The Good Stuff:

Following up last year’s lancero release, this year Warped Cigars released the 2023 Moon Garden Especial. Offered in a single 5 5/8 x 52 format the cigar the blend features a tweaked version of the same tobacco. The larger size allowed Warped founder Kyle Gellis to pack more medio tiempo along with stronger and higher priming versions of the tobacco which results in a much stronger and more full-bodied blend. Produced at Aganorsa’s Agricola Ganadera Nortena S.A. factory in Esteli, Nicaragua The blend features all Aganorsa-grown tobaccos including a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This year’s offering comes in a single 5 5/8 x 52 format which comes packaged in boxed of 20 running $16 per cigar. This is a very limited production release with only 1,000 boxes being produced. I purchased mine over from our friends at Cuenca Cigars who still have them in stock as of this review’s post date.

• Size: 5 5/8 x 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan including medi tiempo
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $16

Prelight:

The Moon Garden Especial starts with a very rustic wrapper which is inconsistently colored with lighter yellowish-brown areas scattered with darker brown splotches. The wrapper’s texture is very smooth and silky with a whole ton of oils coating it. The wrapper itself feels thick and hard while the cigar itself is packed extremely tightly and is heavy as hell. There are some milder veining in the wrapper leaf leading up through the cigar’s thick body to its round, triple-wrapped Caro. Like most cigars in the Garden series the cigar is finished off with an heavily designed, yet elegant green, red, and yellow band. It also carries a secondary gold and black band dictating the “Especial” modifier.

The wrapper on the Mood Garden Especial gives off mostly honey and grainy aromas while the foot of the cigar has some nice sweet spice over natural tobacco. The cap cut clean and easily under my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of honey and grain and a whole mess of earthy/grainy flavors.

First Third:

Warped’s Moon Garden Especial starts out with a huge burst of cayenne pepper which really tackled my lips through the first few puffs. After a bit the pepper began to fade allowing the cigar to release bold notes of molasses, pecan, and and oak with lighter notes of cashew and leather over lighter notes of black tea and dark chocolate. This cigar starts off well in the full-bodied arena right off the bat. Despite being packed very tightly the draw is brilliant as it kicks out huge clouds of very thick, gray smoke which dissipated at a normal rate while the cigar releases a decent amount of of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is razor thin and very sharp leaving behind a trail of very tightly compacted white ash which held on for a little over a inch before falling into my ashtray with a thud.

Second Third:

An awesome woodsy cologne flavor made its way to the profile into the second half of the Warped Moon Garden Especial. Surrounding that flavor was some great pecan and cedar over lighter notes of vanilla and cashew and faint espresso and dark chocolate. The retrohale really kicks out the spice and a bit of the pepper so I don’t find myself doing it very often. Likely due to the increased amount of Ligero in the blend, the cigar does have the tendency to try and go out on my. Slightly speeding up my smoking speed completely solved that issue. I close out the second third already with a decent little nicotine kick.

Finish:

As I close out the Warped Moon Garden Especial the flavor profile is much of the same. Bold cedar and pecan with a good amount of woodsy cologne creeping in and over over lighter notes of vanilla and cashew. The espresso has dropped out however the dark chocolate has really picked up. After adjusting my smoking speed there were no burn issues. In fact, the small changed allowed my to burn through the entire cigar from start to finish without having to touch up or relight a single time. With such a strong cigar this did result it in a pretty hefty nicotine kick, but I survived.

Overview:

The Warped Moon Garden Especial is a damn good cigar with an incredible flavor profile. Medio Tiempo is such a great tobacco from a flavor standpoint and always helps elevate just about any cigar’s flavor profile, not to mention really speaks to my personal palate. The cigar burned well enough once my speed was adjusted and had no burn issues after that. The price point is in line with what you’d expect to pay for a cigar with the quality tobacco found in the Moon Garden Especial. This is a cigar I’d definitely keep a handful on hand for those times I’m craving a really strong cigar after a big meal. The only minor quip I have is that it’s almost too strong of a cigar for me. Almost.

The post Warped Moon Garden Especial appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Warped Cigars has had a history of releasing experimental blends using some of the rarest of tobacco and the Moon Garden Dark Blossom is no exception. Based on the popular “Skyflower” release which features Casa Fernandez’s famous High-Priming Medio Tiempo tobacco the Moon Garden Dark Blossom tweaks that blend slightly by using a higher priming Medio Tiempo leaf that only grows on only grows on a few of the plants to push the flavor profile into the next level. Produced at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua using all Aganorsa tobacco, the full blend features a Corojo ’99 wrapper over a Nicaraguan Jalapna Corojo ’99 binder, binder and Corojo ’99, Criollo ’98 and Media Tiempo fillers. The Dark Blossom comes in a single 7 x 40 size and is packaged in boxes of 10 with only 650 boxes released running $15 a cigar. Huge thanks goes out to my boy Jason for hooking me up with a few of these bad boys.

