La Colmena is a Cuban-inspired cigar made by Warped Cigars at the famous El Titan de Bronze factory, rolled by true category 9 rollers, all from Cuba. The idea of a no. 9 roller is that they are the best of their class and are usually tasked with rolling complex shapes to meet perfection.
La Colmena translates to “The Beehive”, and for this blend, Warped Cigars owner Kyle Gellis and El Titan de Bronze owner Sandy Cobas cleverly incorporated a twisted cap to finish each cigar – resembling a bee’s stinger. While the La Colmena cigar is a regular production release, this Unico Especial vitola is a limited cigar made available only to attendees of the 2014 IPCPR trade show.
La Colmena Breakdown
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Deflorada
- Binder: Dual Ecuadorian
- Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican
- Factory: El Titan de Bronze
- Vitola: 5″ x 48 – belicoso with a twisted foot
- Production: Limited Edition (10,000 cigars)
- Price: $15
The first third begins immediately with a smooth, creamy flavor of peanuts. It has a very easy draw that allows the cigar to stay lit without having to draw within seconds. As the cigar warms up and opens from the twisted foot, the flavors become more prominent with notes of peanuts and caramel. The strength here is very light, almost too light – I feel as if I am walking in the park on a Sunday afternoon. A hint of saltiness begins to pick up with a touch of honey, entering the second half of the cigar. I can’t quite decipher all the flavors yet, but so far La Colmena has my attention.
As we continue to smoke the second half, I pick up a wonderful fruit note; I can’t quite place the type of fruit because it has a tinge of bitterness, but with a soft sweetness. As I try to narrow down the fruit, I am reminded of growing up in Puerto Rico and the Star fruit that we had in our backyard. A fruit known for not being too sweet, but having a sour undertone. I didn’t find this cigar overly sweet or with a flavor profile of most cigars, rather there was always a presence of sharp fruit notes.
The cigar during the second half is at a good medium pace, never wavering into a medium-full body. The cigar remains creamy, with star fruit qualities and a nice slow smoke output.
Would I smoke this cigar again?
Absolutely, it’s very unique on its own and I haven’t smoked a cigar with such interesting qualities in awhile. It’s very complex and encourages you to pay attention to the details – I like that in a cigar.
Short Link:
- Rolled by only one category 9 roller in the famous El Titan Del Bronze (i.e. fantastic construction)
- Very unique notes of flavors
- Fruit notes were occasionally too sharp and could come across sour or bitter
