Headley Grange Estupendos

In February of 2012, the first mentions of the second Crowed Heads release came to light when Jon Huber mentioned the “Project HG” in an email along with the fact that while it would be regular production cigar, only 1,000 boxes of 25 in a 5 1/2 x 52 vitola would be released at first, with more sizes following at a later date. Eventually we learned that the official name was to be Headley Grange and that the inspiration of the name came from the fact that Huber wanted a cigar to taste same as the distinctive drum beat in the song When the Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin which was recorded at a building of the same name in England.

Here is what I said in my original review back in August of 2012:

If this cigar were a book, I would call it “A Tale of Two Halves.” The first half is nice and even, with just a touch of pepper and strength, and some nice, enjoyable flavors. You are thinking you have everything down, you already know how it is going to end, and then BAM!, the whole profile goes crazy. At almost exactly the halfway point, things change dramatically. While I would prefer a slightly smaller ring gauge, the trunk press makes up for it, and it is an easy cigar to smoke and enjoy. It seems to me that the Crowned Heads people are trying to produce a cigar that is different from Four Kicks at almost every turn: trunk pressed instead of round, stronger medium/full medium, strong black pepper/wasabi note, almost totally different profile, etc. It’s a very good cigar—one that I could smoke at any time of the day—and I predict they will fly off the shelves once people try them.

• Cigar Reviewed: Headley Grange Estupendos
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadoran Sumatra
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $9.25 (Box of 24, $223.20)
• Date Released: August 2012
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

The Headley Grange Estupendos seems impeccably constructed, with a slightly mottled mocha brown wrapper that is totally smooth to the touch. The trunk press that I mentioned in my original review is quite noticeable, and there is a nice firmness when it is squeezed. Aroma coming off of the wrapper is faint sweet hay, barnyard and leather.

Starting off, the Headley Grange Estupendos has very obvious flavors of leather, hay, creamy oak and bitter espresso, along with a touch of sweetness that I can only taste on the retrohale. There is some black pepper on the retrohale as well, but it is fairly light so far, and almost no spice on the lips or tongue to be had. At about the 1/3 point, I start tasting an interesting combination of mustard and wasabi flavors that is quite unique, and it keeps getting stronger as the cigar progresses. Like in the original review, the second half sees a significant increase in the mustard/wasabi notes, although not as hot as when they are fresh. There is more sweetness as  the second have progresses, a great sweet chocolate flavor that combines quite well with the aforementioned flavors. Other notes of espresso, hay, leather and oak flit in and out until the end of the cigar, but none of them come close to being as dominant.  

Construction-wise, both the burn and the draw are phenomenal for the entire cigar, and the smoke production is above average. In fact, the first ash does not fall until right at the halfway point in the cigar. The overall strength starts out at a mild medium, and ramps up fairly slowly, ending the cigar just above the medium mark. Final smoking time was exactly one hour and 29 minutes.

Site sponsors Tobacco Grove, Best Cigar Prices and Superior Cigar all have Headley Grange in stock.

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.