• Size: 7 x 40
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99, Criollo 98, and Media Tiempo
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $15
• Pairing: St. Bernardus Abt 12 2014 (10% ABV Belgian Quad)

Prelight:

The wrapper on the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom starts out with a rustic looking medium and dark brown wrapper with is very splotchy with lots of orange areas scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The wrapper itself feels very hard and very dense with some slight tooth and mild oils while the cigar as a whole feels very light, but very hard. There are some very minor veins and slight webbing as the long, slender body leads up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a similar bad to what you can find on the skyflower on with a tweak in the colors features a pastel green, pink, yellow and black color mixture.

The wrapper gives off some sharp spice and natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar screams pepper, spice, and earthiness. The cap on the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw is very spice and peppery with underlying notes of dirt, moss and earthiness.

First Third:

Right off the bat the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom kicks out a good amount of spice and black pepper that left my turning burning for a few seconds. While the pepper was strong, it only lasted through the first few puffs and then bowed out allowing the cigar to showcase some great musk, cedar, espresso and notes of black cherry. The draw is absolutely perfect and each and every little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke which hang out for quite some time before dissipating. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before dropping into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom and the flavors are still pouring it on as the cigar rest comfortably in the full-bodied arena. The pepper has completely exited the experience while the cedar and espresso lead the charge backed by black cherry, musk, and loads of earthiness. The retrohale really brings out the spice that I otherwise don’t really pickup during the normal smoking experience. The cigar has been burning flawlessly and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

The final third of the Warped Moon Garden Dark Blossom is where the already great cigar really shines. The flavors have become extremely rich as the cedar and espresso still lead the charge but the black cherry and musk have really stepped up while the earthiness began to mild out. This flavor profile is incredible. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved how slow it burned. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. The cigar burned perfectly from start to finish leaving me with a decent little nicotine hit.

Overview:

This is yet another winner in an already stacked Warped cigar portfolio. I LOVE the selection de Valle and the Skyflower is way up on my list of cigars I smoke every chance I get and I can honestly say that the Moon Garden Dark Blossom has edged even the Skyflower out as one of it not, my favorite Warped to date. The flavor profile is so balanced, and complex while matching up with my personal preference of what I enjoy in a cigar. Its a bit dry but pairing it with anything that has some sweetness fixes that right away. I only wish these were still available.

Pairing:

If you aren’t familiar with St. Bernardus Abt 12 you have been living under a rock. The 10% quad brewed at the St. Bernardus brewery in Belgium is one of the most household names in terms of Beglian beer in the U.S. This particular bottle has been in my cellar since 2014 and has aged absolutely beautifully. The beer leads with a great brown sugar sweetness over pear and black cherry notes along with a nice heavy malt, caramel, and piloncillo with a very light mouthfeel before finishing with more sweetness, caramel, and black cherry. This beer is incredible and often overlooked. The flavors especially the black cherry mash up so well with the flavors found in the Dark Blossom while the sweetness added another dimension to the cigar as the experience is a bit on the dry side.

The post Warped Cigars – Moon Garden Dark Blossom appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

One of the very few cigars released this year by Warped at the IPCPR show in Vegas was the line extension to the Flor De Valle line called the Seleccion de Valle. This 6 x 52, 109 style capped cigar, originally called “Flor de Valle Ghost Orhid before having to change it’s name due to trademark issues features an all Aganorsa makeup of a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 wrapper from the Jalapa region along with Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 binder, and all Nicaraguan fillers.

The format is slated for regular production, runs $12.59 a stick, and comes in boxes of 20. The cigar is produced at Aganorsa Lead Factory (formally TABSA). I picked mine up over from our friends at Fox Cigar who have them in stock now, and offer free shipping on all orders, no minimum.

• Size: 6 x 52
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 / Criollo 98
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $12.95
• Pairing: Modern Times Tequila Barrel Aged Monster’s Park (Imperial Stout 13% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle starts out with a splotchy milk-chocolate brown wrapper scattered with darker brown areas throughout. The wrapper’s texture is mostly smooth with a very slight amount of tooth and soft oils. The wrapper itself feels very thin and fragile. The wrapper is laid so smoothly over itself that its hard to even find the seam. The wrapper showcases only very mild veining and small webbing in the tobacco leaf as you lead up the cigar’s thick body to the stubby tapered 109 style cap.

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle carries the beautiful white, gold, and cyan Flor de Valle band we’ve come to expect on this blend. Seriously, this is a gorgeous band. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces lots of earthy/dirt flavors with a good amount of pepper coating the profile.

