Crowned Heads Jericho Hill Review

The Crowned Heads Jericho Hill has been around for more than a decade, but I'd been wanting to sit down and properly review this cigar for a while. With its dark Mexican San Andrés wrapper, production at the My Father factory, and comparisons to much more expensive cigars, there was plenty to interest me.

For this Crowned Heads Jericho Hill review, I smoked the 4¾ x 52 OBS. I'll break down the flavor, construction, burn, and overall smoking experience to see whether Jericho Hill still deserves its reputation and, more importantly, whether those Padrón comparisons actually make sense.

The Story Behind Crowned Heads Jericho Hill

The story behind Jericho Hill starts with Johnny Cash and his famous rendition of "Cocaine Blues" from the 1968 live album At Folsom Prison. The song follows Willy Lee, a man who makes a series of increasingly bad decisions before eventually being caught in Juarez, Mexico, by a sheriff from Jericho Hill. That's where Crowned Heads found the name for the cigar.

The Johnny Cash connection runs much deeper than the name. Jericho Hill was the fourth regular production cigar from Crowned Heads, a nod to Cash being the fourth of seven children. The original four vitola names were also pulled from lyrics and songs associated with At Folsom Prison: .44S, LBV, OBS, and Willy Lee. The OBS I'm smoking for this Crowned Heads Jericho Hill review takes its name from "Orange Blossom Special," another song performed on the album.

Crowned Heads carried the theme into the actual blend itself. The dark Mexican San Andrés wrapper was intended as a nod to Cash's "Man in Black" image, while its Mexican origin ties back to the Juarez reference in "Cocaine Blues." Underneath that wrapper are Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, with production handled by the My Father Cigars S.A. factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Jericho Hill originally launched in 2014 and marked Crowned Heads' first regular-production line made by My Father.

It's a pretty cool backstory, but the reputation Jericho Hill has built since then is what really had me interested in smoking the OBS. This is a cigar I've heard compared to some considerably more expensive smokes over the years, so I wanted to see how they compared.

Jericho Hill Cigar Specifications

Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Factory: My Father Cigars S.A., Estelí, Nicaragua

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Available Sizes: OBS (4¾ × 52), Willy Lee (6 × 54), and Jack Brown (5 × 56)

Size Reviewed: OBS (4¾ x 52)

Notable Features: Johnny Cash-inspired, regular-production cigar

Flavor Highlights: Dark chocolate, leather, cocoa, white pepper, and roasted coffee

Price Point: Around $10 MSRP for the OBS

First Impressions: Appearance, Aroma, and Cold Draw

The OBS definitely looks the part of a full-bodied cigar. The wrapper leaf is dark and toothy, with a few small veins running across the surface and tight, clean seams. The cigar felt tightly packed from head to foot, and the cap was nicely applied.

Off the foot, I picked up sweet tobacco and cocoa. After making the cut, the cold draw had just the right amount of resistance, with nothing that made me concerned about how it would perform once lit.

First Third

It didn't take too much time before getting into the darker side of its flavor profile. Right from the start, I was getting dark chocolate and leather, backed by earth and white pepper spice. There was also a slight sweetness hanging around on the finish that helped balance out some of those darker flavors.

Smoke production was good without being overly thick, and the cigar quickly developed a bright white ash. The burn line was nearly perfect, and the draw had carried over nicely from the resistance I noticed during the cold draw.

The body also surprised me this early in the cigar. It was already sitting somewhere around medium-plus and felt like it could easily push into full-bodied territory as I continued smoking.

I'd heard the Crowned Heads Jericho Hill compared to the Padrón Anniversary Series before and have even heard it described as a more affordable alternative. That's a pretty big comparison, so I was interested to see whether there was actually something to it as the cigar developed.

Second Third

Moving into the second third, the dark chocolate and leather remained front and center, but the Jericho Hill started to open up a little more. Smoke production increased noticeably, while the draw continued to perform without any issues.

I started picking up some nuttiness on the finish along with a woody note and a touch of roasted coffee in the background. None of those flavors took over the profile, but they added another layer to the darker flavors from the first third. There wasn't a dramatic shift, but there was enough development to keep things interesting.

Construction continued to be excellent. The burn line stayed almost perfectly straight, and the cigar held onto that bright white ash as I worked my way through the second third.

Final Third

By the final third, the Jericho Hill OBS wasn't throwing any major surprises at me, but I didn't really need it to. Leather and cocoa were now the most prominent flavors, while much of the darker character that had defined the cigar from the beginning remained intact.

By this point, the cigar was firmly full-bodied, but it remained balanced and really enjoyable. Even as I smoked it down, the smoke never became noticeably hot, and the burn continued to hold together extremely well.

More than anything, I was impressed by the consistency. It delivered a rich core of darker flavors from beginning to end, with enough smaller changes along the way to showcase some obvious progressions.

Construction, Draw, and Burn Performance

Construction was excellent from beginning to end. The draw started with just the right amount of resistance and stayed that way throughout the entire smoking experience. I never had to fight for smoke, and production actually increased as I moved into the second third.

The burn was equally impressive. The burn line stayed remarkably straight, the ash was bright white and held together well, and I didn't need to make any major corrections along the way. Even as I smoked the Jericho Hill OBS down to the final couple of inches, it never became overly hot or unpleasant.

By the time I finally put it down, there wasn't much cigar left. For me, that's usually a pretty good indication that both the construction and the smoking experience delivered.

Final Verdict: Our Crowned Heads Jericho Hill Review

The Jericho Hill OBS turned out to be a really enjoyable cigar and one that I would absolutely smoke again. It delivered the kind of darker flavor profile I tend to enjoy, with dark chocolate, leather, cocoa, earth, pepper, and touches of nuts, wood, and roasted coffee appearing along the way.

Just as impressive as the flavor was the consistency. From the first light until I finally put it down, there wasn't really a point where the cigar fell off.

So, what about the Padrón comparison?

It's been a while since I've smoked a Padrón Anniversary, and I wasn't smoking the two side by side, so I'm not going to tell you the Jericho Hill is a direct replacement. But after smoking the OBS, I can absolutely understand where the comparison comes from. There's a richness to the combination of cocoa, dark chocolate, leather, earth, and subtle sweetness that reminded me of that style of cigar.

More importantly, I don't think the Jericho Hill needs the comparison to be worth smoking. At around $10 for the OBS, you're getting a full-bodied cigar made at the My Father factory with excellent construction and plenty of rich flavor. That's a pretty compelling package on its own.

If you enjoy darker Nicaraguan cigars, Mexican San Andrés wrappers, or you're simply looking for a more affordable smoke in that general Padrón Anniversary wheelhouse, the Crowned Heads Jericho Hill OBS is an easy cigar for me to recommend.

Ratings Breakdown

Where to Buy Crowned Heads Jericho Hill

If the Jericho Hill OBS sounds like something you'd enjoy, you can shop Crowned Heads cigars directly from After Action Cigars. The OBS is a great choice for anyone looking for a shorter, full-bodied smoke with plenty of dark flavor without stepping into the price range of some of the premium cigars it's often compared to.

At around $10 MSRP for the OBS, I think Jericho Hill delivers a whole lot of cigar for the money, especially given the quality of the construction and my experience with this cigar. Grab a five-pack or a box and see what you think.