Warped Nicotina – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Warped Nicotina first hit shelves in January of this year, making it the first new Warped cigar of 2022. The name comes from a Cuban cigar brand dating back to 1880 and the blend is full-bodied to match.

The blend is a Nicaraguan puro that uses all Aganorsa Leaf tobacco. The blend uses a corojo 99 wrapper, criollo 98 binder, and corojo and criollo filler. It comes in just one size to start, a 5 1/2 x 52 box pressed belicoso. Each cigar has an MSRP recommended at $11.00 and comes in boxes of 25. The cigar is rolled at Aganorsa’s Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Belicoso
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo 98
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo and Nicaraguan Criollo
Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA)
Blender: Kyle Gellis
Number of reviewers: 4 – Mickey T. (irratebass) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) John A. (Bostoneo) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Price: $11.00
Age: 2 Months
Release Date: January 2022
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff

Initial Impressions – Warped Nicotina

Appearance: 91

“Gorgeous looking belicoso. This cigar has a sheen to it, but not really oily…..more like a slickness. I am not seeing any veins, but there are plenty of visible seams all over.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Aroma: 91

“Aromas coming from the foot are damp earth, barnyard, and hay, with just a slight hint of campfire. Pre-light draw has a little bit of corn whiskey zing, with some red pepper on the finish that actually stings the tongue a little bit in the pre-light. That is a surprise for sure! Can’t wait to see what this cigar has in store for me!” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“After the whiskey and pepper notes in the pre-light ritual, I was expecting this cigar to start off like a pepper bomb. While the cigar is spicy at the start, it was not a pepper spice. Hints of sourdough bread, cedar, damp earth, and campfire are there. The spice is coming from the corn whiskey note detected on the prelight, that is actually what I am detecting on the finish, which is quite long and actually sits on the tongue. Retrohale has a mustiness to it, almost like the aroma you get from a damp basement, with a hint of damp cedar and white pepper on the finish. There is something else going on in the retrohale that is quite pleasant, I just haven’t been able to identify what it is at about the 1-inch mark. Strength is firmly medium, while the body is in the medium range, not quite getting to medium-full, but close. Burn and draw are both great early on allowing me to easily get a mouth full of this flavorful smoke.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“The cold draw has a distinct herbal tea note with no hints of the spice at the wrapper. The first puffs after lighting are light, with the black tea and spices in the front. On the finish, there is a deeper, more acrid flavor of earth that leaves my palate feeling a bit dirty. Through the nose, the smoke has a slight black pepper kick which seems to fit the finishing notes.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Second Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Moving into the second third, medium-light bodied notes of leather, vanilla custard, and hints of black pepper continue the flavor train. Smoking further into this third I am greeted with additional essences of fragrant damp wood and a slight licorice tang on the finish, truly interesting. With no additional changes, its time I move to the last third.” –John A. (Bostoneo)

“Right at the beginning of this second, I am picking up heavy black and white pepper mixed. There is also a whiskey type of flavor sneaking in… I am sipping on water btw. I just tasted some marshmallow that lingered on my palate.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Final Third

Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Pepper makes its appearance late in the smoking experience, along with a little bit of dry toast, and fresh ground coffee. The mustiness is now primarily on the retrohale, with just a hint of the white pepper and nutmeg remaining. There is not really much creaminess to the profile, nor has there been from the start, which, with the flavor notes that were present, is odd to me. The overall profile is on the drier side, making a sip or two of water necessary to keep my mouth from drying out. Getting towards the very end, the cigar gets very salty, which combined with the overall dryness, really makes a sip or two of water a necessity. Strength finishes out in the medium-strong range, with the body making its way back up to the upper end of the medium range.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“The final portion has ramped significantly in power as the tea flavors disappear completely and the earth has solidly returned and taken full control of the flavor profile. Along with the flavors deepening I am feeling a drastic increase in nicotine with comes as a bit of a shock considering the light beginnings of the smoke. On the finish, I can still pick up lingering sweet spice but the clove has left my sinus and the black pepper is back. What a change!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Overall Impressions – Warped Nicotina

Draw: 92

“Nice draw using my v-cut. I usually have issues with beli’s and torpedoes as there seems to be tar build-up, but not in this case. The draw was nice and open and gave me plenty of smoke.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Burn: 90

“In general the burn was acceptable on this but I did find myself making corrections throughout the smoke to keep things on track.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Construction: 90

“Very nice construction on this cigar. This cigar gave me about 1/4 of an inch with each tap. The cigar did get a little hot at times, but not enough to really bother me. There was plenty of smoke output as well.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 91

“Overall this was a good cigar. The flavors of cream, marshmallow, pepper, and bits of spices kept me on my toes. This would be a cigar that you could enjoy at any time of the day. I would like to smoke this one again.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“This is one of those cigars that I feel like I have smoked before and I spent the majority of my smoking time trying to remember what the heck it is. Very mild-mannered and easy to smoke, but you have to have a beverage on hand to keep your palate from getting too dry. That being said, you have to be careful what you pair, as this cigar is very easy to overrun. I would enjoy flavored mineral water, seltzer, lager beer, or a nice mellow scotch. Really curious as to what this is and will probably go “DUH” when I find out. The shape is unique, so it really reduces the possibilities as to what it is LOL.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“Overall, this was a fantastic cigar, especially the first two-thirds that were right up my alley with the medium-bodied notes of vanilla custard, a bit of black pepper, and various leather and wood notes. This sample smoked like a champ in all aspects of construction, burn and draw, letting me know this was expertly built. Towards the end, however, it kind of lost me with a less enjoyable profile of damp earth and mineral notes, which typically I am not a fan of. Give it a go if these flavors tickle your fancy!” –John A. (Bostoneo)

“This was a tale of transitions as the cigar changed so much from segment to segment. I love the fact that it never was boring and eased me into the final portion which was large and in charge in regard to flavor and nicotine power. I absolutely did not want this cigar to end and only put it down when I couldn’t hold it due to heat. Absolutely recommended!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 84

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Warped Nicotina – Blind Cigar Review