I'm here to post my thoughts on a prerelease sample of J.D. Howard Reserve HR52 that Jon Huber so graciously gifted to me. I am a newb in most's eyes when it comes to the fine hobby of smoking cigars. I've only been smoking for about a year and have never done a review of a cigar before, so bear with me as I tried my hardest to put what I experienced into words from a newbs perspective.
SPECS
Cigar: J.D. Howard Reserve HR52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Ecuadoran Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 inches
Ring Guage: 52
Vitola: Toro
Time of Rest: 1 Week
Acquired: From the great BOTL Jon Huber
APPEARANCE
At first glance you notice a beautiful solid medium brown wrapper that looks just like a piece of milk chocolate. The seems are visible, but you can surely see that care was taken when rolling the cigar. There appears to be a very carefully applied triple cap that has three distinct layers. Finally, there are some noticable veins, only time will tell if they will effect the burn of the smoke.
CONSTRUCTION
The foot of this cigar shows tobacco that has been bunched with great care. I would expect nothing less with a product from Crowned Heads, as everything I have smoked from these guys has been spot on. A gentle squeeze of the body shows there is just a tiny bit of give, just what I'd like to see before lighting this bad boy up.
PRE-LIGHT RITUALS
The pre-light aroma coming off this stick was amazing. I'm going to be very literal here when I say that when smelling the cigar, it reminded me very vividly of when I open up a box of raisins. A very pleasing smell indeed. After making my initial cut, I find that similar flavor profile that I smelled, a sweetness that kind of reminds me of raisin but could easily be a chocolaty goodness as well. The cold draw is very easy, but by no means loose. This should be an easy cigar to puff on.
FIRST THIRD
The train picks up speed right away with a noticeable pepper blast that lingers on my tongue with some intensity. And odd thing is though that it never really hits me in the retrohale. It's more a mouth feel and just sits there after each puff.
Every puff on this cigar provides an awesome dense chewy mouthful of smoke, that when exhaled really just sits there and hangs in the surrounding air. About five or six puffs in a subtle note of cocoa enters. This battle between spice and cocoa continues through most of the first third until the end when the cocoa takes over.
Constructionwise, the draw is absolutely superb, just enough resistance to keep me working. In typical Crowned Heads fashion the burn line is razor sharp, each puff being shown on the grayish/white ash with a beautiful draw line. I can't get over how CH stuff does this every time. Ernesto's people sure have a gift when it comes to rolling a cigar. Never disappointed. I would say that most of this third was in the medium strength range but that doesn't last for long as we move on.
SECOND THIRD
The strength has picked up at this point. I can definitely feel the vitamin N kickin' in. The cocoa has quieted a tad here and has been replaced with something I can only say tastes kind of nutty. Can't exactly pinpoint it, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The spice though is fully present and still to my astonishment only lingering on my tongue, almost zero pepper on the retro, I rather enjoy it that way.
At about the halfway point the ash finally decides to fall off. This ash was amazing, not flaking, solid as a rock and straight as an arrow. This was the only time in the entire cigar where it did ash, impressive.
In my opinion it's at this point where the cigar really shines. I am now starting to taste some of that familiar note of raisin that I found on the cold draw. I can't exactly call it raisin, but we'll just label it as a distinct fruitiness that's fairly strong. Pretty unique, haven't really tasted this in a cigar before.
FINAL THIRD
At this point the fruit profile is pretty strong, and the spice is quietly there in a dark corner. About a half inch in, a very minor touch up is required. I could sense the cigar about to go out, and I think the RH in the air at 85 degrees was partially responsible for this. The fruit and and spice eventually take a back seat to that earlier cocoa note as the cigar makes her finish. With not much left, the stick is very cool to the touch, never getting harsh at all. The cigar definitely grew with intensity all the way through ending at a strong Medium-Full. I can feel that nicotine hitting me with intensity.
CONCLUSION
I was extremely impressed with this cigar, particularly for how young it probably it is. I hands down feel this is Crowned Heads strongest offering both in strength and flavor. I think I've found a match for my HG Estupendos in enjoyability. The HG when looking for more of a medium strength cigar and the JDHR when needing more power. The JDRH is an extremely complex smoke that will overpower some, but if you can put your big boy pants on, you are in for a real treat.
