Warped Cigars – IPCPR 2016

Warped had a slightly different vibe this year. At last year’s show, they were on their own, unfortunately located in a quiet corner of the show floor; away from many of the biggest booths. But this year they teamed with Casa Fernandez and Sindicato; with a bustling spot, right near the juggernaut of a booth that is Padrón. Warped seems to like to play things cool, releasing a few size extensions and one new blend… but they too felt the heat from the constraining FDA cutoff date only weeks away (at the time).

Like many brands, Warped scrambled to get products out before the cutoff date—bringing more new products than we’ve seen from the brand at IPCPR to date! See details below on what’s to come from Warped Cigars throughout the year.

Corto X46

The Corto line debuted at last year’s IPCPR show, featuring a Nicaraguan puro blend, coming out of Warped’s usual Nicaraguan partner factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A.

SEE ALSO: Warped Corto X50 Cigar Review

The cigars utilize the fullest-body profile in Warped’s lineup and the theme is to introduce a new, short size each year (Corto translates to “short” in Spanish)—while retiring the vitola from the previous year. This year’s size is dubbed “X46”, featuring the same length as last year’s “X50”, but with a more slender, 46 ring gauge.

Guardian of the Farm

Warped’s lineup has always consisted of production from two factories: El Titan de Bronze (Miami) and TABSA (Nicaragua). Both factories are regarded among the world’s best boutique operations. And while Warped began with ETDB, the majority of their releases now come out of Nicaragua, focusing on the Fernandez family’s (TABSA owners) prized AGANORSA tobacco, from their family farms in Nicaragua (in fact, all Nicaraguan-rolled Warped cigars are 100% AGANORSA puros from TABSA).

Working closely with the Fernandez family, Warped collaborated on a project for 2015, titled Futuro. And for 2016, the two have introduced another collaboration. Guardian of the Farm showcases a look we haven’t seen since Warped’s first release (El Oso). replacing the bear logo from El Oso is a new bulldog branding in the same style. The concept revolves around the dogs used to guard the family’s tobacco farms in Nicaragua, with each size being named for a dog. The Apollo size is the only vitola that will be limited in production and features a sub-band with a more ornate look, as we’ve come to expect from recent Warped offerings.

As expected, the cigars make use of AGANORSA leaf.

Maestro del Tiempo

Maestro del Tiempo is a completely new blend from Warped Cigars. The name translates to “Master of Time”, describing the tedious process in which Warped meticulously crafted this Nicaraguan puro blend. Working with a wider range of farms from Casa Fernandez, Warped intended to showcase a more unique profile, while still focusing on the premium AGANORSA tobaccos seen throughout all of Warped’s Nicaraguan cigars.

As with the Guardian of the Farm project, there are two regular production sizes and one that is limited—Warped offered the 5¼ x 48 “6102R” size only to IPCPR-attending retailers in a larger, cabinet box. Also similar to Guardian of the Farm, this limited size uses the same “W” sub-band, which reads: “Selección de Warped”. This vitola is not only an altered size, but features the rare medio tiempo tobacco (something also seen in the limited Flor del Valle Sky Flower cigar), using a special, high-priming leaf that is found above ligero on a small percentage of plants.

SEE ALSO: Warped Maestro del Tiempo 5205 Cigar Review

Villa Sombra

Warped Cigars is (has been) primarily focused on reviving classic, Cubanesque, puro/habano blends. Up to this point, every cigar made out of Nicaragua has been a habano-seed, Nicaraguan puro. This all changes with Villa Sombra. Warped now extends its profile to include the increasingly popular style of Connecticut Shade-wrapped blends. Villa Sombra opts for an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan, AGANORSA leaf.

The cigars didn’t have bands ready at the show.

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