Crowned Heads Angel's Anvil Review
Cigar: Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil
Size: Churchill, 7.2”x49
MSRP: $10.50
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Havana
Origin: Dominican Republic (Nicaraguan binder and fillers)
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Prelight: This is a classy looking cigar, from its oily, slightly toothy milk chocolate colored wrapper to the simple, yet eye-catching band. The roll is a bit clumsy looking with a few lumps here and there, but it is firm with no soft spots. The smell of the wrapper is like walking into a flower shop – sweet and fragrant. The foot has a bit more of a variety to it, smelling of cedar and chocolate, and while the cold draw replicates these flavors, it also adds a bit of leather to the mix. The draw itself is just a hair on the loose side, but I think it’ll do.
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1/3: There is a nice and strong peppery spice immediately, but it is not so spicy it burns my nose. The primary flavors I pick up in the first few puffs are cedar and a grassiness, along with some white pepper. A slight earthiness also begins to edge itself into the mix. The burn is not perfect, but it is acceptable, and the ash is dense, light grey, and lasts an inch and a half before falling. As the third progresses, I pick up a bit of citrus zest and baking spices as well, and a sweet leather replaces the pepper. The end of the first third is cedar, earth, leather and baking spices.
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2/3: The baking spices pick up a bit and I am reminded of cloves, and the leather jumps to the forefront of the profile. The second third is simply delicious with its combination of baking spices, leather and earth. As I near the band, a woodiness comes back, but this time more oaky than cedar, and a grassiness also reemerges, but this time more hay-like than grass.
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3/3: The burn has gotten pretty bad, and I am getting some bitterness, so I decide to touch up and purge the cigar. After the purge, the flavors are much better. Hay seems to still be dominating the profile, but there is a sweetness there as well. As I begin to nub the cigar, that oakiness I tasted in the second third comes back.
Overall: This is a pretty darn good cigar. I enjoyed the flavors in the first third, and absolutely loved the second third. Construction, I feel, could have been better, as I experienced some minor burn issues. The transitions were subtle despite the complex profile of the cigar. So, even though I rarely smoke a Churchill sized cigar, I would not hesitate to reach this one again if I had two hours or so to kill.
