Don Reynaldo 70th

In 2014, Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars did what many other cigar company owners have done, he released a cigar for his father, the Don Reynaldo.

Last year, Ronald Gellis—Kyle’s father—celebrated his 70th birthday and to mark the occasion, Warped released a new size of the Don Reynaldo blend. Like the original Don Reynaldo Coronas de Luxe, the Don Reynaldo 70th uses a Dominican corojo wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. While the first release—which got a sophomore shipment in 2019—was a 5 1/2 x 42 corona, the newest vitola is a 6 1/2 x 48 belicoso.

• Cigar Reviewed: Don Reynaldo 70th
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Belicoso
• MSRP: $30 (Box of 10, $300)
• Release Date: December 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

As is the case with most cigars from El Titan de Bronze, the Don Reynaldo 70ths appear to be well-rolled and have a very cylindrical shape. The brunette-colored wrapper has some red hues that come through and lots of oils. Medium-size veins stand out more prominently than with most cigars, no doubt more obvious because of how well the seams are hidden. These cigars have been stored with cellophane since we purchased them in late December, and as such, there’s not much aroma coming from the wrapper. There’s some earthiness and touches of yellow mustard, but I’m not sure how much of that is specifically from the wrapper given how mild it is. The foot has hickory over yellow mustard, a generic tobacco smell and some fruitiness; it’s closer to medium-plus. Cold draws are very Cuban with a very intertwined mixture of floral, oatmeal cookies, earthiness and touches of both brown mustard and mint. The latter two flavors tend to show up when I take more aggressive cold draws. Also of note, the third cigar has issues with the wrapper unraveling upon cutting, though the other two cigars are fine in this regard.

Similar to the cold draw, the Don Reynaldo 70th begins rather Cuban-like. There’s some semisweet floral flavors, fresh cedar, some apple, bread and nuttiness. While not the strongest flavor, the cedar sensation is much more vibrant than the rest of the medium-plus profile. This is a cigar of layers and at the top of the first third’s flavor profile is a mixture of oatmeal, potato chips and oak. Underneath that is some generic earthiness and spice tingles, further back in the profile is a mild semi-sweetness that helps to bind everything together. The finish has sweet oatmeal, sawdust, mild amounts of pepper and paprika, and an inconsistent amount of saltiness. A less aggressive puffing rate produces some creaminess, but the harder I puff the finish gets both stronger and a touch sour. Retrohales have floral flavors followed by popcorn and white rice flavors. At times, earthiness can overwhelm the other flavors, though there’s also a roux-like creaminess that brings everything together. The retrohale’s finish has a distinct buttered toast flavor over some saltiness, mild herbal flavors and, in the throat, white pepper. Flavor is medium-full to full, body is medium, and strength is medium. Construction is excellent on two cigars, but the third cigar—the one with the wrapper unraveling issues—has issues both staying lit and with evenness of the burn line, requiring a touch-up.

Again, the flavor profile has different levels of intensity. For the second third, roasted flavors and saltiness take the top spots, creating an almost nutty profile, though it’s not actually nuttiness. At the halfway mark, a robust earthiness adds itself to the mixture, creating a less sweet profile compared to the first part of the middle section. Secondary flavors include whole milk-like creaminess, black pepper and an emerging toastiness. The finish bucks the layered trend and instead becomes very intertwined with flavors of charred meats, leather, bright black pepper and earthiness. I’m fairly confident there are more secondary flavors though I struggle to isolate them. Retrohales see the vibrant earthiness combine with the roasted flavors, secondary flavors include nuttiness and some mineral flavors. Flavor is medium-full or full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-plus. I am struggling between trying to keep the smoke production going by puffing quicker than I’d like versus negatively impacting the flavor profile because the cigar burns too hot. In the end, I make touch-ups on two cigars.

It takes a while, but with an inch left, there’s a major change in the flavor profile. Paprika comes to the forefront and edges out the other flavors. The roasted flavors and earthiness remain, now as slightly secondary flavors. Underneath that layer, there’s some mild creaminess and a touch of floral flavors. The finish has oak, creaminess, peanuts and dry fall leaves. Saltiness—which has been a mild but ever-present part of the finish—departs the profile, as does any traces of pepper and paprika, though there are some dry herbal flavors. Retrohales have earthiness, toastiness and a sharp red pepper over some oak and creaminess; it’s a very different flavor profile than if I choose not to force smoke through my nose. The finish of the retrohale is similar, though it seems like the red pepper and/or paprika get sharper, even if they don’t get all that more intense. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-plus. Again, there’s a battle between keeping the cigar lit and avoiding it getting too hot. All three cigars require at least one touch-up from the lighter to keep them from going out.

Final Notes

• If you are thinking of another cigar called Reynaldo, you might be thinking of the cigars rolled by Reynaldo Gonzáles Jimenez, one of the more famous custom rollers in Cuba. Jimenez used to roll cigars at the La Casa del Habano at Hotel Conde Villanueva though, from what I understand, has since left the country.
• I met Reynaldo when I visited the shop in February 2020. That LCDH had a bar that was covered in soccer, err fútbol, paraphernalia.
• Back in the day, Brooks Whittington reviewed one of his lanceros. When we visited in 2020, the cigar of the day was some massive ring gauge belicoso.
• Not only is this a very layered profile, I found the Don Reynaldo 70th really seems to direct flavors to different parts of my palate. I’m not sure how obvious this would be if I wasn’t smoking the cigar for review, but with significant focus, I can clearly pick up on where the flavors are getting detected.
• While the pre-light and early parts of the cigar are Cuban-like, as the cigar goes on it has fewer obvious Cuban qualities to it. But if it’s a “guess the country of origin based on the cold draw and first puff” challenge, I would have guessed Cuba.

• One cigar had a noticeable patch job near the foot.
• I don’t really care about a patch job, but I do care about combustion. Unfortunately, that’s the Don Reynaldo 70th’s clear weak spot. This cigar requires a quicker puff rate than most, especially after the first inch or two. That’s not great because in order to avoid combustion issues, I needed to smoke the cigar quicker, which made the cigar hotter and hurt the flavor profile.
• I am a big fan of the design work in these bands, especially the use of blue and green colors. From a distance, it’s tough to pick up the nuance, but up close it’s easy to see the different shades of blue as well as the teal.
• Credit to Warped for not making giant bands like so much of the cigar industry does these days.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 15 minutes.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Don Reynaldo 70th.