CA Report: Top New Cigars (August 5, 2024)
Freshly Plucked from the Famous Warehouse: New Premium Cigars from Crowned Heads, Asylum, & L’Atelier!
Whatcha doing over with that pool cover? Summer ain’t over yet. Head back on over to the lounge chair. I’ve got three new cigars that you’ll help you send the season off with a burst of flavor! With sticks from Crowned Heads, Asylum, and L’Atelier, there’s no shortage of boutique bliss to be had.
Check out these quick-fire reviews and see why I think they need to be on your end-of-summer smoking list.
And don’t forget to tell us which new cigars you’ve been smoking via our social media links below!
Crowned Heads Coroneta Maduro
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Ecuador Connecticut
Filler: Dominican Republic & Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Crowned Heads returns to cigar royalty, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo for their latest collaboration piece. It’s only fitting, then, that the name—Coroneta—is Spanish for “crown.” Paying his reverence to Ernesto, Crowned Heads co-founder, Jon Huber, said: “We felt so strongly about the Coroneta brand that we tapped the ‘Godfather of Boutique Cigars,’ to partner with us on developing the Maduro version.”
Not only did Ernesto have a hand in blending the cigars, but they are handcrafted at his Casa Carrillo factory in the Dominican Republic. Double bonus.
Flavorwise, Coroneta is deceivingly medium strength. I expected a stronger nicotine kick, but the muscle it really flexed was its flavor. Expect the blend to be earthy, nutty, woody, and lightly sweet with a coffee-like note on the finish. Light one up and see if it hits you the same!
Asylum Cool Brew
Wrapper: Honduras Maduro
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Sure, you’ve seen coffee flavored and infused cigars. But have you ever seen one rolled to 7” x 70? Now you have (don’t worry, smaller sizes are available). It’s sort of like the Everlasting Gobstopper of premium tobacco. Expect 2-3 hours (if not more) of chocolatey flavors that reveal a coffee-rich aroma in every puff. There’s nothing wrong with appeasing your sweet tooth occasionally. Even if it’s with a cigar. Don’t let those elitist philistines give you any shit, either. A cigar is a cigar—infused or not.
L’Atelier Surrogates Closing Time
Wrapper: Nicaragua Corojo ’99 Shade Grown
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua, Mexico, & U.S.
You don’t have to go home—but you can’t smoke here.
This may be the first time a new cigar triggered an earworm on my behalf, but hey…I’m not complaining. The 90s were a special time for music. And cigars. Before being introduced into the Surrogates lineup, Closing Time blend began as a nightcap smoke for L’Atelier co-founder, Dan Welsh. Seems he felt it was only fair to share. I found the blend to be sweet, yet decidedly spicy, and teeming with a variety of complex flavors. Most notably among them, orange peel citrus, raisins, leather, and a floral-ly undercurrent of earth. Surrogates have always been the ‘best kept secrets’ type. Closing Time fills those shoes.