Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary

A decade ago, Warped Cigars experienced a rebirth of sorts. While the business had been around since 2008, not much had come from the brand due to Kyle Gellis’s, the company’s founder, need to finish school. In 2014, that situation changed significantly; Warped showed off a number of new projects during the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of some of those then-new projects, Warped announced it would be releasing a trio of limited edition cigars for three of the company’s brands that all debuted in 2014: Don Reynaldo, El Oso and La Comena. The 6 x 50 El Oso 10th Anniversary was the first of the trio to be released when it started shipping in February.

Three months later, Warped shipped the second of three planned releases, the Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary. The new 6 x 50 toro uses the same blend components as the other Don Reynaldo cigars: a Dominican corojo wrapper covering a Nicaraguan binder and a filler blend of tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

The Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary has an MSRP of $24 per cigar and is limited to 750 boxes of 10 cigars that started shipping to retailers in May. Like the regular Don Reynaldo, it was made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami.

• Cigar Reviewed: Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $24 (Box of 10, $240)
• Release Date: May 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: 750 Boxes of 10 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The milk chocolate brown-colored wrappers that cover the Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary cigars are soft and pliable. While there is very little tooth, oil and veins are readily apparent, albeit none the latter are protruding all that much. All three are nicely firm when squeezed, while my first cigar has a very tight spot near the cap while my last cigar has a large soft spot an inch down from the secondary band. Aromas from the wrappers include strong earthiness, generic nuttiness, barnyard, leather and light citrus, along with a sweetness that reminds me of vanilla beans. Creamy cashews and creamy hay lead the scents emanating from the feet, followed by secondary notes of earth, leather, sourdough bread and sweet cedar. Finally, after punch cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of nutmeg, orange peel, leather, earth, roasted peanuts, coffee beans and sweet brown sugar.

Right off the bat, My first cigar has a significant issue with a tight draw, and while I can still get air through it, there is quite a bit of harshness and the flavors are less distinct. However, the second and final cigars are fine draw-wise; both start off with the same light spice and bitter espresso flavor, although my second cigar also includes a light clove note on the finish that remains noticeable through the first third. A combination of roasted peanuts and creamy cedar take over the main spots in the profile, followed by secondary notes of earth, plain white rice, powdery cocoa nibs and coffee beans. There is quite a bit of black pepper on the retrohale this early in the cigar, and while I can also make out some honey sweetness, it is too light of a note at this point to impact the profile in any significant way. Flavor for the first cigar is under the medium mark, while the strength and body meet at a solid medium. Flavor for the second and third cigars ends the first third at medium-full, strength is at a solid medium, and the body is just under medium. The tight draw of the first cigar has already been mentioned, but other than a single burn correction for the first and last cigars, all other aspects of the construction are fine.

Thankfully, the draw on the first cigar improves dramatically just before the second third begins, and the flavor profile improves with it, so that all three cigars feature the same main combination of peanut butter and cedar. Secondary flavors of pita bread, coffee beans, dark chocolate, pencil lead, earth and a generic vegetal note show up at various points. The amounts of black pepper and honey sweetness present on the retrohale have switched places, meaning there is less pepper and more sweetness. Flavor for all three cigars is now at full, and while the body bumps up to a solid medium, the strength only increases slightly to land at a point just over the medium mark. Construction-wise, there are no issues with the draws or the smoke production on any of the cigars, but my second cigar needed a burn correction and suffered a small crack in the wrapper near the foot while my final cigar also ran into enough of any issue to necessitate a single burn correction.

The main flavor combination shifts a bit during the final third of the Don Reynaldo, as creamy cedar and sourdough bread take over the top spots, followed by secondary notes of leather tack. powdery cocoa nibs, bitter espresso, unsalted potato chips, earth and light citrus peel. The amount of honey sweetness present on the retrohale remains consistent compared to the second third, but one cigar features more black pepper than the other two. The flavor remains at full, strength hits medium-plus—barely—and the body increases enough to pass over the medium mark. Once again, the burn lines on two cigars become problematic enough to need correcting, but the draws and smoke production are excellent on all three cigars until their respective ends.

Final Notes

• According to Warped, the company’s final anniversary release will be the La Colmena 10th Anniversary, a 5 7/8 x 50 robusto extra, which is expected to ship in September or October.
• Don Reynaldo is named after Ronald Gellis, father of Warped’s founder, Kyle Gellis.
• Each of the wrappers on these cigars was extremely fragile, but only one of the cigars suffered any damage: during the first cigar’s second third, the wrapper split a small amount.
• As mentioned above, the first cigar’s draw started extremely tight and barely smokeable, but it really opened up around the time the first third came to an end and was great after that point.
• Both of the bands used on these cigars are extremely intricate and well-made, some of the best that I have seen out of the cigars I have seen so far this year.
• Speaking of the bands, all three of Warped’s anniversary releases—El Oso, Don Reynaldo and La Colmena—feature the same secondary 10th anniversary-branded bands.

• The cigars are officially listed as 6 x 50 toros.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three cigars averaged out to one hour and 47 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Don Reynaldo ‘Grand Reynaldo’ 10th Anniversary cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar, Famous Smoke Shop and Smokingpipes have them for sale on their respective websites.