First Third:

The Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle starts out with an initial blast of black pepper that was only present for the first few draws. After the pepper faded the cigar greeted me with a good amount of earthiness, cashew, cedar, and soft spice. As I continue to smoke through the first third more and more of the cashew flavor pushes itself to the forefront of the flavor profile. The draw is absolutely perfect. Each little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke. The burn line is dead even and razor thing leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white/light gray ash which held on for about an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle and the flavor remain mostly the same. The cashew and cedar lead the charge backed by notes of earth and dirt along with a nice lightly creamed coffee which has entered the mix. The retrohale really brings out the pepper I encountered when I first lit up the cigar so I don’t find myself doing it too often. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin as I close out the second third with nothing from the nicotine department.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle and things remain the same, and I like that. The main flavors are still the cedar and cashew backed by earthiness, dirt and creamed coffee. It took me an hour and a half to take the Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle down to the nub. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. I closed out the cigar with only a very mild hit of nicotine.

Overview:

The Seleccion de Valle is an excellent extension to an already vast, and great Flor de Valle line. The 109 format is one coveted by aficionados and easily the most prominent vitola in the line. The flavors offered in the Flor de Valle are not overly complex, but extremely enjoyable and just complex enough to keep you thinking about the cigar as you’re smoking it. I for one really enjoy the flavor profile and often reach for the blend when I want a just all around great cigar. After smoking quite a few different vitoilas in the line I have to say the Seleccion de Valle is my favorite, and I usually gravitate towards smaller ring gauges. The flavors are a bit more balanced, and the stubby tapered cap is incredible comfortable in my mouth.

Pairing:

Brewed at the Modern Times brewery in California this version of Monster’s Park is aged in tequila barrels and comes in at 13% ABV. The beer leads with loads of cocoa, vanilla, brown sugar, and roasted malt with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing rather sweet with more cocoa vanilla and brown sugar. The Tequila flavor is very mild and really just adds an awesome floral flavor to the aftertaste. With the nutty flavors Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle I figured combining the two of these would lead to a complimentary, yet complex pairing and that’s exactly what the end result was.

The post Warped Flor de Valle Seleccion de Valle appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Flor de Valle blend was originally released by Warped cigars back in 2014 and was the first cigar Warped collaborated on with Casa Fernandez’s TABSA factory. Fast forward a bit and the company is released a new spin-off of the blend featuring Casa Fernandez’s famous High-Priming Medio Tiempo tobacco in the blend. Medio Tiempo is a high priming leaf that only grows on some tobacco plants eating up more sunlight and nutrients which results in a more full-bodied, flavorful leaf. This also explains the rarity of the leaf as well.

Along with the Media Tiempo the blend features a similar make up to the rest of the Flor de Valle blend: a Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 fillers. The Skyflower is released in a single 5 5/8 x 48 Gran Corojo format packaged in boxes of 10 running $15 per stick. This is a limited edition cigar and it will go fast, so get them while you still can. We got ours over at Fox Cigar who still have some in stock last time I checked and offer free shipping on everything, no minimum.

• Size: 5 5/8 x 48
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and Criollo 98
• Body: Full
• Strength: Full
• Price: $15
• Pairing: Chimay Premiere (Belgian Dubbel 7% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower starts out with a very meaty, rustic looking wrapper thats sports lots of different medium to dark browns as well as splotches of orange scattered throughout. The wrapper itself feels semi-dense and hard while the cigar as a whole is very tightly packed and heavy as a rock. The wrapper carries lots of natural tobacco leaf webbing as well as some very minor veins running their course through the cigar’s body up to the round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a very beautiful, complex, black gold and blue wrapper carrying the Flor de Valle crest.

The wrapper on the Wrapped Flor de Valle carries a very sweet aroma with notes of chocolate and spice while the foot of the cigar is much more earthy with musk and natural tobacco aromas along with a very sharp spice. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces bold musk, dirt, and natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower starts out with a massive cayenne pepper zing that really did a number on my lips and tongue. Once the pepper finally started letting up the cigar released bold notes of musk and pecan over caramel, earthiness, and a ton of spice. This start really gets off and running right from the start. The draw is absolutely brilliant as every little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke that really hang out for a while before slowly dissipating while the cigar itself releases an average amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is pretty wavy but razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower and man, this cigar is just pumping out flavor. The pecan is still leading the charge along with musk and caramel over notes of earthiness, espresso, spice, and a nice floral flavor that seems to pop up every now and again. The retrohale is very sharp with tons of pepper and spice and I can’t stomach doing it very often. The burn line is still a bit wavy but it hasn’t needed any additional attention from my torch yet as I close out the second third with a decent little nicotine kick already.

Finish:

Deep into the final third of the Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower and the flavors have began to balance out. There is a great, bold cedar that has entered the arena paired with the pecan make for a great leading profile backed by caramel, spice, espresso and musk with a strong reemergence to the cayenne pepper I picked up at the start of the experience. It took me two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and wow did it leave me with a very heavy nicotine kick. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat and despite the wavy burn line I never once had to break out my torch to touchup or relight the cigar.

