Staff Review: Crowned Heads Mil Dias Sublime
Introduction:
With today’s review, we are going to take a close look at Mil Dias Sublime from the team over at Crowned Heads. Crowned Heads is quickly becoming one of the larger boutique brands in the market and they are showing no signs of slowing down.
Feel free to skim the quick hits for an overview or jump into any section below to find the full details of Mil Dias. Let’s do it!
The Quick Hits:
- Mil Dias translates to 1,000 days – the amount of time it took for this project to become a released cigar
- Produced at Tabacalera Pichardo
- Recommended for: fans of Warped La Colmena, Southern Draw La Manzanita, La Flor Dominicana Air Bender
- Priced appropriately at around $12 per cigar, especially considering the almost universal praise that Mil Dias has received
The Story:
I have heard the saying, “patience is a virtue”, at least 1,000 times in my lifetime, and it seems as though this sentiment is felt strongly by Jon Huber of Crowned Heads.
The story starts when Luciano Meirelles and Eradio Pichardo approached Jon Huber with some blend samples for a new Crowned Heads release – this was back in 2017. Huber and the team over at ACE Prime and Tabacalera Pichardo (specifically Meirelles and Pichardo), have had a long working relationship which has resulted in projects like Juarez – the first Crowned Heads line to come out of Tabacalera Pichardo
Long story short; Huber saw potential in the blend samples he received, and along with Meirelles and Pichardo, began development on what would eventually become Mil Dias. After almost three years (1,000 days to be more specific), the long and arduous development of this project was finally complete and Crowned Heads made sure to honor this journey with the name, “Mil Dias” – the Spanish translation for 1,000 days.
Mil Dias is really unlike anything else in the Crowned Heads portfolio and considering the amount of time and attention that went into the creation of Mil Dias, it’s fitting that it has become one of the brand’s most sought-after offerings.
The Build:
In my opinion, the star of the show for Mil Dias is the slightly oily and incredibly smooth Ecuador Habano wrapper – maybe its just because of how well the wrapper is applied (the seams are almost unnoticeable), but Mil Dias’ wrapper leaf is a thing of beauty. Aside from the wrapper, Mil Dias sports a Nicaraguan binder, and a complex blend of filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Peru, and Costa Rica – a great blend to complement the near-perfect Ecuador Habano wrapper.
The Look:
As I have probably made clear in some of my other reviews, I am a nut when it comes to packaging designs – so much so, that the presentation of a cigar is just as important to me as the blend itself (I am probably exaggerating a little bit, but you get the idea).
Let’s start with the box – there is nothing innately special with the Mil Dias box, but its clean aesthetic does a good job of complementing the Mil Dias band. The gold accents stand out nicely on the deep brown, wooden box – my favorite part being the simple “Mil Dias” and logo on the top of the box. The box has two closing seals; the first being a thin white seal that sits diagonally in the upper right corner, and the second being a more traditional closing seal on the left-hand side of the box.
The Mil Dias band is really a thing of beauty – it’s clean, simple, legible, recognizable, and modern. The “M” logo serves two purposes in this case: it’s an abbreviation for Mil Dias, and it’s the roman numeral for 1,000. The band also has a lot of really nice contrast from the red “M” and the gold foil border as they sit on top of the plain white paper.
I’m a big fan of basically all Crowned Heads’ packaging designs, but Mil Dias is definitely my new favorite. I think that the Mil Dias design will ultimately go down as the pinnacle of what Crowned Heads releases, and it’s one of those designs that people will hold in very high regard down the road.
The Experience:
All in all, Mil Dias was a lot more complex than I would have expected from an Ecuador Habano wrapper - I have smoked countless blends that utilize this kind of wrapper, and think I generally know what to expect. I think a lot of this comes down to the filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Peru, and Costa Rica, which is not a blend that I have come across too often.
Mil Dias starts off with a good amount of nuttiness, specifically salted peanuts, that is accompanied by a lot of white pepper on the finish. There are also notes of leather and earth that became much more prominent as I made my way through the first third. The draw is pretty open – more open than I would personally prefer, but nothing too excessive to the point where my opinion of the cigar was negatively impacted.
The second third of Mil Dias is where I thought things started to get interesting. The spice from the first third stayed consistent throughout the second third (and the whole cigar for that matter), but a sweetness that was reminiscent of cinnamon graham crackers started to become more prevalent as time went on. This sweet note combined with the spiciness, and nuttiness from the first third, was really the highpoint of Mil Dias.
The final third saw the entrance of a slight dark chocolate and caramel note that really accentuated the graham cracker sweetness that made its debut in the second third. The nuttiness and spiciness are still noticeable, and the earthiness from the first third has made its way back into the fold.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like more times than not, most cigars start out a bit stronger than they finish, but this was not the case with Mil Dias. Although Mil Dias had an excellent start in terms of its flavor and profile, it had an even better finish – just like a 4th of July fireworks show. At the end of the day, Mil Dias is characterized by a unique complexity, flawless construction, and balanced profile – what more could I possibly ask for?
The Value:
Considering the quality and amount of flavor that Mil Dias offers, $12.25 for this size is no-brainer to me. Now you can absolutely get a smaller size and save a buck or two, but I think the 6” x 54 Sublime that I smoked for this review is the premier size of Mil Dias and is worth paying just a little bit extra for. You’re honestly probably better off just buying a box and saving a few bucks up front, because once you smoke one Mil Dias, you’re absolutely going to want to go back for more.
Final Thoughts:
Mil Dias is a cigar I’ve smoked seemingly countless times, but I felt so strongly about letting the world know how exceptional this blend is, that I had to write this review (it may sound selfish, but it was a good excuse for me to smoke another Mil Dias). At this point in time, I’m not sure that Crowned Heads can do any wrong, especially when they work together with industry legends like Luciano Meirelles and Eradio Pichardo.
Be sure to pick up a box of Mil Dias so I can get some more validation on my feelings of this blend – I am confident you will be impressed.
