Welcome back, everyone, to another 60 Second Cigar Review. If this is your first time joining us, in this series Truett and I challenge ourselves by reviewing a new cigar each episode in under 60 seconds. For this installment, we've taken on Warped's highly anticipated Upper Realm cigar, which just shipped to retailers at the end of November.

The Upper Realm is a single 5" x 48, sort of Robusto size. And it's made exclusively using Aganorsa Leaf tobacco from Nicaragua, particularly from Estelí: The wrapper is Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo '99; the filler blend is 50% Criollo '98 from Estelí, 40% Corojo '99 from Jalapa, and 10% Corojo '99 from Condega; and then the binder is an Estelí Corojo 2012. So with over 50% of this cigars components coming from Estelí, it really showcases the flavor profile of one of Nicaragua's most prestigious growing regions.

3... 2... 1... Go!

[Truett Smith]: I don't really remember what the cold draw was like, but right off the bat, in the smoke, you're met with some really earthy flavors.

[Shane Ireland]: I was gonna say vegetal.

[TS]: Yeah.

[SI]: It's very vegetal. Like honestly, I'm getting like notes that remind me of roasted brussels sprouts, or maybe asparagus. It really does have a cooked vegetable sort of character: It's really rich, and there's a little bit of caramelization. I think that, due to the high percentage of Estelí tobacco compared to maybe something like Jalapa, it's not terribly spicy. There's a lot more sweetness than I typically get from a Nicaraguan puro that's this fresh.

[TS]: Yeah, definitely, there is a little bit of spice, but it's not a spice bomb by any means. And there is this underlying, creamy sort of sweetness. It's not a high sweetness, but more a darker, deeper sweetness.

[SI]: Molasses maybe, yeah.

[TS]: Yeah, yeah. That's a good one. And I kind of get the vegetal quality you're talking about, but it's presenting to my palate more in like floral notes.

[SI]: Sure, sure.

[TS]: Yeah, some vegetal, floral flavors underneath this earthy, woodsy kind of a foreground. But it's been smoking really well and it's deepened after I've gotten—

Time's Up!

[TS]: So there you have it: our 60 Second Cigar Review of Warped's Upper Realm, recently released in 2022. It's available on-site now at Smokingpipes. Man, we didn't really get to talk as much as we wanted to on the profile,

[SI]: Yeah, we need to get a lot faster.

[TS]: I know, yeah, but it's super complex.

[SI]: Super complex. I will cheat a little bit and say that I do think this has long legs. I think it's gonna develop a lot more sweetness and it's gonna retain a lot of the depth and complexity as it ages. There's so much going on with this cigar. This is maybe the most difficult 60 Second Review we've done, because you cannot possibly cover everything that this cigar has to offer flavor-wise in 60 seconds.

[TS]: Yeah. There's a lot to consider, a lot to pay attention to when smoking this cigar.

[SI]: It's contemplative, yeah.

[TS]: Yeah. And they're good, everyday size, too. It's not super large or super small — just a good hour-long smoke or thereabouts.

[SI]: I typically prefer pipe tobaccos that allow me to challenge myself or offer a really immersive smoking experience. And I would say that Upper Realm is a cigar that falls into that camp for sure.

[TS]: Yeah. So like we said, Upper Realm is a Nicaraguan puro made with Aganorsa tobacco at Aganorsa Leaf's factory in Nicaragua. And what rating are you gonna give this one, Shane?

[SI]: In honor of our homey, Kyle, I'm gonna give this cigar an 11/10 beards.

[TS]: That's right. He's got a phenomenal beard. I'm gonna give it 13 wood staves. Like bourbon barrel, wood staves.

[SI]: That's good, that's good.

[TS]: 13 of them. So-

[SI]: High praise.

[TS]: That's it, high praise. So yeah, Warped's Upper Realm — available now on Smokingpipes. Go check it out as well as all of our other Warped available offerings. And we'll see you next time.

[SI]: See you, guys.