Those people at Crowned Heads sure are tricky.....

Usaf06

http://halfwheel.com/crowned-heads-bringing-la-imperiosa-at-ipcpr-2015/87676

CharlieHeis

Just read that earlier today. Great stick. Now I can enjoy my 2014 LC's while knowing I can still get more.

variant2

Limited just became unlimited.

avengethis

Awesome sauce! 

SleevePlz

variant2 said:

Limited just became unlimited.

Yeah, not a fan of this. I'm happy that a good cigar is going into regular production, but it now feels like we were duped into thinking it was a limited edition cigar when it isn't. 

Patrickbrick

SleevePlz said:

variant2 said:

Limited just became unlimited.

Yeah, not a fan of this. I'm happy that a good cigar is going into regular production, but it now feels like we were duped into thinking it was a limited edition cigar when it isn't. 

I agree with this, are they going to do this with every years release?  Basically making the only limited part of these cigars the band.  

Gray4lines

I never tried any of the LC's and now I'm kinda glad...I'll try these guys though.  if I bought the LC's I wouldn't be sad, but it does feel like a dupe.

bert873

With not being able to get to many of the 14 release, I'm pretty excited about this.

matkn293

I see both sides of the isle here. I had one 14 release and it was MONEY. One of the best sticks I have had. Glad I can get more. On the other hand the
mystique of having that 14 was spectacular as well. I am wondering if it will diminish the
Calaveras line at all. 

bert873

I feel like it will depend on if they start doing this with multiple years or just that one. If they do it for more years than I think people will stop buying the Calaveras line and just wait for the cheaper version 

peter4jc

I'm telling myself that there must be tons more stuff that goes into producing a line of cigars, and giving them the benefit of the doubt.  Most likely it was going to be a limited run, and something happened that opened up some possibilities to make it an ongoing stick.

Bob_Luken

Even though I can see why somebody might feel burned if they went to a lot of effort and spent a bunch of money trying to buy up the LC 2014 while they were still available, I don't think I'll let this bother me one bit. LOL  In fact I wouldn't have a problem if they did this with the LC 2015. I had my first one of those recently and it's a winner.

But, I wish they had gotten him to explain the decision/process/story behind the new cigar / same blend situation. Beyond the fact that halfwheel said "arguably the company’s most sought after line to date" I'd like to know more details as to how and why they went from LE to regular production. .  

Maybe it's just a simple case of a cigar that was intended as a limited becoming very popular and the tobaccos used in the blend were still available so,.... why not make some more? But that's just speculation on my part. 

ExpendableYouth

Awesome, I almost bought a fiver for more than I wanted to pay and now I can just wait it out.

Gray4lines

I agree bob, there's two very different reasons... one is perfectly fine: intended as an LE and things lined up to where more could be made.

Or, they released a hyped LE line fully knowing that they'd release the same blend later at a lower price point...

The latter, to me, doesn't sound like a CH tactic, but I dnot know.  I'd see Rocky doing this no problem... lol

Chuck_N

CH next limited edition should be called the PHU.
It's the LE  that's really not a LE.

rsherman24

At least they changed the name

brianetz1

Gray4lines said:

I agree bob, there's two very different reasons... one is perfectly fine: intended as an LE and things lined up to where more could be made.

Or, they released a hyped LE line fully knowing that they'd release the same blend later at a lower price point...

The latter, to me, doesn't sound like a CH tactic, but I dnot know.  I'd see Rocky doing this no problem... lol

actually the original LC retail price wasn't overly expensive, i think the Toro was like 10.50 in my shops.  Nothing like the pricetag on the current LC.  based on the CH recent regular releases i bet it is right around that original retail price.  So i don't think they were looking to cash in up front and extend the line at a lower price.  

Now if they do that with the current LC and then sell it for sub 10 in a year, i would be pissed.

Chemnitz

As far as I'm concerned, an amazing cigar that I discovered after it was out of production just became available again. This is good news.

Chuck_N

There was a time when Limited Edition meant Limited Edition.
When a cigar manufacturer makes a LE cigar a regular production cigar they have deceived us.
I can't trust Crowned Heads anymore.
I don't care if the demand was there, and they resized it and are calling it by a different name.
It's the exact same blend and the same supposedly  LE cigar.

New_Boots

It does seem sketchy, but I cant believe that Jon Huber would purposley pull an okey doke on his consumers. Now, if the LCs from this year do the same, and as others have stated....it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, swims like a duck.....must be a duck.

Bob_Luken

I'm a Crowned Heads fan.
(But, not that big of a fan or I would have already known about the Yellow Rose and the Paniolo Especial before today when I went online to see if I could come up with any new info on how and why La Imperiosa came to be.)
 

Has there been any real explanation offered by the company to address the real questions we all want answers to?

The Halfwheel article didn't really address it.

There might be something somewhere out there online but I haven't seen anything.

Obviously there is some consternation floating around because Huber tweeted something about "haters". But, short tweets don't seem to explain the decisions of how and why. And there are some legitimate questions to be asked. 

Has anybody heard an answer to this question? 

"Mr Huber, how and why did you decide to take what your company originally offered as a limited edition cigar and turn it into a regular production cigar?"
 
