Since 2013, Espinosa Cigars has produced an annually released line called 601 La Bomba Warhead. The formula is pretty much the same every year…Nicaraguan filler and binder, along with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, usually in a different size than the previous year. This year, they added the Independence Day version which features a whole new blend with an Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper (Warhead 11 is slated to come out later).
The band on this one is very similar to the original line, although with plenty of red, white, and blue added…it’s still a bomb with a cartoon face when you peel it off and lay it flat. The wrapper leaf was a smooth dark chocolate color, with a good deal of oiliness under my fingertips, and a deeply earthy aroma. The foot had more of a mix of cocoa powder, earth, and mocha notes. The cold draw was a very nice semi-sweet chocolate, espresso bean, earth, and red pepper mix.
My initial thoughts after lighting were that this cigar wasn’t nearly as strong as I thought it would be…but it was rich and complex and delicious! I got some dry cocoa flavor, along with pepper and baking spice notes, along with an underlying bread note that I usually only get on Dominican leaf. It came on as medium-plus in body with a mild sweetness…not as much as the Broadleaf would bring, but more than I had expected from an Ecuadorian Maduro. But that lack of sweetness and overwhelming pepper did allow the other flavors to come more into the fore and blend better. Very good addition to the annual Warhead lineup!
