Crowned Heads La Imperiosa

As noted by the espresso, this cigar was enjoyed on a early Saturday morning while I was pondering such things like what the hell am I going to do this weekend? And, how much will the Eagles lose by this weekend (Shut up, I know they stink). Those are the questions one ask when waking up at 4:30 in the morning. One question that I did answer early, was what I was going to smoke with my morning joe. I have a case of Crowned Heads La Imperiosa that I have been more or less aging for a bit. I would like to say the aging was to plan but the fact of the matter is I have just been inundated smoking other things that have caught my eye before these have. 

Crowned Heads makes some great smokes so I have been looking forward to this day. The Crowned Heads La Imperiosa is assembled at the My Father factory in Nicaragua and features Nicaraguan tobaccos wrapper by a deep and dark Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro leaf.  The La Imperiosa can be had in four vitolas: coronoa gorda, double robusto, robusto, and a rothchild. These cigars are commonly found and can be had for about $8 USD per stick. Sounds like a recipe for a good cigar on paper to me. Let's see if real life matches.

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6 1/3"

Ring Gauge: 50

Size: Double Robusto

The Smoke:  The wrapper, as noted prior, is a deep and dark brown color. To me, it most resembles the color of dark chocolate. The wrapper has some veins as well. The cigar feels well constructed and has a slight sponginess when squeezed. 

I did a terrible job using my Palio straight cutter for this one. Never the less, the cap was removed. The cold draw was good and provided some cedar and pepper to the palate. After lighting the cigar, these notes remained from beginning to end along with undulating earth and leather. At points, it feels like peppermint is also around but it is faint at best. Odd but enjoyable. The La Imperiosa's body is medium to full strength.  It begins its life with medium strength but the profile of the cigar grows as the cigar progresses.  

The cigar its self maintains its construction despite my poor de-capping effort. The burn rate is even and the ash is tightly packed. I ashed this cigar about every inch of ash that was created, and at each point it felt like it may have been premature but I did not want my high cost (sic) champion gym shorts paying the price for my short comings. 

The Double Robusto sized cigar took about an hour and fifteen minutes to work through to the nub and it paired nicely with my morning weekend edition espresso. My over all thoughts on this smoke are positive. The construction is second to none and the price point is very attractive. I feel like the flavors are good and the profile is nice from beginning to end. This would be a good cigar for someone who is looking to try stronger cigars.

The Score: Buy a 5 Pack