 

Usaf06

I dont know the answer but if it was me it would sound like this.... We found a way to produce a very popular cigar that was in high demand and we jumped at the chance. 

SleevePlz

Usaf06 said:

I dont know the answer but if it was me it would sound like this.... We found a way to produce a very popular cigar that was in high demand and we jumped at the chance. 

And that would be a nice answer. Like most, I just want honesty. Be up front and forthcoming. Then you can tell the haters to piss off.

Chuck_N

Usaf06 said:

I dont know the answer but if it was me it would sound like this.... We found a way to produce a very popular cigar that was in high demand and we jumped at the chance. 

And at the end add. 
We advertised this as a Limited Edition we sold it as a Limited Edition, but f all of you.

My question to Mr Huber would be.
Why would anyone buy a limited edition cigar from you again?

CharlieHeis

Bob_Luken said:

I'm a Crowned Heads fan.
(But, not that big of a fan or I would have already known about the Yellow Rose and the Paniolo Especial before today when I went online to see if I could come up with any new info on how and why La Imperiosa came to be.)
 

Has there been any real explanation offered by the company to address the real questions we all want answers to?

The Halfwheel article didn't really address it.

There might be something somewhere out there online but I haven't seen anything.

Obviously there is some consternation floating around because Huber tweeted something about "haters". But, short tweets don't seem to explain the decisions of how and why. And there are some legitimate questions to be asked. 

Has anybody heard an answer to this question? 

"Mr Huber, how and why did you decide to take what your company originally offered as a limited edition cigar and turn it into a regular production cigar?"
 
 

I asked him that on twitter in a respectful way, but I don't expect him to answer.

variant2

Here's a post from Wes (Crowned Heads) on a different forum.

CrownedHeadsWes

To give some vague insight on this, since a few folks seem to be upset that we're making more LC14 (a cigar that everyone BEGGED for more of, haha). When LC14 was launched, there was NO plan to use the blend as a regular production cigar in the future. We of course like ALL of the cigars we're making, but it's really up to you (the consumer) to decide what are biggest hits are. We think they're all big hits, but it doesn't really matter what we think unless you fine folks purchase them. LC14 was arguably our biggest hit to date, EVERY retail account that we have, asked for more of it. AND there are NO MORE LC14 other than our small office stash. La Imperiosa was a project that came to the surface after seeing the huge demand for the LC14 blend. Even the name La Imperiosa translates to "necessary" or "so necessary". La Imperiosa is different branding, different packaging, different sizing. You would wrong to think that we're sitting here in the office trying to think of a way to pull one over on our customers. We could have easily released La Imperiosa and never mentioned its the LC14 blend, no? Would you have noticed? Maybe, but most people probably wouldn't. 

Everyone wanted more LC14. That can't happen because they don't exist. BUT. We can offer you that same blend in a different look, and different sizes in La Imperiosa. 

I DO appreciate you folks wanting to talk about this. It's always good to see you talking about Crowned Heads and our cigars, because at the least, we're on your mind, and not an after thought. 

If everyone had reasonable access to a Ferrari, does it make it any less enjoyable? Not for me. I'd drive the shìt out of that thing EVERYDAY.

-Wes, Crowned Heads

avengethis

It's a good response in my eyes. 

Patrickbrick

A good explanation, however in my opinion this still should not have been done.  At least the size offerings will be different.  

Usaf06

He is right, I respect that answer

variant2

And here's a detailed response from Jon Huber.

-----------------------------------------------------

BOTL - It's been interesting, to say the least, to read everyone's take here on La Imperiosa. Good--bad--indifferent, I appreciate and respect everyone's opinion.

My .02: I don't really see how La Imperiosa takes anything away from the OR Las Calaveras EL 2014. How does it 'cheapen' anyone'e experience who purchased the Las Calaveras '14? That cigar was released, people seemed to enjoy it, and now there will be an opportunity to enjoy that blend on a regular basis. Where did we go wrong there?

The reality is this--we released Las Calaveras EL 2014 last year. We /never/ said it was a Limited Edition (EL) due to some scarcity or limited production of tobaccos (ex: Four Kicks Mule Kick LE 2012...we produced 5,000 total cigars because that was all of the available tobacco for that blend--we never released Mule Kick as a regular production brand, despite the demand for it to this day).

After releasing Las Calaveras '14, and subsequently selling out the production, we /constantly/ received requests (from both retailers and consumers) to "..Make more Las Calaveras '14."  

Yesterday, we announced that we are releasing the LC 14 blend--in the form of a regular production brand, i.e., La Imperiosa; and now we are getting 'backlash' for responding positively to that same demand??? Color me 'confused'....

Thanks for listening...

Jon Huber
Crowned Heads

-----------------------------------------------------


Bottom Line: CH is a company and needs to make a profit. Even though *some* people, who bought boxes of the 2014 to have the exclusivity or flip them them are going to feel miffed. 

True BOTLs that just want to enjoy a good tasting cigar are going to be happy with this decision due to the continued availability of a successful & popular smoke.

I'm very happy that Jon's not going to price gouge the La Imperiosa.

Chuck_N

True BOTLS that know what  LE means are miffed.