Overview:

I have always enjoyed the cigars that Warped has offered and over the past year or so I have really started to fall in love with the company and the Skyflower is a perfect example of why. Warped, especially when teamed up with TABSA create some deeply complex cigars utilizing many rare tobaccos resulting in very unique experiences. The Skyflower is bold, complex, and tasty. While the price point is pretty expensive, it’s justified considering the use if Medio Tiempo tobacco and something I don’t mind paying for considering the result.

Pairing:

Over time Chimay has became and household name and in many cases tends to get overlooked when choosing what beer to drink. I love how great these beers hold up and am always pleased when I go back and revisit them. Premiere Ale is Chimay’s standard Belgian Dubbel release. The beer starts off with lots of malt, sweet brown sugar, spice, apple and caramel with a very light mouthfeel before finishing with even more brown sugar and apple with a nice malty finish. The Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower is a bold cigar with lots of overpowering flavors so I wanted to pair it with something that complimented the flavors while adding some sweetness to the experience and the Chimay accomplished just that.

The post Warped Flor de Valle Skyflower appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Guardian of the farm series was originally created as a collaboration between Warped cigars and Aganorsa Leaf, which was released two years ago. The Nightwatch was created solely by master blends Max Fernandez of Aganorsa Leaf as he wanted to create a more full-bodied version of the cigar utilizing a new Nicaraguan shade grown Maduro Corojo wrapper exclusively from Aganorsa Leaf. The rest of the blend features both binder and fillers from Nicaragua. The Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch is offered in four sizes, each named after one of the farm’s watch dogs: Rambo (4.5 x 48), Campeon (6 x 52), JJ (5.25 x 50 Box-Pressed), and the Orpheus (6 x 44). Each size comes packaged in boxes of 25 running between $8.25 and $10 as stick. I got mine over from our good friends at Cuenca cigars who have them in stock now.

• Size: 6 x 44
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade Grown Maduro Corojo
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $9.25
• Pairing: Goose Island 2018 Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout (14.9% ABV Imperial Stout)

Prelight:

The Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch starts out with a beautiful, rustic-looking orangish brown wrapper. The wrapper is laid over itself seamlessly while it showcases lots of very mild veins and webbing. The wrapper itself feels very thin and delicate while the cigar is packed nicely with only some very minor soft spots around the foot of the cigar. The cigar’s long, slender body leads up with a nice round, triple wrapped cap. The cigar features a folded-over foot where the wrapper leaf extends past the cigar’s foot and is carefully folded over itself. The cigar is polished off with a gorgeous, elegant white and gold band carrying the same Guardian of the Farm crest we found on the original version of the cigar along with a red secondary band with the Aganorsa Leaf crest and “Nightwatch” embossed in gold across the front.

The wrapper on the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch gives off lots of sweet honey, vanilla, and spice aromas while the foot of the cigar cigar is much the same with only a tad more pepper in the spice mix. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a ton of vanilla, honey, and sharp spice with some natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch starts out with sweet honey, pistachio, musk, and strong cedar flavors with just a nice little black pepper punch, soft spice and earthiness. I am really enjoying this flavor profile right off the bat. The draw is flawless as each tiny puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke while the cigar releases only a subtle amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is slightly wide with some very small waves leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of medium to dark gray ash which held on for almost an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch and the flavors are still pouring on. Loads of sweet cedar, honey, pistachio and vanilla coat layers of spice, cinnamon, and natural tobacco. The retrohale brings the cedar and spice to the forefront and I find myself retrohaling this cigar quite often. The burn line is now dead even and much sharper as I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.

Finish:

Here in the final third of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch and I just can’t get enough of this cigar. Complex flavors of cedar, vanilla, cinnamon and musk surrounded by pistachio spice, and earthiness resulting in just an incredible flavor profile. The draw has been perfect the whole experience however I do want to note that this cigar does require a bit of attention as a few times it has almost gone out on my as I wasn’t smoking fast enough. The burn line is still even, and thin and while I had to keep it lit, I never once had to reach for my torch, just a few hard draws would get it going again. It too me an hour and a half to take this down to the nub and I experience absolutely nor harshness, nor extended heat.

Overview:

I really enjoyed the Warped Guardian of the Farm, but I have to say that the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch is just completely on a whole new level. The flavor profile is complex and incredible and matched up with my personal preference beautifully. This is the perfect example of adding more body to a cigar without overpowering it with strength. The construction was flawless and the experience was perfect all while the price point is something I’d easily pay time and time again for this cigar. This is box-worthy for sure and makes for a perfect addition to a seasoned cigar smoker’s regular rotation. Really the only gripe I have about this cigar is that there isn’t many left in my humidor. That’s something I can easily fix though.

