Next in our line of TAA exclusives is the Crowned Heads The Angel’s Anvil TAA 2016.  This cigar is another one that is highly anticipated each year as Crowned Heads has been one of the hottest cigar companies in the market since their debut in 2011.  This is the 3rd iteration of The Angel’s Anvil with each one being a different blend.  This year, The Angel’s Anvil is a boxed press robusto grande made at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic.  Let’s take a look at the specs:

• Size:  5 1/2″ x 54
• Wrapper:  Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder:  Nicaraguan
• Filler:  Nicaraguan
• MSRP:  $11.00

Appearance and Construction

Like I’ve said in previous reviews, Connecticut broadleaf will never win any beauty contest.  The wrapper is a mottled brown, but very smooth.  There is a small hole in the wrapper that doesn’t look like it would affect the smoking at all.  Still, I’m surprised that it made though the QA process.  Honestly, I didn’t even notice it at first because it blends in so well with the next wrap of the wrapper leaf.  The draw was really good as well with a just a bit of it being a little tight.  The pre-light flavors are of cedar and cocoa are strong on the cold draw.  Looking forward to what will be forthcoming.

First Half

This is one of the more flavorful TAA releases this year so far.  I’m getting notes of cedar, earth, black cherry, pepper and espresso.  The black cherry and espresso notes are the most dominant so far and they go very well together.  Its producing a lot of smoke as well which, if you’ve read any of my other reviews or watched by videos, you know how that something I really like in my cigars.  So far, we off to a good start.

Final Half

I started getting a strong dark chocolate note around the midway point in the cigar and less black cherry.  The pepper is still there along with the espresso note.  The earthiness is still there as well, but I’m getting a good amount of bitterness now.  It’s not overwhelming though.

Final Thoughts

This cigar was more complex than I expected.  I really enjoyed the flavors with this newest release of The Angel’s Anvil.  The espresso, black cherry and dark chocolate notes made this cigar very flavorful.  The cigar burned great, put off a lot of smoke and never got harsh.  The Angel’s Anvil stand tall in this excellent group of TAA cigars.