(Top 25 Cigars of 2020 🏆)

In 2011 when Crowned Heads co-founders Mike Conder and Jon Huber were working with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. to blend the company’s first cigar, there were three blends being, well, “kicked” around. Two of them had an Ecuadorian habano wrapper while the third used Ecuadorian Sumatra. One of the habano blends ended up being used for the initial Four Kicks release, while the Sumatra was shelved for later.

Later turned out to be much later, nearly decade. That blend has once again seen the light of day and was dubbed the Four Kicks Capa Especial line. The Sumatra wrapper tops off Nicaraguan tobaccos underneath and the Corona Gorda size shows off the blend’s rich earthy profile, featuring some delightfully sweet and nutty notes. Along with impeccable construction, the combination makes this cigar a well-earned placement at #11 on our list. 

(Top 25 Cigars of 2020 🏆)

Four Kicks went through a few prototype phases before the final blend was agreed upon. This year, brand owners Jon Huber and Mike Conder decided to do something unusual: they resurrected a rejected blend and introduced it as a new brand called Four Kicks Capa Especial. It was formulated in 2011 with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the maker of the cigars. 

Covered in an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, this was the version of Four Kicks that Perez-Carrillo preferred and it brims with leather, hazelnut, earth and orange zest. On top of being a great cigar on its own, Capa Especial is also one of those alternate takes that provides interesting insight to the birth of a brand.

(No. 8 Cigar of the Year for 2020 🏆)

Four Kicks Capa Especial is the cigar we didn't know we wanted, yet surely deserved. It's an uncommon strategy—at least in terms of what manufacturers will publicly acknowledge—to release a cigar blend that didn't win out in initial testing. This works because it was the preferred choice of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, assuring cigar enthusiasts that the blend is a worthy candidate for their humidors. The cigar is well-balanced, bringing out plenty of clean, sweet flavors from start to finish. And while it is not an experience filled with twists and turns or building complexity, it provides plenty of flavor to sink your teeth into and an easily approachable flavor profile throughout.