Last year marked the first Warped Cigars release out of the Dominican Republic - the Chinchalle. The end of 2021 saw the second release from the same factory, Tabacalera La Isla, with the Companion de Warped. This release is also the second time that Warped has used a Mexican San Andres wrapper and it is available in a single vitola. From what I understand, the majority of the filler blend is Dominican tobacco. Like the Chinchalle, I am intrigued by these Dominican ventures from Kyle Gellis. I think this is an interesting expansion of a Nicaraguan dominant portfolio.
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Isla
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Vitola: 4 ½ x 48 Rothschild
Price: $12.00 MSRP
Release Date: December 2021
Company Website: www.warpedcigars.com
Expectations
I look for bolder flavors of earth, pepper, raisins or plums, pepper, wood and maybe some minerality in this profile. My expectation of raisins or plums come from the combination of the San Andres wrapper and Dominican-heavy filler blend. The minerality comes from the wrapper. It will likely be medium-full in body and the strength shouldn’t go beyond mediumish, I would think, based on typical Warped stuff.
Prelight Characteristics
This dark chocolate wrapper has some splotches and is a little lumpy, but seems to be rolled evenly and packed firmly. I really like the design and color scheme of this band. I also love the size. The cigar smells like earth and cedar. The cold draw is chocolate covered raisins and a little cedar.
First Third
First light brings full bodied smoke with medium-full flavors of gritty earth and some dark chocolate sweetness. There’s some pepper, wood, and dark fruits that build into the finish. Quickly there is a definite savory meatiness that takes over. The retrohale echoes the meatiness but there’s a date flavor and sweetness with it. Nearing the end of the first third there’s a toasty char joining the meatiness - like burnt ends. I need to perform a slight touch up at the end of the first third but besides that it has performed well.
Second Third
The very start of this third has a burnt caramel and bread crust note that is present up front in the retrohale that is really nice, before giving way to the meatiness and dates. Approaching halfway the meatiness has faded and wood has become more prominent. Nearing the end of the second third there’s a bit of drying baking spice present. The performance has been great in this third. The flavor profile was, overall, pretty consistent.
Final Third
About a half inch into the final third there’s no changes to really report on. The performance has been great since the slight touch up in the first third. Nearing the band some pepper is coming in and the gritty earth from first light is back. It started to want to tunnel and go out, so I had to touch it up. Coming to an end it was primarily earthy and peppery with some dark fruit sweetness. The cigar performed great from the touch up to the end.
Overall Experience
Overall I think this cigar was “okay” for me personally. There were some small performance quirks, but they really weren’t an issue. The savory, meaty components in the first half of the profile are just something I have to really be in the mood for in order them to hit my palate well. I think this cigar was definitely an interesting addition to the Warped portfolio, however. The standout note for me was the burnt caramel and bread crust in the retrohale in the second third. I wish that would have been more prominent or appeared in a large portion of the cigar. That being said, I think this cigar is worth trying for people that like Warped’s cigars AND for people that are not big fans fo Warped’s cigar for the same reason - it offers a different experience than other cigars they offer.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or visit my website www.guitarsandcigarsfarm.com.