Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Canonazo

Today, we review the Le Pâtissier in the Canonazo (Toro) size by Crowned Heads. Le Pâtissier is French for pastry chef. Another Crowned Heads release with a French baking theme, Le Carême, inspired this cigar. In 2021, Le Pâtissier was first released in a Lonsdale format as a PCA Exclusive. The PCA Exclusive was an unbanded cigar produced at Tabacalera Pichardo. In 2022, Le Pâtissier was made into a four-cigar regular production line (minus the Lonsdale) – complete with dress packaging. At that point, the Canonazo size was introduced. Only a few months later, it was announced that Le Pâtissier’s production would move to the NACSA factory, marking the first time Crowned Heads had worked with this factory.

As mentioned, Le Pâtissier was inspired by Le Carême. Both of these cigars use Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers. In general, Connecticut Broadleaf has been a favorite of Crowned Heads. Crowned Heads has partnered with many factories, and this wrapper has been used in each of them. Below are some of the more popular Crowned Heads Connecticut Broadleaf releases from Crowned Heads at the different factories:

Casa Carrillo (Le Carême)
My Father Cigars SA (Yellow Rose)
La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate (La Coalición)
NACSA (Le Pâtissier)
TacaNicsa (Mil Días Maduro)

Let’s break down the Le Pâtissier Canonazo and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Canonazo – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Le Pâtissier incorporates Nicaraguan tobacco into the binder and filler, and the filler also contains Costa Rican tobacco.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan (Jalapa)
Filler: Costa Rican, Nicaraguan
County of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaraguan Cigars S.A. (NACSA)

Vitolas Offered

As mentioned, Le Pâtissier is a regular production line that is offered in four sizes. Each comes in 20-count boxes.

Senadores: 6 1/8 x 48 (SRP $11.00/cigar
No. 50: 4 3/8 x 50 (SRP $10.50/cigar)
Canonazo 5 7/8 x 52 (SRP $11.50/cigar)
No. 54: 5 3/8 x 54

There were also two PCA Exclusives:

No. 2: 6 1/8 x 52 (2023 PCA Exclusive, Torpedo)
Lonsdale: 6 1/2 x 44 (2021 PCA Exclusive, former Tabacalera Pichardo release)

Appearance (*)

The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper of the Le Pâtissier Canonazo was a medium-to-dark roasted coffee bean color. The wrapper’s surface had a slight amount of mottling and oil. There were some prominent veins and some thin, visible veins.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

I always hear a lot about crazy flavor notes, and I usually avoid that route in my assessments. However, with the Le Pâtissier Canonazo, this is one of the few times I opted to be a little unorthodox because it was so unique.

After clipping the cap of the Le Pâtissier Canonazo with a straight cut, I commenced the pre-light draw. The flavor of the pre-light draw was very straightforward – German chocolate cake. But the best part is this wasn’t an infused or artificial flavor; it was quite a natural one with a tobacco foundation. In the end, this resulted in an excellent pre-light draw.

At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Le Pâtissier Canonazo, toast up the cigar, and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

Le Pâtissier Canonazo opened up with mocha, earth, cedar, and cream notes. If you have read many of my assessments, you know I use mocha to describe a combination of chocolate and coffee notes. The mocha notes moved into the forefront early on – with the chocolate component having the edge. Meanwhile, the earth, cedar, and cream notes settled in the background. The retro-hale delivered a mix of white pepper and cedar. Toward the end of the first third, the pepper notes also emerged on the tongue.

The mocha note changed slightly during the second third of the Le Pâtissier Canonazo. There was more of an influence on the coffee component. The chocolate-forward component was still there, but now it was more reminiscent of the German chocolate (that semi-sweet chocolate) flavor note. There still were notes of earth, cedar, and cream. Just past the midway point, the pepper notes started to increase in intensity.

The final third still contained the mocha component —a combination of German chocolate cake and coffee. Pepper was the most prominent secondary note, with cedar, earth, and cream notes still present. This is the way the Le Pâtissier Canonazo came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While the burn line occasionally had slight jaggedness, the Le Pâtissier Canonazo wasn’t prone to meandering. As a result, few touch-ups were required for this cigar. The resulting ash was very light gray and skewed toward the firm side. The burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Canonazo

Draw

The draw to the Le Pâtissier Canonazo was on the open side. This wasn’t a loose draw, but I usually like a touch of resistance on the draw. At the same time, this cigar had no adverse effects from an open draw.

Strength and Body

The Le Pâtissier Canonazo started out with medium strength and a medium-bodied flavor. The intensity of both attributes slightly increased, but the Le Pâtissier Canonazo stayed in the medium range. The body maintained a slight edge in strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

Le Pâtissier has some of the best packaging I’ve seen on Crowned Heads. I love the logo. The gold with the slight green accents on the band really gives it elegance. I know I’ve also said this on other Crowned Heads assessments, but I like that they have added Crowned Heads footer bands to many of their lines, including Le Pâtissier.

Crowned Heads Le Pâtissier Packaging

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I think the move Crowned Heads made with Le Pâtissier to NACSA a few years ago paid off. As I said above, Connecticut Broadleaf is a staple of Crowned Heads. Going to NACSA allowed Crowned Heads to team up with a factory that knows what it’s doing with that leaf (they make Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and Dapper Cigar Company’s Broadleaf offerings). No doubt, nobody ties a story to a cigar better than Crowned Heads, and Le Pâtissier Canonazo is a great example. No doubt, this has all the makings of a dessert cigar, but it keeps true to its tobacco roots.

This is a cigar I could easily recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is not only a cigar I would buy and smoke again, but the $11.50 price point makes it very attractive to buy multiples. Coming in at 90 points, Le Pâtissier Canonazo earns a Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence designation.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (German Chocolate, Coffee), Earth, Cedar, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good