I have been in need of an ⅛” chisel for some time now, and I recently have been making more of an effort to support small businesses. So I made the decision to have the chisel custom made by a somewhat local knifemaker. He did a great job (@bingamanknifeworks) on the chisel and now I have some time to make a quick handle for it out of some scrap walnut. I don’t have a ton of time, but I felt like doing a review, so I grabbed the newly released Le Careme Limited Edition Pastelitos from Crowned Heads Cigars.
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitola: 4 x 54 Pastelitos
Price: $12.95 MSRP
Link to Purchase: Guitars & Cigars Farm LLC (Use code “Review” to save 10%)
Release Date: March 2023
Company Website: www.crownedheads.com
This short, fat cigar is very firmly packed with a dark, mottled wrapper. I love the Le Careme band design and colors, especially against this dark wrapper. I also typically enjoy the Le Careme blend. I am curious how the larger ring gauge smokes. The cold draw is slightly sweet earthiness. The cigar smells much the same. First light brings about lots of medium bodied smoke with full flavors of oily, earthy pepper and wood. The retrohale is quite approachable off the bat with a little pepper sting, but some espresso and cacao. About 3/4” in the flavors remain full and savory, with a touch of citric tang making an appearance. Approaching halfway the cigar is rolling along with perfect construction and very consistent flavors in both the draw and retrohale. The finish has taken on a bit of a vegetal component. This vegetal component plays nicely with the citric tang and adds some nice depth to the earth, pepper, woody profile. Coming to an end at an hour and 5 minutes the cigar has performed flawlessly throughout. The profile has been consistent for the duration and remained oily, earthy, and woody with some pepper, citrus, and vegetal notes.
Overall Experience
Overall this is certainly a Le Careme. The profile is very consistent with other vitolas, but maybe with a little more oomph to it. Interestingly, in the other vitolas, I get a bit of a basil note, that in this vitola, is more of a general vegetal note. In both instances the note adds depth and complexity to the blend, and I wouldn’t say either is better than the other. This little cigar performed flawlessly and may be my favorite version of the Le Careme blend because the size is right up my alley. I’d recommend trying these if you like the Le Careme blend and Crowned Heads products in general, as it is unmistakably both.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or contact me through the site here.