Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2015

Last year, Crowned Heads released their Las Calaveras EL 2014 and it quickly became one of 2014’s most popular cigars in the boutique community. It was the brand’s intention from the beginning to make the cigar an annual release, though its impressive launch helped to cement its status as a recurring cigar for Crowned Heads. Las Calaveras translates to “the skulls”, referencing the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday—it is a cigar created to pay tribute to the loved ones we’ve lost—Jon Huber explains it more fully in a blog post on Crowned Heads’ site.

SEE ALSO: Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2014 cigar review

Las Calaveras EL 2014 sold out to retailers in about 2 weeks, a Crowned Heads record that was obliterated this year with the Las Cal EL 2015—selling out in only four hours. The cigars then sold out through most major online retailers nearly as quickly—though brick & mortar shops have been spotted with supplies remaining up to this point.

Las Calaveras EL 2015 Breakdown

The cigar has a creamy brown hue with some small veins but no blemishes. The foot is densely packed, having no stems and a solid, firm build. The band is clean, with white and yellow accents to accompany the black lettering (differing from 2014’s red design)—I prefer the new, sleeker look to last year’s. It appears to have a solid construction and the wrapper is paper mâché hard. The aroma has some floral notes, as well as red pepper and some barnyard hay.

Smoking Experience

From first light, I detect a subtle graham cracker flavor, which is more dry than sweet. There is also an abundance of pepper, though not much else at the moment. At this point, it is good but not extremely complex—the burn is a bit uneven, but the ash is tightly packed. The draw is a little tight (pulling a 180 from the ’14) but there is still a decent amount of smoke on each puff. As time passes, more caramel sweetness starts to emerge and the smell of the smoke is floral like perfume.

Moving into the second-third, I still get the same pepper with a little bit of black licorice. I will say that, although I totally enjoy the cigar, it has lacked progression up to this point. It is very easy to smoke, with approachable flavors that I think anyone could pick up on—then again, a lack of complexity and refinement separates a good cigar from a great one.

The cigar has been mostly unchanging to this point—late, near the end of the cigar. The construction has been great and the ash is compact, holding for a long period of time, with a nice color to it. There is a slight nutty flavor forming at this point, which I am calling chestnut. Also, a slight spice, like a young jalapeño and a backdrop of vanilla are distant in the profile.

Would I smoke this cigar again?

Gladly, this is a really sold, smooth cigar that is worthy of a nice glass of bourbon and a sunny afternoon. Will I ever find another? Easier said than done.

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