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View Full Version : Warped La Colmena Reina Review



Laynard
07-23-2015, 08:09 PM
Cigar: Warped La Colmena Reina
Size: Belicoso, 6.0"x48
MSRP: $16.50
Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Deflorada
Origin: USA

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i281/Laynard/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/0D8C8AA4-E977-49BD-94D0-63AF3F0F6216.jpg (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Laynard/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/0D8C8AA4-E977-49BD-94D0-63AF3F0F6216.jpg.html)

Prelight: This cigar is an exclusive to Maxamar Ultimate Cigar and its online store, Small Batch Cigar (who is a great vender, and a friend of Cigar Bum). This cigar is so boutique, it doesn’t even come with a band. Which, to be honest, I am totally okay with. The cigar feels extremely well made with no visible seams, no soft spots, and a velvety smooth wrapper you just want to curl up next to in bed. The wrapper not only looks good, it smells heavenly: sweet and woody with floral and barnyard notes, and just a dash of chocolate. The closed foot is neatly sealed and the cap is uniform. This truly is how a cigar should look. After a clip, it’s hard to judge how the draw will be with the closed foot, but the taste lives up to expectations as I get chocolate, nuts, earth and wood in the cold draw. Enough chit-chat, I need to light this up before drool shorts out my laptop.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i281/Laynard/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/99AA619A-7673-4E21-B192-58A2F69E8617.jpg (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Laynard/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/99AA619A-7673-4E21-B192-58A2F69E8617.jpg.html)

1/3: The cigar toasts and lights easily with the closed foot, and in the first few puffs, a light pepper taste reminds me of the Nicaraguan fillers used, but it is fairly mild, probably due to them being mixed with some Dominican tobacco as well. There is a pleasant hay flavor and some woodiness in the profile also. Interestingly, there is no finish to the cigar; after I blow out the smoke, the flavor stops. There is a delectable room note to the smoke though. It’s sweet and chocolaty. However, I don’t pick up any of that through my taste buds. I soon notice a dustiness to the flavors, as well as a slight citrus taste.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i281/Laynard/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/676B11B5-0CF3-48DB-ACA4-54960DB13A03.jpg (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Laynard/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/676B11B5-0CF3-48DB-ACA4-54960DB13A03.jpg.html)

2/3: Coming into the second third, the body of the cigar is on the light side of medium, but the finish is picking up a little, with a sweetness to it that is a little like vanilla mixed with leather. The mild pepper that was in the first third has faded and the hay and wood flavors increase, but the entirety of the profile is earthier, creating a lovely balance. At around the halfway mark, the cigar starts to become sour, and this grassy sourness increases as I reach the final third, backed by notes of leather.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i281/Laynard/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/8DCD84A0-A5E0-4AD9-B2F5-F0E2CCFA21DD.jpg (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Laynard/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-07/8DCD84A0-A5E0-4AD9-B2F5-F0E2CCFA21DD.jpg.html)

3/3: The sourness of the grass has faded, but grass is still the dominant flavor for much of the final third, followed by leather. This earthy leather hangs in there though, and outlasts the grass at the nub, becoming the finishing flavor to this cigar.

Overall: This cigar is constructed excellently, with a razor sharp burn line, perfect draw, and beautiful ash that lasts an inch and a half or more. The flavors were excellent at the beginning (albeit subdued), but took a turn in the second half towards something less desirable. I am curious as to how these mature in the next six months to a year, but fear that any longer than that may turn them flat. For the price, one may find this cigar a bit underwhelming. Personally, I loved the first half of the cigar for what it was: mild yet complex, perfect for a summer afternoon. However, the second half lost my interest.

Cardinal
07-23-2015, 08:12 PM
Thanks for the review as always. This is a brand I still haven't tried, but at the price that description doesn't exactly have me running to the store.

coop
07-23-2015, 09:02 PM
Pass for me

Merovius
07-24-2015, 06:48 AM
Thanks for another awesome review. Tried to hit you but it wouldnt let me.

Love a closed foot, great for that initial flavor blast. No mention of oil on the wrapper, wondering if you could comment on the dryness/moisture of this sample.

Tgs679
07-24-2015, 07:01 AM
Great review. I't too bad because the La Colmena Unico is IMHO the best warped offering and this is essentially the same cigar in a larger vitola minus the double binder.

StogieNinja
07-24-2015, 12:06 PM
Haven't smoked the Reina, but I do love the Unico. Actually, all of the Warped stuff has been pretty amazing.

Laynard
07-24-2015, 04:04 PM
Thanks for another awesome review. Tried to hit you but it wouldnt let me.

Love a closed foot, great for that initial flavor blast. No mention of oil on the wrapper, wondering if you could comment on the dryness/moisture of this sample.

The wrapper wasn't particularly oily. But, it was extremely soft feeling - I mentioned it being "velvety" - which leads me to the conclusion it wasn't dry either. It felt supple, I guess. It had been resting at 63% since I bought it a little while ago. (Not exactly sure...a month, maybe two?)

Zeede
07-24-2015, 05:41 PM
I've had my eye on this brand, too bad this one wasn't really that exemplary.

Thanks for the review, Layne!

Laynard
07-24-2015, 06:48 PM
I've had my eye on this brand, too bad this one wasn't really that exemplary.

Thanks for the review, Layne!
I mean, it wasn't on par with Gurkha or anything like that. Just not what I'd consider a $16.50 cigar. But, maybe I'm spoiled.

Zeede
07-24-2015, 06:59 PM
Yeah, if a cigar is over $15, it had better be amazing.

tnlawyer
07-24-2015, 08:30 PM
A lot of this guy's stuff is pricey.

Merovius
08-30-2015, 11:20 AM
Laynard Just smoked my first Amado 44 yesterday and its just crazy how spot on your review is. I got much of the same from my smaller rg, I dont wanna steal your thunder but Im just beside myself on the similarities in what was picked up.

Amado 44 - Closed foot, not much aroma just faint floral tobacco. Orange peel and light morel; sweet cedar cold draw. 1st - coffee, leather, nut, cardamom, orange peel, faint earth & white pepper. There's a lot going on but it all feels a bit dry on the palate. Performance & construction is excellent. 2nd - gets a bit woodier, there's a very strange herbal spice note that has been building from the start...like thyme. 55min Med 19/30

Ignore the score on that one, I honestly could not decide if I liked it or not and it lost points on final impression but more importantly-

cedar "woodiness"
dry "dustiness"
orange peel "slight citrus"
cardamom & leather "vanilla/leather"
white pepper "mild pepper"
thyme "grassy sourness"
faint earth/morel "earthier"

...you get the point. Affirmation I guess that my buds dont suck and Im not just pulling cigar like flavors out of my ass haha. Lots more annoying "Hey Layne what did you think of XXX" coming your way, #sorry/notsorry.