.

Here’s what I had to say when I reviewed the cigar in June 2014:

It’s been a while since a new cigar impressed me this much. Everything from the packaging to the construction of the cigars was excellent, but most importantly, the flavor was superior. Crowned Heads has done an excellent job of positioning its three core releases separate form one another and Las Calaveras is much the same, not something easily comparable to anything the company has done so far. Regardless, it’s my favorite offering from the company to date and the best new cigar of 2014 I’ve smoked to date.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2014 LC550
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 50
  • Vitola: Robusto
  • MSRP: $8.95 (Boxes of 24, $214.80)
  • Release Date: May 21, 2014
  • Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 24 Cigars (24,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

This particular sample has picked up a crack on the foot, which isn’t a concern, but I suppose is worth noting. It’s not the prettiest of wrappers with some protruding veins, though the cigar is rolled extremely well. There’s not much off the wrapper other than the smell of my humidor, where this cigar has sat since 2014. The foot is floral notes and a freshly stained oak. I get bubble gum, some blood oranges and a spicy ketchup note.

The Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2014 LC550 starts with some floral flavors, lots of woodsiness and an even heartier wood on the finish. It settles to an interesting mixture of hearty woods, raisins, limoncello and some floral flavors. That lasts up until the midway point when the cigar gets notably less sweet. The deep woodsiness and blood oranges remain, but it’s now joined by some peanuts, creaminess, a harsh chili pepper and some green tea. There’s not a ton of changes in the final third; in fact, the only thing that changes on my notes is that the creaminess isn’t present for the final part.

Crowned Heads Las Calaveras LC 550 Redux

As for strength, the cigar starts medium-plus, but quickly jumps to medium-full. By the final third, it increases to full, something I’m genuinely shocked by given the age. That’s not to say the Las Calaveras was mild when it first started, but I never recalled it ever hitting the full mark when it comes to strength. Construction-wise, things are great with the only negative mark being a touch-up in the middle portion of the cigar.

Crowned Heads advertises on halfwheel.

90 Overall Score

The Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2014 LC550 certainly has some traits of the cigars I smoked in the spring of 2014, but it's changed a lot. Flavor-wise, the vibrant earthiness was rather enjoyable, but the added harshness was not something I remembered. The biggest change is far and away the strength, full for two-thirds of the cigar. It's still a very good cigar, albeit, not the sublime experience it once was.

Original Score (June 2014)
94
Redux Score (March 2017)
90
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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.