Crowned Heads Adding Thompson Exclusive “Juárez”

Crowned Heads has a new cigar and a new factory partner.

The Nashville-based company has announced a new cigar named Juárez that is being released as an exclusive for Thompson Cigar Co. Both the blend and name are inspired by the company’s previous Jericho Hill release.

Most notably, Juárez will come from little known Tabacalera Pichardo, the fourth different factory the company has worked with.

“The challenge was put forth to us by Thompson Cigar Co. to create a value-conscious alternative to our Jericho Hill brand,” said Jon Huber, co-founder of Crowned Heads, in a press release. “We had been working behind the scenes with Tabacalera Pichardo in Estelí, Nicaragua on some blends since 2016, mostly just for fun, but as time passed and more and more samples were delivered, we became very impressed with the quality and felt there was certainly potential in working with that house.”

As for that cigar, it’s a three-size line that uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

• Juárez 4 3/4 x 52 — $5.95
• Juárez 6 x 54 — $6.95
• Juárez 5 x 56 — $7.95

All three sizes are round parejos.

Tabacalera Pichardo, previously known as Dhatuey Tobaccos, was founded in 2005 by Eradio Pichardo, a Cuban agronomist who worked under the late Arsenio Ramos according to the press release.

Like Jericho Hill, the cigar’s name is inspired by Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues,” specifically the lyrics: made a good run, but I run too slow; they overtook me down in Juárez, Mexico. The name Jericho Hill refers to the place where the sheriff came from, who ultimately arrests the protagonist, Willy, in the song.

“Cocaine Blues” is originally a song by T. J. Arnall, though Cash changed some lyrics and ultimately produced the most popular version of the song.

Crowned Heads expects the cigar to be on sale later this month.