Brand guide
Crowned Heads cigars
Crowned Heads is a Nashville cigar company with no factory of its own: its lines are rolled under contract in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Crowned Heads came out of the C.A.O. merger
Jon Huber, Mike Conder, Michael Trebing and Nancy Heathman founded Crowned Heads in Nashville, Tennessee, in February 2011.
All four had left C.A.O. as it was being merged into General Cigar in late 2010, Cigar Aficionado reported that August. Crowned Heads is the holding company name. The founders said up front that no cigar would carry it. Every product gets its own brand instead.
Music names most of them. Four Kicks is from a Kings of Leon song. Headley Grange is the English house where Led Zeppelin recorded. Jericho Hill and its sizes come from Johnny Cash.
Who rolls Crowned Heads cigars?
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo's Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in Santiago, Dominican Republic, rolled Crowned Heads' first three regular lines: Four Kicks, Headley Grange and J.D. Howard Reserve.
The second factory came in 2014. My Father Cigars in Nicaragua made the limited Las Calaveras first, then Jericho Hill, the company's fourth regular-production line. Jon Huber told Cigar Aficionado that June that nothing had changed with Perez-Carrillo or La Alianza. Perez-Carrillo's later company is profiled in our E.P. Carrillo guide, and the Nicaraguan maker in our My Father guide.
Crowned Heads tobacco by line
Four Kicks uses an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan filler.
Jericho Hill moved to a dark wrapper from Mexico's San Andrés Valley, still over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Cigar Aficionado said in 2014 it was the first time Crowned Heads had used Mexican wrapper. Four Kicks was also built with a triple cap and entubado bunching, where each filler leaf is rolled into a tube before bunching. The Headley Grange page on the company site doesn't state a blend.
| Line | Factory | Wrapper (as reported) | Strength | Notable sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Kicks | La Alianza, Dominican Republic | Ecuadoran Habano | Not published | Robusto 5 x 50, Corona Gorda 5 5/8 x 46, Sublime 6 x 54, Piramide 6 1/8 x 52 |
| Headley Grange | La Alianza, Dominican Republic | Not published | Not published | Estupendos, Eminentes, Dobles, Laguito No. 6 (no dimensions on the brand page) |
| J.D. Howard Reserve | La Alianza, Dominican Republic | Not published | Not published | Not checked |
| Jericho Hill | My Father, Nicaragua | Mexican San Andrés | Not published | OBS 4 3/4 x 52, .44S 5 1/8 x 44, Willy Lee 6 x 54, LBV 6 1/2 x 46 |
The Jericho Hill page describes the smoke as full-throttle, but gives no formal strength rating. Our strength vs body guide explains why those labels vary.
Crowned Heads release dates
Crowned Heads released a new regular line roughly once a year from 2011 to 2014.
- February 2011: company founded in Nashville.
- November 2011: Four Kicks reaches shops; about 30,000 to 40,000 cigars planned that year.
- August 2012: 1,000 boxes of Headley Grange Estupendos preview at the IPCPR show in Orlando.
- 2012: Mule Kick limited edition.
- 2013: Headley Grange officially launches.
- 2014: Las Calaveras, then Jericho Hill, both from My Father.
Crowned Heads buying notes
The company name is never on the cigar: look for Four Kicks, Headley Grange, Jericho Hill, J.D. Howard Reserve, Tennessee Waltz or La Imperiosa on the band.
Factory depends on the line, so the country on the box changes too. Size names are invented, not standard, so "Willy Lee" or "Sublime" tells you nothing about dimensions until you check. Four Kicks launched at $6.95 to $8.65 a cigar in boxes of 24, per the brand and the 2011 report; current prices weren't checked. Run any unfamiliar size through the ring gauge converter.
Crowned Heads questions
Who makes Crowned Heads cigars?
Two factories, according to Cigar Aficionado: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo's La Alianza in the Dominican Republic makes Four Kicks, Headley Grange and J.D. Howard Reserve, and My Father Cigars in Nicaragua makes Jericho Hill.
Where is Crowned Heads based?
Nashville, Tennessee, where Jon Huber, Mike Conder, Michael Trebing and Nancy Heathman founded it in February 2011.
Why is it called Four Kicks?
Jon Huber said the name came from a Kings of Leon song, and "the four kept coming up": four founders and four sizes at launch.
What do the Jericho Hill size names mean?
They come from Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison album, and the line itself is named after his version of "Cocaine Blues."
Where the Crowned Heads facts come from
- Exclusive: Crowned Heads pair with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Cigar Aficionado
- Jericho Hill from Crowned Heads, Cigar Aficionado
- Headley Grange, Crowned Heads
- Jericho Hill, Crowned Heads
- Crowned Heads cigars, Crowned Heads