PCA 2022: Crowned Heads
If I was judging success at this year’s PCA Convention & Trade Show base purely by how a busy a booth is, one of the more popular manufacturers would have to be Crowned Heads, which was stuffed full of people every single time I saw it during the first three days. Of course, that is probably helped by the fact that said booth space also includes the ACE Prime and Ozgener Family Cigars brands, both of which Crowned Heads distributes.
The releases from Crowned Heads this year include not only a new line—which is a PCA retailer exclusive to boot—but also a former limited edition that is being made into a regular production offering.
The Crowned Heads booth is completely different compared to last year: significantly larger, with actual walls and a separate, semi-private meeting space in back. The entire setup seems more thought out and mature than in years past, but I am sorry to see that the familiar black rolling cases which have held the cigars samples don’t seem to be part of the overall scheme.
This cigar was offered last year in a limited production 6 1/2 x 44 size that was only sold to retailers who placed orders at the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show. However, Le Pâtissier will now be a regular production line with the same blend available in four different vitolas, although the aforementioned 6 1/2 x 44 vitola will not be one of them.
- Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
- Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
- Filler: Costa Rica & Nicaragua (Ometepe & Pueblo Nuevo)
- Le Pâtissier No. 50 (4 3/8 x 50) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
- Le Pâtissier No. 54 (5 3/8 x 54) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
- Le Pâtissier Canonazo (5 7/8 x 52) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)
- Le Pâtissier Senadores (6 1/8 x 48) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2022
Named after a painting technique developed by Leonardo da Vinci, this cigar is only being offered to retailers who place orders during the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show. Production is limited based on the number of orders the company takes place during the trade show similar to how it sold the Le Pâtissier last year.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut Hybrid)
- Binder: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Peru
- Sfumato in C Major (6 3/4 x 48) — $10.95 (Box of 20, $219)
Production: TBD
Release Date: July 2022
Brooks Whittington
I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.
Related Posts
-
June 15, 2022 -
March 3, 2022
