Even the most accomplished chefs have suffered from Souffle-phobia. A high-risk dish was reliant on precision timing and a bake of faith that determines whether your soufflé will rise or fall.

For the indulgent among us with a sweet tooth and a fondness for chocolate, we are introducing you to a cigar with a blend described by master cigar-craftsman Ernesto Perez-Carrillos as “tasting like a chocolate soufflé.”

Crowned Heads are certainly in an imaginative beat of their own when it comes to the narrative behind their cigar brand names.

The full-throttle smoking experience of Jericho Hill was inspired by Johnny Cash’s Cocaine Blues, while their Headley Grange cigars were crunched from John Bonham’s bombastic drum sound that shaped Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks. It was even named after the studio where they recorded their monolithic fourth album.

We’ve even seen their Las Calaveras concept revolve around the Mexican holiday, Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Now we have the La Carême. It was named after Marie Antoine Carême, the culinary architect of French haute cuisine, and the man responsible for the popularization of the soufflé after the French revolution.

It’s time to serve up our Le Careme cigar review. Will this premium handmade offering remind me of a melt-in-your-mouth soufflé (crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside), or will I be left with egg-baked woe on my face?

Cigar Specs

• Country of Origin: Tabacalera La Alianza (Dominican Republic)
• Strength: Medium
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Smoke Time: 80 minutes
• Sizes Available:
  • Canonazo (5.88 x 52)
  • Hermoso No. 1 (6.50 x 48)
  • Robusto (5 x 50)

A look at Le Careme's construction

Produced at Perez-Carrillos’s Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic, the Le Careme is a carefully-selected mix of leaves composed of three different tobaccos from three different countries.

This box-pressed cigar uses Nicaraguan fillers, an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder lead, and is garnished with a toothy Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper that is almost black in color and quite oily to the touch.

Medium-light in the hand, it’s a tightly rolled cigar. However, the stick still produced a decent amount of creamy smoke throughout the puff and thunder.

We all know France (and especially Paris) is renowned for its alluring patisseries, with the waft of baked bread and warming vanilla drifting throughout the local neighborhoods.

When it comes to the band of this cigar, it’s classic French pastry shops that spring to mind. A trio of blue, white, and gold colors offset the ornate artwork that surrounds the ‘Le Careme’ name. French is the language of love, and the brand name even has a whimsical tone to it.

Coins on either side of the band depict a crown for Crowned Heads and three stars for the Tennessee state flag. Right from the get-go, this cigar lives up to its dessert flavor reputation with deep chocolate aromas, while the open foot was strong with barnyard smells, and a slight trace of cocoa. Pardon the pastry pun, but I was now craving a choux with my stogie.

What was the cold draw like?

I was hit with colossal notes of chocolate, nuts, and dried fruits. Even after I’d temporarily put the cigar down, the gooey hit of melted chocolate rolling inside pastry (much like a soufflé) remained.

A mineral note also came through courtesy of the Sumatra binder, which was reminiscent of the coastal salt air.

Flavors I enjoyed from the Le Careme

Pudding lovers will be thrilled to know that the scrumptious ‘souffle-like’ flavors are prominent throughout the Le Careme journey.

Other succulent sweetness came from notes of toffee, caramel, rich tobacco, and sweet spice. With an error-free slow burn throughout, it certainly steps up to the plate as a mouthwatering after-dinner smoke.

First Third

There was no chance of the Le Careme falling at the first fence. Once the cigar felt the heat, it delivered flavors of honied chocolate and dried fruits, although there was also an abundance of pepper notes on my palate.

The sharpness and spiciness balance appeared to lie between red pepper flakes that brought the heat and black pepper flakes that generated a more complex flavor profile.

Second Third

As I leaped into the second third, a caffe latte note coated the inside of my mouth as the profile took a creamier turn. The subtle magic of a chocolate souffle did surface for several minutes, but it was a brisk mint note that really accented the milkiness of the chocolate flavors.

Coming towards the end of the halfway mark, creamy cedar started to emerge, with a citrus tang giving some acidity on the exhale. I couldn’t stop thinking about how perfect this smoke would be first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee.

Final Third

I was fascinated to see whether this velvety chocolate hysteria would remain dominant. Much to my tastebuds' delight, those warm chocolate and sweet cocoa notes were still being released.

Salty seashore and earthy flavors were persistent in the background, while the ash retention continued to impress.

The body of the Le Careme increased during the latter stages of the final third to medium-full, which could’ve been down to the dark roast hit of an espresso bean that gave some bitterness as the cigar approached its concluding inch.

How strong is the cigar?

Both the body and strength of the cigar fell into the medium range, with the cigar only veering into medium-full territory as I closed out the final third.

Sure, it gets a little fuller as it smokes, but it’s the delicious well-defined flavors that hold true and make this smoke another exceptional addition to the Crowned Heads portfolio.

Last Thoughts from this Le Careme cigar review

Jon Huber (of Crowned Heads) and Perez-Carrillos have cooked up a storm with the Le Careme. Like all the Crowned Heads cigars, the construction sits right in my ballpark, but the blend here creates something quite sensational.

This is a dynamite Maduro blend with plenty of smoke and sweet, rich flavors. When it comes to recommending the perfect dessert cigar, this may very well be the crème de le carème.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this Le Careme cigar review, and if you enjoyed reading it, check out our official video review, below!