Smoked: Warped Serie Gran Reserva 1988

I’ve been told I have a warped sense of humor, so it’s only appropriate that I tried a Warped cigar. With many thanks to @shortstackz , I enjoyed my first cigar by Kyle Gellis, a Serie Gran Reserva 1988. It’s a 5.25 x 50 robusto with a Nicaraguan Shade Grown Jalapa Corojo ’99 wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and filler comprised of Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 & Criollo ’98. Cigar Aficionado awarded it #3 Cigar of the Year in 2019, and rated it a 95.

From the Warped website, Kyle states that it offers “a medium bodied experience with notes of cinnamon, molasses, barnyard, stone fruit, and coffee.” I did not get any such flavors, not even a hint. What I tasted is what I can best describe as only a “zesty wood” flavor that maintained throughout the entire cigar. There was no depth, transitions, nor complexity that I could detect. That stated, it was not unpleasant by any means. I enjoyed the cigar. I just found it to be rather, dare I say, boring. Construction was excellent, with a perfect draw and burn. I am sincerely grateful for shortstackz’s generosity. Thank you, brother. Cheers!