Back in March, Kyle Gellis announced a new link, Moon Garden. The cigar is Nicaraguan puro coming in one vitola, a 7 x 40 lancero. Like most other Warped cigars, it uses AGANORSA tobacco with a corojo ’99 wrapper, Nicaragua binder, and corojo 99 and criollo 98 in the filler. It also uses medio tiempo.
The blend is based on the Warped Flor del Valle line. The cigar costs $15 coming in boxes of 10. Only 650 boxes will be sold. The boxes use artwork inspired by Japanese watercolor pieces.
I was super excited when I heard that Warped was releasing a lancero rolled with medio tempo and once I got this cigar in my hot little hands I was not disappointed. The wrapper is a light walnut color with almost indistinguishable wrap lines. There are a couple larger veins but they are mostly smooth to the touch and do not break up the overall profile of the cigar.
The foot has chocolate, cedar, and black pepper. The pepper on the foot is a bit deceiving since it doesn’t appear to be a major player at first but every time I smell the foot it makes me sneeze. The predraw has a lot of pepper, a light cream, tea, and a dry nuttiness.
First Third
The initial draw has an oily black pepper that coats the entire mouth. The main notes in the profile is a bitter dark chocolate, toasted caramel, and a leather note that lingers. The draw has the perfect amount of resistance and the smoke has a great mouth feel and has a thick chewy consistency. The retrohale has a light white pepper note and is complemented perfectly with milk chocolate and toasty sweetness that I can’t quite place my finger on.
“The oily black pepper note from the first-third has transitioned into a lighter white pepper that continues to coat the tongue, but the milk chocolate and toasted caramel notes are really shinning now. The leather note from the previous third has matured into a dryer more nuanced flavor which sits on the palate between puffs. There is also a slightly sweet cinnamon note that appears intermittently but is not so consistent to call it a core flavor.
The retrohale has a lighter white pepper followed by a richer milk chocolate and toffee note. The smoke output and draw continue to be spot on, but the ash is a bit loose and falls off at seemingly random times. The cigar continues to impress and I am really looking forward to the final-third. ”
Final Third
The oily black pepper has begun to build in the final-third and mingles quite nicely with the milk chocolate notes. There is still a toasted caramel note and the sweet cinnamon has been fully realized in this third. The retrohale still has the white pepper, rich milk chocolate, and toffee from the previous thirds.
The draw was perfect from start to finish. There was just the right amount of resistance to produce a copious smoke output and really added to the overall enjoyment of the smoking experience. The burn was spot on never needing a touchup or relight. The burn itself was razor sharp and the construction on this cigar was perfect.
I really enjoyed this cigar from start to finish. It’s hard to describe just how well all of the elements of this cigar worked together to provide such an enjoyable experience but every bit of this cigar just worked for me. I am normally not a fan of really strong cigars but this one just did it for me. I picked up a five pack of these just based on the Warped name alone and really wish I had bought the whole box. If you can get your hands on one I would say go for it.
The draw was perfect from start to finish. There was just the right amount of resistance to produce a copious smoke output and really added to the overall enjoyment of the smoking experience. The burn was spot on never needing a touchup or relight. The burn itself was razor sharp and the construction on this cigar was perfect. I really enjoyed this cigar from start to finish. It's hard to describe just how well all of the elements of this cigar worked together to provide such an enjoyable experience but every bit of this cigar just worked for me. I am normally not a fan of really strong cigars but this one just did it for me. I picked up a five pack of these just based on the Warped name alone and really wish I had bought the whole box. If you can get your hands on one I would say go for it.
