Crowned Heads
Four Kicks
A little
history or memory refresh: In November 2010, Jon Huber, C.A.O.'s director of
marketing, decided to leave the company after Scandinavian Tobacco (which had
acquired C.A.O. in January 2007) moved C.A.O.'s operations from Nashville to
Richmond, Virginia, where General Cigar Co. is based. He was soon joined by three
friends, also former C.A.O. employees. They decided to launch their own brand
with a first line: Four Kicks, inspired by the song of the same name by the
Kings of Leon, a rock band from Nashville. Huber says: The company we cared about, CAO International, Inc. was caught in the
middle of a corporate merger between Swedish Match and ST Group (CAO's parent
company at the time). The very foundation on which CAO had been built - people,
relationships, integrity and loyalty - was disappearing. The end result would
be that many of the people we considered family would soon be out of work and
CAO would be torn from
its hometown of Nashville, TN, and relocated to Richmond, VA.
When you see some 15 years of your life's work - your heart, your passion and your joy - come to an end, you are filled with many emotions. The song "Four Kicks" really spoke to me. It was filled with anger, rebellion, confidence and determination. It was these feelings that drove us to come together and create what would later become "Crowned Heads, LLC".
Another
rumor is also circulating, Kicks can be translated as kicks but also as kicking
the anthill, to make things change. So since we know Jon's approach is to do
quality craftsmanship, it is said that the name Four Kicks is not one but four
kicks at the big C.A.O. and its superior the General Cigar Co.
They have
their project, they have the name, now they need the manufacturer who will give
birth to this cigar that focuses on a combination of excellent flavor, balance
and complexity. Only one name matched their search: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. ()
Don't get me wrong Ernesto is certainly not the only one making excellent
cigars, there are many others, but he is at the top and moreover he is one of
the few manufacturers who still work for customers in addition to their own
cigars. End ().
As usual,
the distributor Media Rueda has selected two modules in the range, the Corona
Gorda and the Robusto.
For the
packaging, no superfluous fuss, we go to the essential.
A raw box with the necessary inscriptions: the name of the range and the name of the module. As a lid we have a sliding system that resumes a wrought iron door topped by a decoration with a flower in its center.
We find the
name Four Kicks in stylish letters that remind the wrought iron but also the
vegetal side of the tobacco. The place where the cigars are made: Rep. Dom. And
between the two we see two crossed pistols. But why pistols? Again, Uber gives
us the answer: Four Kicks is about
sticking to your guns, staying true to those you love and the hometown that
brought you to the dance. Four Kicks is about turning your back on the
corporate machine and making your own rules.
Finally on
the bottom of the door is a compass rose with the S oversized compared to other
directions, to remind us that they are attached to Nashville.
For the
unique cigar ring, they opted for the red and gold with the name of the range
and the door decoration with its flower in the center, on each side the
representation of 3 gold coins with stars on the left and the guns on the
right.
The colors
of the ring have the particularity to highlight the cape and its milk chocolate
color, we see here and there some veins that give it a beautiful aspect
reinforced by a thin layer of oil.
Once cut, I
notice that the air passes perfectly well, not too hard, not too easy.
The foot
kisses and I remain in suspension because wow what a dose of black pepper,
worse than the 5G suffered by Maverick, fortunately as on many new cigars this
does not last very long and soon the pepper is wrapped in oak, freshly tanned
leather and fat earth. This first layer of flavors will absorb the pepper which
remains black but less present.
This will
allow me to discover strong coffee, cinnamon and nutmeg.
And go for the retro-olfaction, it stings on the nose but it is very bearable, a sign of balance, which reinforces my nutmeg aspect.
I'm ±
halfway through the cigar when I walk through a field of spring flowers
sprinkled with dark chocolate.
My cigar
will stay in this flavor palette until the end, and when I say the end it's
warning mustache.
Throughout
my tasting, this medium to medium plus cigar had a perfect burn, an exemplary
draw and a very compact white ash streaked with a few light gray lines
The
tastings were carried out on 5 specimens of Corona Gorda and Robusto, the first
with a length of 14.28 cm and a cepo of 46, and the other 12.7 cm with a cepo
of 50.
Wapper :
Habano (Ecuador)
Binder : Nicaragua
Filler:
Nicaragua
In
conclusion: I rarely say it in these terms but I think I have discovered an
exceptional cigar at a reasonable price and I don't know anyone in my circle
who couldn't enjoy a moment of tasting with this range.
Not only
the construction is perfect, the draw is exceptional but also the flavors and
the power are perfectly balanced. Moreover as said in the article I practiced 5
tastings and none of them brought me a touch of disillusionment, not even at
the level of the ring sticking. In general, I advise you to make your own
experience, here I strongly advise you to test it.
Price at
the time of writing: 9.40€ for the Corona and 9.90€ for the Robusto.
Don't
forget to leave your impressions and/or comments just below this article.