Pairing:

We all should be familiar with the Bourbon County Brand Stout lines by now. Brewed at Goose Island’s brewery in Chicago, Illinois this 14.9% imperial stout is aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla added and has been a beer lover’s favorite for years now. The beer leads with sticky toffee, sweet vanilla, cocoa, light coffee and brown sugar with a very sticky/heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more sweet vanilla, cocoa, coffee and a nice bourbon punch. The vanilla, cocoa and brown sugar paired just beautifully with the flavors in the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch while the spice from the cigar added a whole other dimension to the experience.

The post Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

La Relatos is one of Warped’s brand owner Kyle Gellis’s original blends that he created over 10 years ago. Translated to “The Stories”, La Relatos is created at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory in Nicaragua utilizing an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan Corojo 99′ and Criollo 98′ fillers and is offered in a single 6 x 38 format running $9.30 a stick and comes packaged in large cabinets of 50. I got mine over from our good friends at Fox Cigar bar in Arizona who have them in stock now, and offer free shipping on all orders, no minimum.

• Size: 6 x 38
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99′ and Criollo 98′
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $9.30
• Pairing: Oskar Blues Barrel Aged Ten Fidy (Imperial Stout 12.9% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped La Gelatos starts out with a very consistent, milky brown wrapper with only a bit of a lighter, orange shade near the cap of the cigar. The wrapper itself is coated with thick oils, small veins, and some slight natural webbing with no tooth as it’s laid seamlessly over itself. The cigar’s thin, long body feel very light in weight, as the wrapper feels very thin and delicate leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a beautifully elegant purple and silver band with the “La Relatos” crest embossed across the front.

The wrapper on the La Relatos gives off some sweet cedar and spice aromas while the foot of the cigar is more natural, earthy, and spicy. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar Double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some bold vanilla, spice, and musk flavors.

First Third:

Right off the bat the La Relatos greeted me with with a good amount of black pepper which only lasted the first few puffs leaving me with a good amount of cedar and vanilla over spice and musk. The draw is a bit tight but has slowly been opening up as I smoke through the first third. The building is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of bright white ash which held on for about a half an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the La Relatos and the flavors have began to balance out. The main flavors are still vanilla and cedar with notes of spice, musk, and an awesome creamed coffee that made it’s way into the mix. The retrohale really brings out the cedar and spice making everything nice and I find myself doing it quite often. The burnline is still pretty even and the draw has completely opened up and is now smoking like a champ. I close out the second third with no signs of nicotine yet.

Finish:

Into the final third of the La Relatos and not a whole lot has changed since the second, and that’s a good thing. The flavor profile is still lead by cedar and vanilla with a nice balanced mixture of spice, musk, coffee, and earthiness backing it up. It took me almost an hour and a half to take this cigar down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I close out the La Relatos with no harshness, nor extended heat (outside of the blistering sun) and only a very slight nicotine kick.

Overview:

I have been a huge fan of Warped from the first time I smoked their cigars. Add La Relatos to the quickly growing list of fantastic releases they have put out. The flavor profile is incredible, the smoking experience is brilliant, and the price point is affordable.While the profile isn’t too complex, it didn’t need to be. I can’t see myself buying 50 of these, but I would certainly split a box of these to keep a good amount on hand and add to my regular rotation. Huge props to Kyle for choosing this format too as it’s one of my favorite sizes.

** NOTE: I smoked quite a few of these cigars from various boxes. I experienced draw issues in a few (which all opened up after a bit of smoking time), and no issues with others. Just worth mentioning as I had draw issues on more than just one out of the handful I smoked.

Pairing:

Brewed at the famous Oskar Blues brewery in Colorado the Barrel Aged version of their incredible Ten Fidy stout comes in at a whopping 12.9% ABV. This imperial stout leads with heavy notes of vanilla, toffee, roasted malt, oak, and just a light barrel kick with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more vanilla, brown sugar, toffee, and barrel. This is dangerously easy to drink considering the ABV. The flavors in the beer matched up well with flavors in the Los Relatos while adding a bunch of sweetness to the experience pushing it to the next level.

The post Warped La Relatos appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Warped Lirio Rojo originally made it’s debut back in 2015 with only 40 cabinets of 50 being released but has since made it’s return in similar limited quantities each year since. Translated to “Red Lilly” The Lirio Rojo is created at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua using an all Aganorsa Nicaragua blend of tobaccos. The cigar is offered in only one single 5 1/2 x 44 size running $10.25 per stick. Big thanks goes out to my buddy Jason for hooking me up with a handful of these beauties. 

