Crowned Heads Starwood, Newest Event Only Cigar

Crowned Heads keeps mining Nashville history for inspiration, and its newest release is no exception. Starwood is a 5 x 50 robusto you cannot buy. It is strictly an event only cigar, and the only way to get one is to show up.

What Is Starwood?

Starwood measures 5 inches by 50 ring gauge and is produced at Nicaragua American Cigars S.A., known as NACSA, in Estelí. The blend wraps an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro leaf around binder and filler tobaccos from three Nicaraguan regions: Estelí, Jalapa, and Ometepe.

‍ Starwood won't be sold at retail. It will be handed out in cardboard four packs to customers who make a qualifying purchase at select Crowned Heads events. This is not a cigar you order online or ask your shop to bring in. It is a reward for showing up.

‍ ‍Where the Name Comes From

‍Starwood takes its name from the Starwood Amphitheater, an outdoor venue that ran in Middle Tennessee from 1986 until 2006. Before it was torn down, the amphitheater hosted acts spanning rock, country, and pop, and could hold more than 17,000 concertgoers on a good night.

‍ For Crowned Heads President Jon Huber, the tie in is personal. He points to a specific memory as the spark behind the blend: catching Cheap Trick open for Stone Temple Pilots at the Starwood in May of 1997. That kind of shared, communal night, lawn seats, bright lights, a loud crowd, is what he wanted the cigar to capture. The idea was a smoke built for good company, the same way a great show always was.

This isn't Crowned Heads' first event only cigar tied to Nashville nightlife. Starwood effectively takes over for Blood Medicine, a blend originally inspired by the Merchants Hotel, a favorite stop for touring musicians. Blood Medicine has since become a full commercial release with its own line extensions, opening the door for a new exclusive to take its place. Starwood is that replacement.

How to Actually Get One

‍Since Starwood will never hit shelves as its own SKU, catching one means tracking where Crowned Heads shows up next. The brand has confirmed an opening run of stops at Mission Cigar in Spring Hill, Tennessee, World Famous Cigar Bar in Fort Myers, Florida, and Finck's in San Antonio, with more dates expected.

‍Crowned Heads runs a regular calendar of Road Show stops at retailers around the country, and those are exactly the kind of gatherings where a cigar like Starwood shows up. For a feel of what these stops are actually like, including the brand's own insistence that a Road Show is not a rolling demo or a buy three get one free promo but a live extension of the company's philosophy, I covered a recent South Florida swing through Plant City, Sunrise, and Deltona here. ‍

Unfortunately the Road Show I attended was before this release, but I look forward to trying it at the next Road Show!