Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) – Toro (5.6 x 54)
The Particulars
| wdt_created_by | cigarkey | brand | cigarname | vitola | strength | wrapper | binder | filler | infused | sweettip | origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mcclossm | Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) - Toro (5.6 x 54) | Crowned Heads | Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) | Toro - 5.60" x 54 | Medium - Full | Connecticut Broadleaf, Maduro | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | No | No | My Father Cigars S.A., Nicaragua |
| COMPANY / BRAND: | Crowned Heads |
| CIGAR: | Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) |
| VITOLA: | Toro - 5.60" x 54 |
| STRENGTH: | Medium - Full |
| WRAPPER: | Connecticut Broadleaf, Maduro |
| BINDER: | Nicaragua |
| FILLER: | Nicaragua |
| INFUSED: | No |
| SWEET TIP: | No |
| ORIGIN: | My Father Cigars S.A., Nicaragua |
Prolegomenon and Other Random Thoughts
The wife and I have a strong emotional attachment to the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), so I’m always immediately drawn to a cigar that pays homage to the holiday. Las Calaveras, which translates to “The Skulls,” was launched in 2014 and as an annual tribute to company employees who have passed away in the previous year. Because the cigar represents a specific year of remembrance, Las Calaveras is an annual, limited-edition release with each year getting its own specific blend, manufactured by My Father Cigars. This review is for the 2023 release, the 10th of the series.
I do find myself conflicted reviewing these older limited-edition releases, particularly the ones that were only released one time. The beauty of the Las Calaveras line is that every annual release is a different blend, but it makes it challenging when one year knocks it out of the park and the 2023 has been well-regarded. But you know how I do: if I smoke it, I want to journal and review it. And if you happen to get lucky and find this one, well, then here’s a more recent review than the ones that were written back in 2023. Since we all know that cigar profiles can change with age, in my opinion, it’s nice to have a more recent evaluation of this cigar.
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Base Rating | Buy Again? | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-25 | Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) - Toro (5.6 x 54) | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Excellent | 4.75 | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 9.17 |
The Review
This review for the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) - Toro (5.6 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-02-25
Appearance & Construction (0-3): Good (3)
Another beautiful roll from the My Father factory. The Connecticut Broadleaf is a wonderful dark chocolate brown with heavy mottling and a nice sheen to it. The wrapper has a light tooth to it and a rougher texture. There are a couple of large veins running down the length of the shaft that increase the rigidity and firmness of the cigar. But all the seams are tight, blending in nicely, and the triple cap is even and cleanly applied. The yellow and gold bands look fantastic with the standard Las Calaveras style, but the gold on the main band is a slightly different color from the more brass-looking metallic foot band that says Crowned Heads.
Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4): Good (3) / Good (3)
The draw has a little extra resistance but is still good. The burn starts without drama and is a bit wavy and uneven to start, but controlled. The ash is a beast—perfect bright white with wide spacing between striations. I’m a little surprised to not see oil crystals in the ash, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
By the end of the first third, the burn is getting more uneven, but not to the point of canoeing. It has a level of self-correcting that’s keeping it from becoming completely unruly, but it’s not as controlled as I would like. Then, seemingly like the cigar sensed my frustration, it self-corrected back to a near dead-even burn line with just a little wave to it right as the ash fell at the halfway point.
Flavor Profile (0-5): Excellent (5)
An immediate pepper blast on light-up, followed quickly by the earthy, dark chocolate, and espresso flavors you expect from Connecticut Broadleaf. This is a beautiful start. There’s a beautiful dark cherry/raisin-like sweetness that leads right into a delightfully creamy finish. I’m not even a half-inch in and I’m swooning. Pepper has let up and I’m getting more baking spice mixed in with the dark chocolate and coffee flavors. There’s a lot of charred oak woodiness here that, mixed with the strong earthy base, gives it a hearty and robust disposition.
Into the second third, there is less pepper while still heavy on coffee, dark chocolate, earth, and charred oak. It’s a beautiful mix of savory and hearty mesquite flavor on the base, with raisin, cinnamon, and baking spice hitting the nose and tongue, that still finishes creamy and smooth. It’s coming off like a rich, dark, and smoky mocha with a little spice. It’s a really interesting mix of flavors, but they’re working wonderfully in concert with each other. The final third carries that smoky, spicy, mocha blend to the finish for a strong close on this blend.
Overall Experience (0-5): Excellent (5)
As I mentioned in the opening, this blend has had a ton of great press and is well-regarded. Plenty of people had positive things to say about it on the socials before I lit up. Even our friend Dave West of Avowed Cigars said, “The 2023 LC54s that had flawless construction were amazing for me. The most unique expression of broadleaf I could think of before ChiMolly came out with Pioneer.” And I have to agree! A fantastic blend that really exemplifies the best of a good Connecticut Broadleaf. But if you’re unable to find it, the ChiMolly Pioneer is a currently available cigar that will definitely scratch that same itch.
Review Base Rating (0-5):
4.75
Would I Buy It Again?
Signs point to yes (recommended)
Review Final Score (0-10):
9.17
Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries
While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example! This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo. Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!
| Times Journaled | Base Rating | Buy Again? | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4.75 | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 9.17 |
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Base Rating | Buy Again? | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-25 | Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2023 (LC54) - Toro (5.6 x 54) | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Excellent | 4.75 | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 9.17 |
Journaling Photos
The Flavor Wheel
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 2.00 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 3.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 1.00 |
| Sweet | 2.00 |
| Chocolate | 3.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.00 |
| Earth | 3.00 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 0.00 |
| Fruity | 2.00 |
| Nutty | 1.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 1.00 |
| Creamy | 2.00 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 1.00 |
| Smooth | 2.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 2.00 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 3.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 1.00 |
| Sweet | 2.00 |
| Chocolate | 3.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.00 |
| Earth | 3.00 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 0.00 |
| Fruity | 2.00 |
| Nutty | 1.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 1.00 |
| Creamy | 2.00 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 1.00 |
| Smooth | 2.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
Questions on how the ratings work?
Check out the detailed explanation here.
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