• Size: 5 1/2 x 44
• Wrapper: Aganorsa Nicaragua
• Binder: Aganorsa Nicaragua
• Filler: Aganorsa Nicaragua
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $10.25
• Pairing: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Midnight Orange Stout (Imperial Stout 15.2%)

Prelight:

The Warped Lirio Rojo starts out with a gorgeous, rustic looking medium brown wrapper with lots of areas of darker brown as well as orange spotting. The cigar’s texture carries a good amount of gritty tooth along with some mild veining and a good amount of natural webbing scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. This cigar has a good amount of weight to it as its packed pretty tightly. The cigar is firm I the hand and I found no soft spots what so ever. The wrapper on the Warped Lirio Rojo gives off a ton of sweet cedar and mixed natural tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar gives off more spice, pepper, and earthy content. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces carries a good amount of honey and cedar backed by spice and natural tobacco flavors. 

First Third:

The Warped Lirio Rojo starts out with a good amount of spice and subtle black pepper. The pepper fades very quickly in this one revealing more spice along with bold notes of citrus, honey, vanilla, and cedar backed by some light pine, earthiness, and soft cocoa. The draw is slightly tight but after about an inch in it really opens up kicking out great amounts of thick, gray smoke which dissipates very quickly while the cigar gives off almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is pretty even and thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white and light gray ash which held on for almost an inch before giving way. 

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Warped Lirio Rojo and the cedar has really taken charge of the flavor profile backed by bold spice, vanilla, and citrus along with soft notes of honey and earthiness. The retrohale really brings out the cedar and the spice and I find myself doing it quite often. I close out the second third with a tiny bit of nicotine kick while the cigar has been burning flawlessly up to this point. 

Finish:

Into the final third of the Warped Lirio Rojo and the flavors are just pouring on. The cedar and vanilla are front and centered back by notes of honey, cocoa, earthiness, spice and pine. It took me an hour and a half to take this cigar down to the nub an I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat. The cigar burned absolutely beautifully from start to finish and left with me with only a trace amount of nicotine. 

Overview:

I have been a huge fan of Warped cigars and it seems they continue to kick out top notch cigars one after another. The Warped Lirio Rojo carries a unique and complex profile without making the smoker dig too deep into the flavor to appreciate the experience. I love when companies put the onus on the experience by not overly marketing the product with crazy artwork, band design, or box design. Sure these are limited but they have done their best to make them available year after year at a price that I wouldn’t mind paying for considering how much I enjoyed it. 

Pairing:

Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Midnight Orange stout is a 15.2% ABV Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with oranges. If you are as familiar as I am with German holiday chocolate oranges you’d know exactly why this beer is so appealing to me. The beer leads with heavy, sticky toffee, vanilla, malt, chocolate, bourbon, and a nice citrus with notes of cedar and a very heavy mouthfeel finishing sweet with more toffee vanilla and cocoa, notes of light citrus and tons of bourbon. This is a damn good beer and I am glad to see that the orange isn’t over the top. The vanilla, citrus, and cedar is what really enticed me to pair this beer with the Warped Lirio Rojo and I am glad I did as the flavors married up beautifully.

The post Warped Lirio Rojo appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

• Futuro
• Maestro del Tiempo

Manufactured at Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory, Guardian of the Farm features wrapper, binder, and filler from Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan puro comes in three sizes: JJ (5 ¼ by 5), and Apollo Selleccion De Warped (6 by 44), and Campeon (6 by 52). The cigar will run you between $8.00 and $8.74. 

You can purchase the Guardian of the Farm Apollo Seleccion De Warped from our good friends at Cuenca Cigars in their 2017 Top 10 Cigars by Cigar Aficionado sampler.

THE FACTS

Price: $8.00
Vitola: Apollo Seleccion De Warped
Size: 6 by 44
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade-Grown Jalapa Corojo 99’
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo 99’
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo 98’ and Corojo 99’
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 20 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Guardian of the Farm Nicaraguan Corojo 99′ wrapper that is light to medium brown in color does little to hide the character of the leaf. Veins and bumps are everywhere and there is a decent amount of oils. The cigar is evenly filled from top to bottom.

A floral and brown sugar aroma is found on the wrapper. The draw is stiff, which I hope opens up after I burn past the tobacco covering the foot of the cigar. Flavors of cedar, clove, and cinnamon are introduced on the cold draw as a mild spice is felt in the mouth.  

FIRST THIRD

This Casa Fernandez made cigar opens up with an earthy and woodsy profile with a medium pepper spice and a contrasting sweetness. The pepper heat quickly intensifies to full. The eyeliner burn is a little jagged and the easy draw is allowing the smoke to pull through effortlessly.

MIDDLE THIRD

The sweetness is now identifiable as brown sugar and a black coffee flavor has joined in with a faint cocoa. The pepper spice has the edge on the rest of the flavors.  As I pass the smoke through my nose, the spice is accentuated, but not overwhelming. A small section of the wrapper is struggling to burn, but I am not willing to bust out the lighter just yet. 

