Today, we do an Agile Cigar Review on Espinosa Cigars’ 601 La Bomba Warhead X. One of the most popular annual limited edition cigars to hit the market over the past decade is the 601 La Bomba Warhead Series. This series has an excellent track record of success, landing on the Cigar Coop Countdown seven times. Warhead is an extension of the original 601 La Bomba line, but it replaces the Nicaraguan Habano wrapper with a Broadleaf wrapper. As the name Warhead suggests, it is intended to be a stronger and bolder cigar.
Each installment of the Warhead has featured a different size with a tweaked blend adjusted to that size and a different set of artwork. Warhead made its debut in 2013 and, with a couple of exceptions, has maintained an annual release schedule. As the name indicates, Warhead X is the tenth Warhead to be released. The Warhead X comes in a 6 x 55 oval press. It’s the first time the oval press has been used on a Warhead cigar. As for the packaging, this year’s packaging comes in the fish-tail bomb shape seen on Warhead releases since the beginning.
SPECIFICATIONS
Warhead X is a Nicaraguan puro featuring all Nicaraguan tobaccos. The cigar is finished with a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper. Production for the Warhead X comes from AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano factory. It was blended by Espinosa’s Director of Operations, Hector Alfonso. The 6 x 55 Oval Press cigars come in ten-count fish-tail bomb-shaped boxes.
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Broadleaf
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: San Lotano
- Oval Box Press: 6 x 55
PERFORMANCE
Warhead X opened up with notes of mocha, licorice, earth, cream, and a mix of pepper spice. The mocha notes were a fusion of coffee and chocolate. The pepper mixture had a good chunk of red pepper and was prominent on the retro-hale. The mocha notes and licorice notes were primary in the third. At the same time, the creaminess smoothed out the flavor. By the second third, the licorice receded, leaving the mocha as the sole primary note. Meanwhile, the earth notes began to rise and displaced the mocha notes just past the midway point. Slowly, the creaminess subsided.
The earth remained primary as the Warhead X burned through the second half. By this point, the cream notes had dissipated, as did some of the smoothness. Meanwhile, there was a rise in the pepper notes, which became the most prominent secondary note on the tongue. There still were notes of licorice present, and the mocha note had transformed to mostly coffee. This is how the Warhead X continued to the final third.
The 601 La Bomba Warhead line is known for its boldness. In the case of the Warhead X, this boldness builds. The cigar opened up with medium to full strength, but by the second half, the strength moved into full territory. The body of this cigar was linear—it started out medium in the first third, medium to full in the second third, and full in the final third. Throughout the smoking experience, the strength had a slight edge.
As for the draw, it had enough resistance (i.e., not too open) to make it ideal in my book. The burn did require many touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and line.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
The DNA of the Warhead Series revolves around bold smokes with a lot of strength and deep flavor. I really like how each of the ten installments of Warhead tells a different story. The boldness builds up with this cigar – which I’ve seen with other Warheads, but this one is a little different. I love how the Warhead X started out smooth and then slowly sheds that smoothness, becoming rougher but not unrefined. This is another winner in the Warhead Series. Given this cigar eventually goes into full territory for strength and body, I’d recommend this to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I’d still reach for and keep multiples in my humidor. Coming in at 90 points, Warhead X gets a Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence designation.
Summary
Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee, Chocolate), Licorice, Earth, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium to Full (1st Half, Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Third), Medium to Full (2nd Third), Full (Final Third)
Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Buy Multiples
Score: 90
Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence
REFERENCES
Previous Review: 601 La Bomba Warhead IX by Espinosa Cigars
News: Espinosa Cigars Releases Tenth Installment of Warhead
Price: $16.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: 601
Note: Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments in a lightweight, shorter format. They will never replace our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time or a blend we are looking at in a different size.
