Crowned Heads Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022 – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Earlier this year, in April, Crowned Heads announced the fourth limited edition of their Mil Días line – Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022. Previous limited editions of the Mil Días have used the same blend as the regular production line, but in a new size. This limited version changes out the regular Ecuadorian Habano wrapper for a Ecuadorian Sumatra Maduro.

Crowned Heads Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022 comes in just one size, 5 3/4″ x 52 parejo robusto. They come in boxes of 12 cigars of which only 2,500 were made for a total of 30,000 cigars.

The Mil Días line was first released in September of 2020 with four regular production sizes. It has scored very well in our blind tasting and made our Top 25 list in 2020 and again in 2021 with the limited Magicós Edición Limitada 2021. Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022 has an MSRP of $12.25 per cigar. The Mil Días line has been rolled at Tabacalera Pichardo in Esteli, Nicaragua, along with many other Crowned Heads cigar up until September of this year when Crowned Heads and ACE Prime (owner of Tabacalera Pichardo) dissolved their partnership. The future of Mil Días is unknown as they have not been moved to a new factory yet. Crowed Heads Le Pâtissier moved to the NACSA factory last month, but no such announcement has been made for Mil Días .

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5 3/4″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru
Factory: Tabacalera Pichardo
Blender: Eradio Pichardo, Luciano Meirelles, Jon Huber
Number of reviewers: 4 – Sean F. (fullermaine) Angel M. (Angel) Chris M. (Chris) Randy B. (randobush)
Price: $12.25
Age:7 Months
Release Date: April 2022
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff

Initial Impressions – Crowned Heads Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022

Appearance: 91

“Dark brown, mottled wrapper with an even pack. Well-placed and large double cap.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Aroma: 91

“Notes of honey tea on the cold draw with black pepper notes once lit.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“This starts with a sappy, bold cedar and leather right out front. Molasses, black pepper, and cocoa behind that. Slight waxy jalapeño on the finish. The cocoa picks up fairly quickly, bringing a little more balance. Some vanilla joins the finish coming up on the second third.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“Right out of the gate, there is lots of pepper on the tongue and lips and it stays until the next draw. The pepper dominates in flavor right now, in the background, there are subtle hints of cedar, cinnamon, and leather. The smoke is fairly creamy and just a tiny bit hot. So far very enjoyable.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Cedar loses its sappiness and is joined by an earthy cocoa and creamy vanilla up top. Leather drops back a considerable amount. Black pepper has a smoother presence. A mossy quality adds to the cedar closing in on the final third.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“Headed into the second third, a plum-like stone fruit rolls in that combines nicely with the cedar. Cocoa powder still hanging around, that mixes well with the sweet cayenne and hint of baking spice. The burn is slow and even, and the draw is taking 2.5 puffs to get the desired mouthful of smoke. You gotta heat that cherry with the first puff, and then get ‘er done! The finish is medium at best. Towards the end of the second third, the flavors changed up a bit. Almonds and citrus zest come into the picture and bring the coffee, and graham cracker up a tick with it. Gray ash fell 2.5” in.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Final Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The black pepper and tea notes return to finish out this cigar.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“Going into the final third, the flavors remain fairly the same as the second third, leather, cinnamon, and cedar dominate with very faint pepper in the background. In the final third, I felt a small nicotine buzz kick in but nothing off-putting, and the smoke remained fairly creamy and cool in temperature.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Overall Impressions – Crowned Heads Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022

Draw: 89

“Straight cut just a sliver off the cap. The draw is on the looser side, but the smoke production is solid.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Burn: 93

“Very good burn, not razor sharp but any waves corrected themselves.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Construction: 88

“Aside from the first third acting up, it performed well. Smoke output was excellent even through the issues.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 91

“A difficult drawing cigar with a nice mix of notes. Notes of honey, tea, black pepper, and oak. The only good things were the burn and ash. Even burn with a tri-colored ash. Veiny construction and unraveling made this an adventurous smoke. Might try this stick again in the future.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“Overall, a very good cigar. With enjoyable flavors of cedar, cinnamon, and leather along with a pepper background. there was a small nicotine buzz that kicked in towards the end but nothing I couldn’t handle. The texture of the smoke was fairly smooth and the temperature was between warm and cool. I would definitely recommend this and put this in my rotation.” –Angel M. (Angel)

“This was an interesting one. Strength and body seemed to move backward, which was fine with me. Had it kept up with the strength from the beginning, I would’ve had trouble. Big, bold flavors and some really nice transitions. I’d smoke another one easily, hoping the burn issues weren’t a regular problem.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“This cigar had flavor from start to finish. The burn was slow, but not problematic. Transitions were subtle, but noticeable, with the cigar maintaining its flavor integrity throughout. I’d smoke this cigar again, but likely, it would not be in a solid rotation of the others that hold that honor.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 64

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Crowned Heads Mil Días Marranitos EL 2022 – Blind Cigar Review