Cigar Review: 601 La Bomba Warhead 2014 by Espinosa Cigars

Vitola: Box-pressed Toro
Size: 5.5” x 56 ring gauge
Price $11.99
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

When something is a “limited edition” it’s somewhat comforting to know that “limited” is meant. Back when I collected comic books, it was clear by the time the 10th printing of The Killing Joke came out that “limited” didn’t mean much…and the value of the 1st printing continued to plummet as more and more copies came on the market (can you imagine what that 1st printing would have been worth if it were truly only ONE printing and never again?). Similarly when you speak of cigar “limited editions” where 100,000 sticks are made, the words start to lose their meaning. After all, if it will be on the shelf for 4 years, how limited can it be? By that time in their life cycle, most blends have passed their best sales numbers anyway.

In 2013, Espinosa Cigars came out with a Limited Edition of their 601 La Bomba brand: Warhead. Production was limited to 20,000 total sticks in 1 size, sold in 10 count boxes. I’ve seen a few left over, but they are getting more rare. This year, they announced “Warhead II” as their 2014 LE. Again…20,000 sticks in a single size…10 count boxes. They altered the size…a little shorter and a little thicker. They altered the packaging…silver box and gray camouflage background on the band. And apparently they altered the blend a bit…still all Nicaraguan fillers and binder, along with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, but…different Nicaraguan fillers probably. So it turns out the 2013 was a “one and done” release. And apparently it will continue to be that way as they plan on making some changes to the Warhead releases every year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2013 601 La Bomba Warhead…I remember it well as part of my “Year of the Broadleaf” smoking frenzy…I really got on a Broadleaf kick in 2013 and it still hasn’t stopped. I lit one of these up when it first showed up in at Burns…and liked enough to do a review. This is my second time smoking this year’s release.

Note from the “credit where credit is due” department: I used halfwheel’s story about this release for research.

Prelight

Some people will call Connecticut Broadleaf “ugly.” I guess so…until you discover how delicious it is…then the dark, rough, veiny leaf becomes quite beautiful. So it is with this one. It’s got some major vein-age. The leaf was oily and rough, dark with darker mottling. It even had a couple spots that looked like pinholes or water spots or some other kind of flaw. But that’s what you expect from these. The extended pigtail of the La Bomba lines was glued to the front side of the box press, and speaking of the press…the top corners were almost sharp, while the bottom corners were very rounded. As with last year, the band is fun, being a bomb shape with graffiti on it. The camo background just adds to the spirit of whimsy. Look closely and you’ll see the specific identifiers here: “Warhead II” on the front of the band…”Limited Edition 2014” in very small print on the left side.

Giving a big sniff to the wrapper leaf, I got mostly an aroma of earth and leather; the foot had a ripe, rich earthiness with a touch of sweetness and pepper. A quick cut and I got a very good draw that tasted of earth, raisins and red pepper.

Flavor

As I started to toast the foot of the cigar, the day went from perfectly still to slightly breezy, on its way to steadily windy…all in about 45 seconds. I wish I were kidding. Trying to light up a moisture-heavy leaf like Broadleaf, with a lighter that could stand being filled, in suddenly breezy conditions…it took a couple minutes, but I got it going. I soon got wet earth and slightly sweet dried fruit flavors, accompanied by a note of anise and a peppery finish and even more peppery retrohale.

As I got deep into the second third, I noted an increase in anise flavors as well as the pepper notes tailing off a bit. There was still ample earthiness and dried fruit flavor, as well as a semi-sweet cocoa taste.

During the last third I got an increase in sweetness, almost a citrus note. Heat increased again in the form of black pepper. And underneath it all was a solid earthiness that never let up.

Construction

The draw was perfect. The ash was solid. The burn line meandered a bit and needed a few touch-ups, but that’s pretty normal for this type of wrapper; there was no canoeing or other real problems.

Value

At about $12, the price is a little high, but you have to remember this is a limited edition, so if a Nicaraguan-based Broadleaf-wrapped blend is in your wheelhouse, it’s worth the price.

Conclusions

Once again, Espinosa Cigars has produced a gem in the 601 La Bomba Warhead (Warhead II, to be precise). While I like some of the other 601 La Bomba iterations, I love this Broadleaf version enough to buy stick after stick. I probably went through 5 or 6 of last year’s release and will end up doing the same for this year before it’s over. Like the rest of the cigars with “La Bomba” written on them, this is a full-bodied smoke that isn’t for beginners. If I were asked how to improve it, my only request would be for next year’s release to be a thinner ring gauge version…perhaps a Churchill or Corona Gorda.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10