FINAL THIRD

A quick touch-up is required as pull into the last third of Guardian of the Farm Apollo. The brown sugar is getting pushed back by the darker flavors of earth and coffee. This is the first time in the smoke that the spice has settled and is not center stage. The smoke production is somewhat lacking in the final third. 

WRAP-UP

The Guardian of the Farm Apollo Seleccion De Warped brought to the table some darker flavors, a good amount of spice, and a sweetness that rounded out the flavors. At times, the spice overwhelmed the other flavors but played well for the most part. The 6 by 44 cigar burned for an hour and twenty minutes and required only one touch-up during that time. For an $8.00 cigar, I don’t think you can go wrong picking up Guardian of the Farm from our friends over at Cuenca Cigars.

The post Warped Cigars – Guardian of the Farm Apollo Seleccion De Warped appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Warped cigars hit the cigar world by storm a few years with some fantastic, unique blends offering a new voice in the cigar industry. Ran by Kyle Gellis, the company released the Maestro del Tiempo blend last year and it’s been the talk of the town ever since. Created at the famous TABSA factory owned by Casa Fernandez in Nicaragua the Maestro del Tiempo features a Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo 99 Clara wrapper over a Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 binder holding in pure Nicaraguan fillers all of which are grown at the Casa Fernandez Aganorsa farms. The Maestro del Tiempo is offered in 3 sizes: 5205 (6 3/8 x 42), 5712 (4 1/2 x 52), 6102R (5 1/4 x 48). All of which are full production outside of the 6102R  which also features a slightly different blend. The 5205 and 5712 come packaged in boxes of 25 running between $8.99 and $9.65 a stick. I purchased mine over from out good friends at Ford on Fifth.

Size: 6 3/8 x 42
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo 99 Clara
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 99
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $8.99
Pairing: Alesmith Grand Cru (Belgian style strong ale 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Maestro del Tiempo starts out with a really rustic, beaten looking wrapper. It’s not beaten in terms of mishandling, the natural tobacco chosen for the wrapper leaf has a very unique texture. It’s very soft and sleek in some areas, very toothy in others while it carries a very bumpy mixture of small veins and natural webbing scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The color is a light brown, which is pretty consistent outside of the webbing areas. The wrapper feels very thin and delicate while the cigar as a whole is firm with no soft spots throughout the cigar’s slender body leading up to the round, triple cap. The cigar is polished off with a very small, elegant purple and gold band with the words “Maestro del Tiempo” printed in white ink across the front.

The wrapper on the Maestro del Tiempo gives off a very bold mixture of cedar, honey, and cashew while the foot of the cigar is more subtle with some great spice and pepper notes over natural tobacco. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar double bladed cutter. The cold draw gives off a good mixture of strong honey, brown sugar, spice, and cedar.

First Third:

The Warped Maestro del Tiempo starts out with an unexpected bold black pepper bang which quickly faded allowing the cigar to release some very sweet honey, cedar, spice, and citrus flavors. It’s a very interesting flavor profile. The draw is spectacular as each small puff kicks out a great deal of white smoke while the cigar releases a mild amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a very light trail of white and light gray ash which actually fell off into my shoe about a quarter of in inch in. So beware, the cigar will ash when you least expect it to.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Maestro del Tiempo and the flavors have held up leading sweet honey, cedar, spice, citrus and a really nice floral undertone. The cigar has started to build up a bit of sap on the cap so I clipped a bit off and will need to slow down my smoking pace to ensure that it doesn’t build up again. The retrohale is beautiful, coating my nasal passage with a ton of sweetness, honey, and cedar. I close out the second third with absolutely nothing in terms of nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Maestro del Tiempo and the cigar has really started to pick I’m steam in the strength department reaching in the the medium/full arena. The flavors still lead with cedar, spice, sweetness and honey backed by floral and a nice resurrection of the pepper we saw at the beginning, only its much more mild this time around. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I never once had to reach for my lighter to touch up, or relight the cigar. Despite the sap I encountered mid-way through, I never found this cigar to be much of a nuisance. Simply slowing down my pace remedied the sap situation and I encountered no harshness nor extended head down into the final inch. I close out the cigar with only a very mild nicotine kick.

Overview:

I’ve been a fan of Warped cigars. Although I haven’t had a lot of the cigars from their portfolio, every one I’ve had has been lights out, and the Maestro del Tiempo is no exception. First, let it be known that I am a huge fan of the company sticking to more traditional Cuban formats. I really love smaller ring gauged cigars so this works right into my preference. The flavors an nuances in the Maestro del Tiempo also carried much of what I personally look for in a cigar. Bold flavors, good amount of sweetness, and great complexity. The construction was top notch which made for a flawless experience. This is a cigar I could see myself going back to quite often. Considering the decent price point and wide availability I think this cigar could easily find it’s way in my everyday rotation.

