Mil Días Sublime

CROWNED HEADS

• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Pichardo
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Costa Rica, Nicaragua & Peru
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro Gordo
• MSRP: $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)
• Release Date: August 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Original Score: 92

Over the last 18 months, no factory has been on an upward trajectory quite like Tabacalera Pichardo. When it first came to most people’s attention in 2019, it seemed like yet another factory that was making cigars for other people that was tempted by the riches and prestige of distributing its own brand. That year, it announced itself to the world with its own company called ACE Prime, debuting with five lines and partnerships with former NBA players. It really had all the makings of a factory that was getting in over its head trying to compete with the mainstays for space in American humidors.

At that time, Tabacalera Pichardo was already making Juárez for Crowned Heads. It then added a U.S. distribution agreement for ACE Prime with Crowned Heads. And in 2020, it debuted Mil Días, a second line for Crowned Heads. Spanish for 1,000 days, which is roughly the amount of time the companies were working on this blend.

That time paid off. Mil Días might be the complex regular production cigar in the Crowned Heads portfolio today. Patrick Lagreid noted in his review that at times that complexity was interrupted by some harshness, though that’s not the sensation that I found. I got the nuanced profile from start to finish paired with some power that I rarely find in Crowned Heads releases not named Las Calaveras. The easier part of the equation is figuring out the blend, now the real work begins for Tabacalera Pichardo: making sure it keeps Mil Días this good over time. — Charlie Minato.