The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Décimo Aniversario - Toro (6 x 52) is based on the journal entry dated 2025-06-19

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Average (2)

It’s a nice espresso brown but not overly dark compared to other Oscuros. It has a light oily sheen and little mottling with no tooth. The veins stand out and several are very pronounced and thick. They create edge lift and gaps at the seams where the wrapper overlaps itself. The triple cap is even, but it didn’t want to come off with the punch. I’m assuming there was some extra glue at the tip, so I had to use the guillotine to properly open it up. The dual bands are gorgeous and just resplendent with the colorful accents. I’m a sucker for any cigar band that features the calavera de azúcar (that’s sugar skull for us gringos) and absolutely love, LOVE, LOVE the design on the bands here.  

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Average (2) / Good (3)

The draw is very open without a lot of resistance, but needing to use the guillotine is probably a contributing factor as I like to use my PerfecPunch for consistency. The burn starts out very wavy and uneven. The ash is a medium-to-light gray and already has a tunnel in it that I can see creating a split down the middle of the ash. By the end of the first third, the burn has improved but retains a small but sharp wave in the burn line. Though the ash is holding, it’s starting to split down the middle and flake more. It holds past the first third before I opt to dump it.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Great (4)

Holy shit, immediate 🌶️💣 and on the second draw, my lips and tongue are burning. Now, I like spicy food, but this took me by surprise. I’m already wondering if it’s sustainable or if the pepper will subside. Fortunately, it does pull back so I can start to see what else is in the blend. A lot of your typical Nicaraguan fare in order of descending strength: earth, coffee, charred oak, pepper, chocolate, caramel sweetness, sourdough breadiness, and cinnamon. There’s an occasional light nutty note and saltiness. The finish is creamy at times with a buttery sweetness. But the pepper is still pretty strong and creating a harsh throat burn.

With the second third, earth, coffee, charred oak, and sweetness are leading. But it has a meaty savoriness to it. The very strong pepper of the first third has tamed to more manageable levels, but it might still be too much for some. Either way, the throat burn is there to stay, and my lips and tongue are still tingling.

With the final third, the nuttiness increases to provide a salty, roasted almond flavor. Earth and coffee still drive the profile with the sweet finish, while cinnamon and pepper ramp up. And the pepper returns to 🌶️💣 status at the very end. 🥵

Overall Experience (0-5):  Good (3)

This is an enjoyable blend, but it has a lot of generic flavors that really don’t make it stand out, especially compared to some of the other annual Las Calaveras releases. Factor in the overpowering pepper at times, and it feels imbalanced. But at $20, it’s just not that good IMO when you can still get the 2024 release for almost half that cost. Even if this one didn’t have the cap or burn issues, I’d still recommend grabbing a leftover 2023 or 2024 first.

Review Base Rating (0-5):

3.50

Would I Buy It Again?

Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal)

Review Final Score (0-10):

7.00

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.