Warped La Colmena Amado No. 44
In the small Miami factory of El Titan de Bronze, Warped Cigars found the home for its most Cuban minded work. La Colmena, Spanish for The Beehive, is the flagship line. It follows the Cuban custom roll tradition of one master roller per size, with only 100 cigars made each day using entubado bunching, a triple cap, pigtail, and covered foot. The Amado No. 44 is the 5.5 x 44 corona that launched the line, dressed in an Ecuadorian Deflorada wrapper over Ecuadorian binder and Dominican Nicaraguan filler. It remains a regular production staple of Warped’s catalog.
Stogie At A Glance
Review
First Third
The wrapper looks excellent, and the aroma is very sweet. On the light there is sweet pepper with intense nutty and coffee notes. A coffee sweetness lingers on the finish. It feels like Cuban coffee, specifically a café con leche: creaminess and coffee brought together by sweetness. The difference is a bit of pepper that stays on the palate and finish. The sweet coffee note stays consistent. There is light spice on the palate and retrohale, but the smoke is smooth overall. Some black coffee starts to contrast the sweeter coffee from earlier. Slight cedar comes in on the retrohale near the end of the third. As the first third closes, some of the initial sweetness returns on the finish, faint but enjoyable.
Second third
Creamy notes lead, with floral coming through as well. Light pepper and a sweet coffee note remain on the finish. Creamy white pepper becomes more noticeable. The finish also shows slight sweetness and earthy cedar. Very smooth. The retrohale brings slight cedar and floral notes, with a touch of white pepper still on the finish. The sweetness starts to take a clearer shape, not quite honey, but like honey added to black coffee with a little cream, plus some cinnamon. It turns into a full coffee experience. Near the end of the third the pepper picks up a bit, but it stays enjoyable.
Final third
Sweetness picks up again at first, with cedar and coffee on the finish and light white pepper. The main notes throughout remain coffee, sometimes sweet, sometimes black, with cedar at points and a slight white pepper finish. Then the pepper increases and more black coffee comes through as the sweetness dies down. Earthiness appears, with a good amount of black coffee on the finish. The finish starts with a good amount of white pepper, then fades quickly to a light white pepper. Coffee returns later, with cedar and white pepper on the finish. Near the nub, earthy pepper comes through with coffee and white pepper spice. There are not too many transformations in the final third, but it stays enjoyable.
Score
92/100