Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2019 (5 7/8 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Crowned Heads has released the fourth installment of its limited edition Four Kicks Mule Kick series. This cigar will be the first in the Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2019 series to feature an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.

Mule Kick is an LE that holds a special place in all our hearts,” commented Crowned Heads co-founder Jon Huber in a press release. “We’re always looking towards not necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but how can we innovate and improve upon existing ideas. I’ve always maintained that Ernie (Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.) is the master of Sumatra wrapper and once we smoked the samples, we immediately knew that the Sumatra wrapper added another dimension of flavor and layer of complexity to the Mule Kick blend.”

The remainder of the blend consists of Nicaraguan tobaccos that are a slightly modified blend of the original Crowned Heads Four Kicks Mule Kick 2012 release.

The cigar is a 5 7/8 x 52 Toro release presented in ten-count boxes. Production is limited to 2,500 boxes. As with previous Mule Kick releases, the cigar is produced at Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic.

The cigar is well made and has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was a bit firm but workable. The initial flavors at light up were a sweet cedar with apple influences, brown sugar, cinnamon, almond butter, light leather, nutmeg, and and earthy black coffee. There was a nice black pepper which I rated at 7 1/2. Interesting start.

At the first third (28 minutes) the cigar is burning much slower than I anticipated. The flavors have settled down and changed a bit, for the better. The cedar is tangy now like it has influence from an orange citrus. But, I still also had the apple flavor. Nutmeg quickly follows those flavors along with a nice amount of brown sugar and cinnamon. The almond butter seems to have gone away or greatly decreased. The light leather is still in play, however. And, there is still a nice earthy black coffee base. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is one of nutmeg and some of the apple flavor with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is very appealing to me at this point. I rated the first third at 93.

At the second third (58 minutes) the cigar continues to change. This time, not for the better. The cedary-apple-citrus flavor is still there along with the brown sugar and cinnamon in a decreased amount but the almond butter that I thought was gone is back...in a big way. There are now massive amounts of the almond butter along with nutmeg that quickly follow and almost engulf the sweeter front end flavors. Not entirely but it's very noticeable. There is also still the light leather and and earthy black coffee. The cigar is moving toward medium to full but it's not quite there. The finish is pretty much unchanged but there is more nutmeg now. I was not a fan of the change. I rated the second third at 91.

The cigar lasted an impressive 1 hour 27 minutes. One thing I can say about this cigar is it's sort of complex in that it changes very often. It started off a rather sweet, enjoyable cigar and wound up a very dark noted cigar with very little sweetness. Here in the final third I had very light cedar and apple influence with no citrus, very light brown sugar, below average cinnamon, average or less nutmeg, and off the chart black coffee with leather influences. I did not have any more of the almond butter. The cigar is so heavy with black coffee at this point. The cigar is medium to full bodied leaning heavily toward full bodied. The finish was one of coffee and nutmeg with no measurable sweetness with decent lingering black pepper. The black pepper was pretty good on both ends of this cigar. The cigar made some major changes throughout the burn. For me they were not good changes. I rated the final third at 88. 

Overall Score: 90.67