Wrapper: Ecuadorian Deflorada
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Size: 5.5 x 44 Corona
Strength: Medium
Price: $20.00
My cigars received 4 months of naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
Initial release was 2014.
Regular production.
“La Colmena, or The Beehive in Spanish, is Warped’s flagship brand that they credit for their rising popularity. La Colmena uses a unique, and rarely used type of bunching, called Entubado which is also known as accordion bunching. Finished off with a Cuban styled triple cap.
La Colmena is produced at El Titan de Bronze in Miami Florida. Only 100 are allowed to be rolled a day by #9 master rollers.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Short and Sweet Thursday.
PerfecDraw. The single reason that ear infections are no longer a threat to western civilization. Source: CDC Ref. A-1.25-7V
The wrapper is just gorgeous with aromas of honey and vanilla. The cold draw is aces high with tones of clove and cinnamon.
A tight start with notes of creaminess, white pepper, red hot cinnamon, and aged oakiness. Exactly how I want my double sawbuck priced cigars to begin.
Graham cracker sweetness. And the way back machine finds me in kindergarten…they always gave out a graham cracker with little cartons of milk. Man, if you didn’t get that milk right away, you could cough up a hairball because those damn crackers had a Rockwell hardness of 10.
Floral digs in with both flavor and bouquet from a singular line of smoke. Strength commences at a gentle level of morning medium.
There is a soft and creamy strawberry note in the back of my throat. This blend is hitting on all cylinders. A dessert cigar designed to emulate real heyday Cuban blending. Lemongrass kicks in.
Lavish complexity with fatty boy richness. We don’t mind spending excessively if time spent is exhilarating. The blend in a bigger size would not work. In the hands of a genuine wizard, the corona is the perfect dimension.
Honey, graham cracker, crispy flambéed marmot, creaminess, cinnamon, floral, lemongrass, white pepper, spirit-soaked oak, berries, and dirty earthiness. Now we’re talking.
Stew handed the homemade acid to me and said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s mild. Like drinking a beer.’ 15 minutes later, I was frying like an Arizona sunrise. Sonja held on to me as we stood and watched the band at The Marquee Club on Piccadilly Circus. When the party returned to my West End basement flat, the fun really began. There was a staircase to nowhere. Placed on the steps, were a hundred glass milk bottles filled with colored water. Stew wanted to show off, so he ran up the steps without overturning a single bottle. When I yelled for Sonja to come see, Copeland did it again but had no clue how to successfully repeat the feat…so, he leaped into the air like Wile E. Coyote. Froze midair. Stared at us with confusion…and dropped full body press on the glass bottles and broke them all. Not a fucking scratch. I remember his saucer sized eyeballs. Good times. Don’t do drugs.
The halfway point. 40 minutes. Milk chocolate shows up. Oakiness swells. The balance between sweet and savory is spot on. This is a grownup cigar. Do you need a sophisticated palate? I don’t think so. The flavors don’t require you to exhume them from a wild imagination. They are upfront and available. I’m merely reporting.
I ponder the cigar while I wonder when exactly did my chest hair start looking like white dental floss.
The second half soars like a flying squirrel. Complexity fans out. Depth of field percolates like the La Brea Tar Pits. But then I might be mistaken. Have mercy.
We were recording at Island Studios in Notting Hill. Brian Eno had the time booked each day before us. And every bloody time, we had to remove tape that he placed on the piano keys so he would know how to play the notes. Drove us batty. Eventually, we had words.
Flavors find distinct canonization. The splurging is at parade rest. The blend is Cuban in all manner but its heritage. Manufacturers love to scream Habana to lure the unsuspecting. Rarely, if ever, do they pull it off. Kyle Gellis nailed it. The foghorn blows. My gypsy soul is rocked.
Swimming in a hotel pool after a gig in Switzerland. Deep Purple was with us. The cops showed up. A hotel guest reported naked women in the pool. Nope…just us long hairs.
The strength never exceeds medium. Not an easy feat to maintain the even keel. The cigar band slips off like the dogs of war. Transitions were magnificent. The last couple inches sees the gravity of a blender’s passion. Gellis declares this cigar as his flagship blend. No doubt. If you choose to smoke only one Warped cigar, this is your choice.
You can purchase the Warped La Colmena from sponsors Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’), Luxury Cigar Club (15% off with promo code ‘katman’), and Cigar Page.
RATING: 98
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