Cigar Reviews

The Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024

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This 100 degree heat has to go! It’s hot out, but thats not keeping me inside. Today I take a look at a cigar I look forward to every year. The Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024.

The Good Stuff:

Each and every year since 2014 The Crowned Heads have released the “Las Calaveras” which is a cigar created to pay tribute to those who are close to us which we have lost and each year has been special to me as I lost so many great people in my life over the past few years. If you want to catch up, you can reach each of my reviews on each different release below:

Manufactured at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua, this year’s blend features an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper over, Nicaraguan binder and fillers grown by the Garcia family. The 2024 edition comes in four sizes: LC48 (6 x 48), LC52 (5 x 52), LC54 (6 x 54), and the Belicoso Fino ( 5 1/2 x 52) which only comes in the 4 cigar sampler. Only 39,000 of each format is being produced with the exception of the Belicoso Fino which only 3,000 will be produced. I purchased mine over from our friends at Small Batch Cigar.

  • Size: 5 1/2 x 52
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Body: Full
  • Strength: Full
  • Price: $14.25

Prelight:

The Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024 starts out with a brilliantly dark brown wrapper. The color is mostly consistent however the cap of the cigar carries a shade lighter than the foot. The wrapper’s texture is gritty and toothy with a whole mess of oils coating it. The wrapper feels very dense and hard while the cigar is packed well. The foot is a bit softer than the rest of the cigar which is pretty normal. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself while it displays some larger veining running through the cigar’s body leading up to its pointy, belicoso-style cap. The 2024 carries the same band we’ve found on all previously releases only this version’s is black, white, and an awesome pink. There is also the added gold “Crowned Heads” foot band on the 2024 version as well.

The wrapper on the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024 gives off bold raisin and musk aromas while the foot of the cigar is more earthy and very floral. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces strong notes of sweet raisin, wood, and musk.

First Third:

The Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024 starts out with a huge cayenne pepper blast I wasn’t expected. It left both my lips and tongue burning for a few seconds. After the first few draws the pepper faded allowing the cigar to release notes of sweet raisin and molasses over herbal notes that remind me of black tea, oak, and earthiness with an awesome musky aftertaste. The draw was a bit tight at the start but opened right up after a few minutes. Out of the 3 I smoked (different sizes) this was the only one that started off tight, and to be fair it only lasted a few minutes so I am harping on nothing really. Moving on! The burn line was dead even and razor thin leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of white and light gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Some really bold dark chocolate notes really started to take over the flavor profile in the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024 backed by raisin and musky wood with lighter notes of that herbal black tea. The sweetness has dropped out at this point and has been replaced by a pretty sharp spice. The retrohale it very spice forward and I don’t find myself doing it too often. I close out the second third with a minor little nicotine kick.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2024 and both the body and the strength have really ramped up. The flavor profile is now bold dark chocolate and musk over spice and cedar while that herbal tea is still hanging on. The sweetness has completed dropped out. The strength is now full in the “Full” arena. I wasn’t expecting such a drastic change in body and strength but I also very much enjoy it. The cigar burned perfectly form start to finish. Never once did I have to reach for my torch to touchup or relight the cigar. The cigar burned very slow. It took me almost 2 hours to smoke it down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, no extended heat, and a good amount of nicotine.

Overview:

Every year I look forward to the Las Calaveras release. Not only to remember those we lost, but also, they are usually damn good cigars and the 2024 version is no exception. It’s been one of the more memorable Las Calaveras releases to date. Complex, full body, and full flavor. While it might be a touch more powerful than something a novice cigar smoker would enjoy, us vets love it. I usually grab a box of these to keep on hand and slowly smoke throughout the years and I will absolutely be grabbing more of these.

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Tony Casas is a 32 year old Creative Managing/Webdesigning/Craft Beer Drinking Cigar smoker from El Paso, Texas. When he isn't loving his wife he is either sleepy, hungry, or suffering from a headache.

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