I want to one last time thank Jon for giving me this opportunity. I hope to get a jump on all CH stuff in the future as I am Crowned Heads freak!!!!
SPECS
Cigar: J.D. Howard Reserve HR52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Ecuadoran Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 inches
Ring Guage: 52
Vitola: Toro
Time of Rest: 1 Week
Acquired: From the great BOTL Jon Huber
APPEARANCE
At first glance you notice a beautiful solid medium brown wrapper that looks just like a piece of milk chocolate. The seems are visible, but you can surely see that care was taken when rolling the cigar. There appears to be a very carefully applied triple cap that has three distinct layers. Finally, there are some noticable veins, only time will tell if they will effect the burn of the smoke.
CONSTRUCTION
The foot of this cigar shows tobacco that has been bunched with great care. I would expect nothing less with a product from Crowned Heads, as everything I have smoked from these guys has been spot on. A gentle squeeze of the body shows there is just a tiny bit of give, just what I'd like to see before lighting this bad boy up.
PRE-LIGHT RITUALS
The pre-light aroma coming off this stick was amazing. I'm going to be very literal here when I say that when smelling the cigar, it reminded me very vividly of when I open up a box of raisins. A very pleasing smell indeed. After making my initial cut, I find that similar flavor profile that I smelled, a sweetness that kind of reminds me of raisin but could easily be a chocolaty goodness as well. The cold draw is very easy, but by no means loose. This should be an easy cigar to puff on.
FIRST THIRD
The train picks up speed right away with a noticeable pepper blast that lingers on my tongue with some intensity. And odd thing is though that it never really hits me in the retrohale. It's more a mouth feel and just sits there after each puff.
Every puff on this cigar provides an awesome dense chewy mouthful of smoke, that when exhaled really just sits there and hangs in the surrounding air. About five or six puffs in a subtle note of cocoa enters. This battle between spice and cocoa continues through most of the first third until the end when the cocoa takes over.
Constructionwise, the draw is absolutely superb, just enough resistance to keep me working. In typical Crowned Heads fashion the burn line is razor sharp, each puff being shown on the grayish/white ash with a beautiful draw line. I can't get over how CH stuff does this every time. Ernesto's people sure have a gift when it comes to rolling a cigar. Never disappointed. I would say that most of this third was in the medium strength range but that doesn't last for long as we move on.
SECOND THIRD
The strength has picked up at this point. I can definitely feel the vitamin N kickin' in. The cocoa has quieted a tad here and has been replaced with something I can only say tastes kind of nutty. Can't exactly pinpoint it, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The spice though is fully present and still to my astonishment only lingering on my tongue, almost zero pepper on the retro, I rather enjoy it that way.
At about the halfway point the ash finally decides to fall off. This ash was amazing, not flaking, solid as a rock and straight as an arrow. This was the only time in the entire cigar where it did ash, impressive.
In my opinion it's at this point where the cigar really shines. I am now starting to taste some of that familiar note of raisin that I found on the cold draw. I can't exactly call it raisin, but we'll just label it as a distinct fruitiness that's fairly strong. Pretty unique, haven't really tasted this in a cigar before.
FINAL THIRD
At this point the fruit profile is pretty strong, and the spice is quietly there in a dark corner. About a half inch in, a very minor touch up is required. I could sense the cigar about to go out, and I think the RH in the air at 85 degrees was partially responsible for this. The fruit and and spice eventually take a back seat to that earlier cocoa note as the cigar makes her finish. With not much left, the stick is very cool to the touch, never getting harsh at all. The cigar definitely grew with intensity all the way through ending at a strong Medium-Full. I can feel that nicotine hitting me with intensity.
CONCLUSION
I was extremely impressed with this cigar, particularly for how young it probably it is. I hands down feel this is Crowned Heads strongest offering both in strength and flavor. I think I've found a match for my HG Estupendos in enjoyability. The HG when looking for more of a medium strength cigar and the JDHR when needing more power. The JDRH is an extremely complex smoke that will overpower some, but if you can put your big boy pants on, you are in for a real treat.
I want to one last time thank Jon for giving me this opportunity. I hope to get a jump on all CH stuff in the future as I am Crowned Heads freak!!!!
