Crowned Heads To Release Jericho Hill Shots In February

After launching the Jericho Hill line back in July at the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Crowned Heads has announced the first addition to the line, a seasonal extension named Shots that is slated to come out in February 2015. Like the rest of the line, the 4 x 42 petit corona is rolled at My Father S.A. in Esteli, Nicaragua, and is comprised of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos.

Shots will be the fifth vitola in the Jericho Hill line, joining the OBS (4 3/4 x 52), .44S (5 1/8 x 44), Willy Lee (6 x 54) and LBV (6 1/2 x 46). Not only is it the smallest size of the five, it is also the least expensive, with a retail price of $5.95 each. It will be sold in boxes of 50 with production capped at 1,000 boxes every winter.

“Jericho Hill Shots is our concept of a seasonal (winter) release which will address the necessity during the cold months for a short, quick smoke that is also a little flavor bomb,” said Jon Huber, co-owner of Crowned Heads, in an email.  “Total production for 2015 will be limited to 50,000 cigars; however, if all goes as planned, we’ll see ‘Shots’ again in Winter 2016.”

All of the Jericho Hill vitola names draw inspiration from the Johnny Cash song “Cocaine Blues,” which tells the tale of Willy Lee, a man who travels down a destructive path and eventually kills a woman while under the influence of both whiskey and cocaine. He is eventually caught in Juarez, Mexico by the unnamed sheriff from a town named Jericho Hill.

The Shots name specifically was used due to the number of times the same word was used in the song in a number of different ways, including: “I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down” in the first verse, “Took a shot of cocaine and away I run” in the second verse, and “You’re the dirty hack that shot your woman down” in the third verse.

According to Huber, the Jericho Hill Shots will start shipping in early to mid-February.

The Jericho Hill OBS was reviewed on halfwheel in July.