The King of Kings Broadleaf marks the fourth cigar blend released by newcomer boutique cigar maker Kings Cigars. The company is a three+ year project started by Anwar Mithavayani and Pete Tyndale. The company has two factories – one in Santiago, Dominican Republic and the other in Esteli, Nicaragua. From the company web-site, Mithavayani is the Director of Sales while Tyndale is listed as the Master Blender. The company officially launched in 2013 with three blends: Baron, Conte, and the original King of Kings (Habano). The latter cigar is a Ecuadorian Habano wrapped 6 x 64 box-press. As the name indicates, the King of Kings Broadleaf changes things up as it introduces a Broadleaf maduro wrapped version of the Habano. Recently I have shad the opportunity to smoke the King of Kings Broadleaf. Overall, I’ve been impressed with Kings Cigars and the King of Kings Broadleaf appears to be another solid smoke.
Word of the King of Kings Broadleaf project surfaced last summer. This cigar is being positioned as “limited edition”, but no specific numbers on production have been published. The King of Kings Broadleaf becomes the company’s second maduro – following up the core line King of Kings Conte.
With our further ado, lets take a closer look at the King of Kings Broadleaf and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
The King of Kings Broadleaf follows a similar profile to the original King of Kings Habano cigar. Instead of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, it uses a Broadleaf of undisclosed origin.
Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Habano Criollo
Filler: Kings Proprietary
Vitolas Available
As mentioned above, the King of Kings Broadleaf is available in one size – a 6 x 64 “Cuadrado” box-pressed gordo. This is the same size as the King of Kings Habano.
Appearance
The King of Kings Broadleaf has a chocolate bar colored wrapper. There is a light amount of oil on the surface. The darker color of the wrapper does a decent job at hiding both the wrapper seams and veins of this cigar. The box-press had a nice firm pack – with no soft or under filled spots.
The band has a gold, red, blue, and black color scheme. It is highlighted by a crown resting above a coat or arms. There are some gold leaves and medallions to the left and right – as well as some red and blue design. The text “King of Kings” is in gold font on a black ribbon with red trim. It is located below the coat of arms.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to my cigar experience, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. Despite this large ring gauge, the box-press narrowed the size of the cap and my normal straight cut still worked effectively. After clipping the cap, the dry draw treated me to a mix of chocolate, earth, and floral spice notes. Overall I was pleased with the pre-light draw of the King of Kings Broadleaf. At this point I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the smoking phase would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The start of the King of Kings Broadleaf provided a decent blast of white pepper. It didn’t take long for notes of earth and bittersweet chocolate to enter the equation. These flavors became rich rather quickly and moved even with the pepper. I also picked up the white pepper notes prominently on the retro-hale.
Later in the first third, the bittersweet chocolate and earth notes were the primary flavors. There were also some coffee notes that had entered the equation. I found the pepper notes to now be more prominent on both the after-draw and retro-hale.
As the King of Kings Broadleaf entered the second half, I saw the primary notes become more earthy. The chocolate and coffee notes were still present, but definitely in the background, The pepper notes had increased and were also now more present toward the forefront. For the most part, I found this the way the cigar’s profile held until the end.
Burn and Draw
From a burn perspective, I did find that the King of Kings Broadleaf needed several touch-ups along the way to keep a straight line. While the cigar needed more touch-ups than I prefer, it still was not in danger of tunneling or canoeing. The resulting ash was mostly firm, there were a few points where I did have some flaking. For the most part the ash had a salt and pepper color on the lighter side. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
The draw was very good – it wasn’t too tight and it wasn’t too loose. For a large ring gauge cigar, I didn’t find this a very uncomfortable cigar to smoke.
Strength and Body
For the most part I found the King of Kings Broadleaf to have some boldness and robustness. From a strength standpoint, I found this cigar to in the medium to full range. As for the flavors, they definitely had some depth and weighed nicely on the pallet. I assessed this cigar as being medium to full-bodied, but by the last third, the King of Kings Broadleaf was smoking full-bodied. For the most part, I found the strength and body countered each other nicely, but toward the end I felt the flavor had a slight edge.
Final Thoughts
Overall this was a solid smoke by Kings Cigars. I had enjoyed the King of Kings Habano. In the case of the King of Kings Broadleaf, I liked this cigar even better. Like the Habano, I felt that this was a blend that specifically geared toward the large ring gauge – and that’s why it worked. A lot of times many cigar connoisseurs will immediately dismiss a large ring gauge, but they do sell. The King of Kings Broadleaf with the King of Kings Habano gives the company a nice 1-2 punch for fans of the big ring gauge. This is a cigar that I would recommend to the experienced, large ring gauge cigar enthusiast. While it has a little more strength than I’d give to a novice, I certainly wouldn’t discourage a novice from trying. As for myself, this was an enjoyable cigar. It’s one I’d certainly pick up a fiver and smoke from time to time.
Summary
Burn: Good
Draw Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last third)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 89
References
News: Feature Story: Kings Cigars
Price: n/a
Source: Sample Provided by Manufacturer(*)
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
* The cigar for this assessment was given to Cigar Coop by General Cigar Company. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the sample, but this does not influence the review.
i've had the honor of tasting the king of kings broadleaf by winning one in a contest of king of kings! it tastes great! the smoke and flavor are excellent and the large ring gauge feels very comfortable in my mouth! i will buy it!