Pairing:

Coming out of San Diego, California is Alesmiths, Grand Cru. This particular bottle is from 2015. The Grand Cru is a Belgian-style brown ale that comes in at a whopping 10% ABV. The Grand Cru starts with a very robust mixture of Carmel and fruit over some light hops, sweetness, citrus, clove, and a bit of oak with a very light mouthfeel before finishing very crisp with plum, raisin, spice, clove, and a splash over oak. This was a perfect mixture not only for the Warped Maestro Del Tiempo but also for the fantastic summer weather.

The post Warped Cigars Maestro del Tiempo appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The Futuro is a cigar created by Warped Cigars in collaboration with Casa Fernandez with one goal in mind: to create a cigar unlike anything either of the two manufacturers have ever created in the past.  Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars and Max Fernandez of Casa Fernandez have been working together at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A (TABSA) for a while now, but this is the first blend that they jointly blended together. The blend utilizes 100% Aganorsa leaf from the Casa Fernandez Aganorsa farms. The tobacco used in the blend comes straight from the TABSA vault which contains their most prized material. The blend features a Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper,  Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 Binder and Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’99 fillers. The Warped Futuro comes in only two sizes which fit the creators’ own personal preference: the 109 (6 x 52) and the Suprema (5.6 x 46) which range run $9.25 and $8.75 respectively and both sizes come packaged in boxes of 20. This particular cigar was a gift from a good friend Jason while he was over last week celebrating some time with Jeremy while he was in town.

Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo ’98
Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 / Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $9.25
Pairing: Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Narwhal 2015 (Imperial Stout 12.9% ABV)

Prelight:

The Warped Cigar Futuro starts out with a gorgeous, insanely consistent, medium brown wrapper. The color is as close to exact throughout the entire cigar as you can get. The texture of the wrapper is some slight tooth and a little roughness, lots of oil, with an overall silky feeling to the touch. The wrapper leaf is laid seamlessly and there are only some very minor veins running thought the cigar’s body which leads up to a nubby almost half-belicoso style cap. The Futuro feels real dense, and tightly packed with tobacco while the wrapper is decently dense with only a bit of softness around the foot of the cigar. The cigar is then polished off with a gorgeous, modern-old-timey style gold, royal blue, and red band which carries the “Futuro 2015” crest on the front, with the creators’ “KG” and “MF” initials on each side.

The wrapper gives off almost no aroma outside of a slight tobacco while the foot carries a lot of sweetness, spice, and earthiness. The cap cut very clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some great sweet cedar, oak, spice, and gingerbread style flavors.

First Third:

Lighting the Futuro was cake using my Dupont single flame butane torch. The Futuro starts out with only some very light, extremely mild pepper which faded after the first puff or two. The main flavor profile leads with a great sweet cedar, cinnamon, gingerbread, soft tobacco, with a great oaky aftertaste. I absolutely love the flavor profile thats developing here. Each tiny puff kicks out a massive cloud of thick white smoke while the Futuro gives off a decent amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a tightly compacted trail of white and medium gray ash which held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

As I smoke into the second third of the Futuro the pepper that disappeared in the first third has started to work it’s way, subtly, back into the flavor profile. The profile still leads with really sweet cedar, cinnamon and spice, tobacco, and just a pinch of cocoa. The retrohale really showcases the cedar as well as the spice. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin. I close out the second third with absolutely nothing in the nicotine department.

Finish:

So far the only complain I have about the Futuro is the amount of sap build up it’s been producing. A bit of clip, and slowing down my smoking speed has cleared that right up. The flavor profile is much the same, and I am totally ok with that. The Futuro leads with strong, sweet, cedar backed by cocoa, spice, cinnamon, and some really nice brown sugar. It took me about 2 hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experience absolutely no harshness, or heat buildup, however I do recommend taking your time with it as the sap does tend to seep in when you rush through it. The burn line was solid all the way through and I never once had to reach for my torch to relight or touch the cigar up. I close out the cigar feeling almost zilch in terms of nicotine.

Overview:

This was my introduction to Warped cigars and if the Futuro is any indication as to how solid their blends are, it won’t be my last. The cigar’s flavor profile is incredible, the smoking experience was near perfect outside of the sap which was probably my fault to begin with, and the price point is more than reasonable. This is a box worthy cigar for sure and really can’t wait to try out some of their other offerings.

Pairing:

Sierra Nevada’s Narwhal is a beer that finds it’s way into my rotation every year. This year, I was able to score a few bottles of their Barrel-Aged variant. Brewed at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in California, this Imperial Stout rocks a modest 12.9% ABV. The Narwhal leads with great milk chocolate, malt, oak, and sweetness with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing very sweet with chocolate, espresso, oak, and more malt with a great amount of bourbon. This was a great pairing. This cigar has sweet bourbon pairing written all over it, but since I’m not a bourbon guy a barrel aged beer is my closest bet.

The post Warped Cigars – Casa Fernandez Futuro appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.