Cigar Review – Headley Grange Eminentes by Crowned Heads

One of the most interesting and original concepts to be introduced to premium cigars, Jon Huber of Crowned Heads cigars blended the Headley Grange to match the heavy, pounding drum beat on the lead-in to the Led Zeppelin song ‘When The Levee Breaks.” The cigar is named for the famous U.K.recording venue “Headley Grange,” where the classic track was recorded, and is comprised of a blend of Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf. Today I took a stroll over to our local Sand Springs golf course to fire up the Eminentes vitola (5 1/4  x44) for evaluation.

The stick had a clean and concise look and feel to it, with a near-flawless Sumatra wrapper. Pre-light draws revealed a smooth taste of buttery tobacco with a tinge of honey.

After an easy light the cigar opened up with full and earthy flavors with nuances of pepper, cinnamon, and graham. The burn-line was spot-on and the draw was an absolute breeze. After about an inch and a half the profile evolved to include notes of cocoa and nutmeg with some bold black pepper on the finish.

By the time I reached the 2^nd third of the cigar my palate was drenched in the smoky and earthy flavors of the cigar, not that I minded at all. This little corona was shaping up to be quite tasty. A touch of malty sweetness trickled into the profile as I burned through the halfway point, and the pepper had kicked into high gear. No obligatory creamy interlude here, this stick just kept firing off flavor in full force.

In the final third the smoke became very thick and dense as the pepper pulled back a bit, allowing the rich, hearty tobacco taste to take the lead. The burn-line was just as crisp as when it was first lit and it was at this point that the strength of the cigar became apparent. I suddenly began to feel like I was toking up with Jimmy Page back in the 70’s. I took this as a sign that this was a good place to end my session with the Headley Grange.

Did the guys at Crowned Heads achieve their goal with the Headley Grange? As crazy as it sounds, I have to say yes. This stick was full of heavy, lingering flavors that echoed throughout the cigar from start to finish. The Eminentes gave me zero problems with performance, had a decent burn time (about 45 minutes,) and conveyed interesting, layered flavors that held my attention for the duration of the smoke. I really dug it, and I will be grabbing a personal stash of these in the near future. I give the Headley Grange Eminentes a solid A grade and I urge any fan of full-bodied and full-flavored stogies to seek these out. This is a rare case where you can safely believe the hype.