Welcome to another Member sponsored Geek Critique generously sponsored by our member ninfiction (Brian). The cigar provided for this round is the Warped Upper Realm.
The Upper Realm is an exciting release from the mind of Kyle Gellis, limited to just 250 boxes of 200 cigars. Aganorsa Leaf was tapped to produce these Nicaraguan puros that feature a Corojo 99 wrapper from Jalapa, a binder from Esteli, and filler tobaccos from Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. "The blend is deliberately transitional, and clearly showcases each individual region," said Kyle Gellis. "This is the first time we are using so much Estelí and Criollo material, and it celebrates the essential raw power of Nicaragua and the Estelí region, and it delivers a powerful, primal taste."
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This cigar was enjoyed with Water
Pre-Light: 10 Points of 10 Possible
The cigar had a slight reddish tint to it. The wrapper leaf edges looked to be black, almost and it almost gave the cigar barber pole look with a thin black line on the edge of the leaf. The cigar had a slight oily finish to it. It felt light for the size of the cigar. It didn't have any soft spots in it though. The aroma of the cigar was leathery, with a hint of bread toast. The pre-light draw was not tight at all, and not overly loose, it was just right. The flavors of the pre-light draw were that of tobacco and black tea. It had me wanting to smoke it!
Lighting and Burn: 8 Points of 15 Possible
The light was done by torch, and I had to re-light the cigar once after it went out right at the beginning of the last third. I had two other times I had to touch of the cigar from wonky burn patterns as it would run up one side a half an inch then go out on the other side of the cigar. The ash was a grey and black color that didn't hold on long at any point of the cigar. Smoke volume was good at first, then it started dwindling.
Construction: 25 Points of 30 Possible
The construction of the cigar I thought was good at the beginning of the cigar, but after about the first third, I started having burn issues and the draw of the cigar got a lot looser. Not sure if the cigar was not packed well, or what, as there were not really any soft spots in the cigar. The wrapper seemed to burn at a different rate than the filler leaves of the cigar, giving a weird burn pattern to the cigar.
Flavor and Aroma: 40 Points of 45 Possible
Overall I would say that this cigar is a med-full cigar. The strength of the cigar was med-full, and the flavor was definitely full. The complexity of the cigar flavor was definitely there, though it seemed young still though.
The first third of the cigar, you definitely got some white pepper spice, along with leather, charred oak, and a hint of leather.
The second third, the spice started to mellow out and there was flavors of oak, smoky, leathery, and some hints of tea, and almost something like charred vegetables, like when you cook squash on the grill.
The third third was a lot like the second, but towards the end, you picked up another bit of spice, as well as some earthy notes and some walnutty toasted bread flavors to go along with the smoky oak and tea flavors.
Overall there was nothing off putting about the flavors, no bitterness, sharp burns, or anything like that.
Summary
Overall, the cigar was one with some nice complex flavors in it. I enjoyed that part of the cigar, but I just had to work at it to smoke it with the burn and draw issues. I think the cigar is a little young still being 8-9 months old, and I would really like to smoke another one at about 3-4 years old. I think the flavors will really come alive by that time, and hopefully if any of the burn issues were humidity related, they will work themselves out by then. Overall not a bad cigar though, worth a try for sure!
Thanks for giving me this opportunity to try this one Brian!
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(1 Review(s))