18. Crowned Heads Court Reserve XVIII Sublime
Crowned Heads
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
- Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
- Binder: Ecuador
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Length: 6 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 54
- Vitola: Toro Extra
- MSRP: $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
- Release Date: October 2018
- Number of Cigars Released: 150,000 Total Cigars*
- Original Score: 91
*Production numbers for all three sizes.
While often thought of as a relatively new brand, Crowned Heads actually released its first creation a couple of months before halfwheel launched in January 2012. The Nashville-based company was founded by former employees Jon Huber and Mike Conder. Since then, Crowned Heads has released a multitude of new lines, all of which had an interesting thing in common: none of them included the company's moniker in their respective brand names.
That was rectified with the release of the Crowned Heads Court Reserve XVIII in October 2018, a creation composed of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper covering an Ecuadorian binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua produced at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in the Dominican Republic.
Profile-wise, the Crowned Heads Court Reserve XVIII features a rich and complex combination of flavors that include coffee beans, raisins, earth and brownie sweetness, along with enough pepper to keep things interesting. In the end, the Court Reserve XVIII joins six other halfwheel Top 25 entries for Crowned Heads since 2012, coming in at a well-deserved 18th place on this year's list. — Brooks Whittington.
