Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández | Cigar Review

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ‘99
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo ‘98
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ‘98, Corojo ‘99
Size: 6 x 52 “Toro”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $9.75 MSRP

Today we take a look at the new Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández. This is a joint venture. But being sold under the aegis of Warped Cigars.
I want to thank Joey at Summit Cigars for his kindness and generosity.
I would also like to thank Gary Ellis for his kind support.

BACKGROUND:
Debuted at the 2015 IPCPR trade show.
Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Estelí, Nicaragua.

From the Warped Cigars web site:
“Futuro started as an idea at the 2014 IPCPR in Las Vegas between Kyle Gellis of Warped and Max Fernandez, son of Eduardo Fernandez of AGANORSA. The idea behind Futuro was simple but overly complicated, create a flavor profile and experience like nothing Warped nor Casa Fernandez has done previously.

“Utilizing AGANORSA’s material from their “vault”, a section of their storage facility under lock and key and home to their most prized material, life was given to this AGANORSA puro.

“Futuro will be offered in 2 vitolas in SLB’s of 20. The selected sizes and shapes were individually chosen by Kyle and Max to reflect their own preferences while blending Futuro.

“The Selección 109 uses the historic 109 cap or “bullet cap” from Cuba. Max’s version is more open to subtle flavors and mixed with the unique 109 cap it’s an experience to have.”

Production is limited to 400 boxes of 20 in each size.
Casa Fernandez is currently producing two of Warped Cigars blends: La Hacienda and Flor del Valle.
The two sizes are Kyle Gellis’ Selección Suprema (5.625 x46), and Max Fernandez’s Selección 109 (6×52).

DESCRIPTION:
A rustic looking stick with clearly visible, but tight, seams. The oily wrapper is a russet brown color and just slightly toothy.
It has a perfectly applied triple cap. A very solid cigar. No soft spots. A nice Cuban throwback cigar band. Very few small veins but has a couple of large tree trunk sized veins.

SIZES AND PRICING:
KG: Selección Suprema = 5.625 x 46 $8.75 MSRP
MF: Selección 109 = 6 x 52 $9.75 MSRP

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
The shaft smells of floral notes, spice, sweetness, cedar, and honey.
The clipped cap and the foot smell of the same aromas as the shaft plus the addition of cocoa.
The cold draw presents flavors of dark baking cocoa, sweetness, spice, cream, and earthy tobacco notes.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is excellent.
First flavors come a’ runnin’: Chocolate, creaminess, spiciness, cedar, and an oily feel on my lips. There is a definite rich character ruminating here.

The strength is a potent medium body from the start.
And then the spice goes for the gold. Blazing hot. Searing hot. The tip of my Jewish nose has caught on fire. I’m gasping for air. The dog gives me CPR. (Damn dog uses these opportunities to use her tongue. Bad Dog!)
And I’m back from Dementia-Land.

I’ve got a perfect char line. I need to post it or at least give you the link to where I first described it: Perdomo Craft Series Amber Cigar Review. I’ve gotten lots of emails and messages from experienced smokers who tried and loved it. Worked perfectly for them as it does for me. And it takes away the guilt of wondering why you have a canoe on your expensive cigar. It ain’t you, babe. It was the cheap and nasty rollers’ fault. Because if the cigar was rolled perfectly, or almost perfectly, my version of lighting the cigar works every time. No runs! I will post it to the bottom of this review.

The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández…man, here we go again with the longest song title in the world…is super rich and creamy. The spiciness of the red pepper keeps it zesty and gives it oomph. The chocolate is like a really thick milk shake. The kind that is so rich that when you finish it, you throw up because it was too rich. I did that as a kid a lot. Really. God save the back seat of the neighbor’s car on an ice cream run.

The red ashtray brings out the reddish tinge in the cigar’s wrapper.
A lot of malt is showing up: Chocolate Malt, Flaked Oats Malt, Honey Malt, and Mild Ale Malt. (See Malt Chart).
Complexity is trying to rear its head and should do so any moment. The balance is spot on. A nice long finish.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 34 minutes.
Here they are once again: Spice, chocolate, creaminess, coffee, cedar, malts, sweetness, orange citrus, buttered biscuits (I taste a nice yeasty element), and an overall richness that is quite stunning.
More flavors sit down at the table: dried fruit, caramel, and vanilla.

The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández is cascading flavors like a huge waterfall.
The blend is super complex now. Like a black hole collapsing in on itself.

If the Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández continues on this path, I see it rating very high and being one of the best blends that either company has produced.

This is one of those blends that seems to smoke quickly but only due to the fact that it is full of transitions and complexity that time flies. Or you have dementia. LoL.
Damn. This is a fine, fine, cigar. After a few reviews of some crappy cigars, it is a god send to be able to review this cigar.
Now I’m dying to try the KG: Selección Suprema.

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is one hour and 5 minutes.
The malts are very important to this blend. They round out the flavor profile nicely.

Before I got it that it was malt that was the missing “It” factor I struggled with for years, I was driven mad searching for the words that described this incredible influence.

Transitions are going crazy. Never stopping on that spinning football.
Each sip of water rushes incredible flavors to my palate.

I don’t know if anyone else has reviewed the Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández yet. But if they haven’t, they are in for a very big treat.

I’ve reviewed the entire line of Warped Cigars. Every single one was a big winner. And each different from the other. But none better than the other. Each stood on its own feet. (Feet?)

Warped, with this blend, has become a force to be reckoned with in the cigar world. They have just become monsters. I’m a big Ezra Zion fan and I’ve declared them my desert island cigar. I’m afraid that I must be given two desert island brands and Warped is the other one. I go nutsy coo coo over the Flor del Valle.

The La Hacienda and the Flor del Valle made it into “The Katman’s Best 195 Boutique Brands/Blends in the $6-$9.50+ Range.” The others’ price point kept them out of this list.

The char line is dead nuts perfect. Not a single construction issue. Just perfect.
The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández is packed perfectly and therefore becomes a real cigar experience due to the length of the smoke.
Man, I’d love to have a box of these cigars!

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 30 minutes.
The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández has been a true joy to smoke.
One last time: Chocolate, malt, creaminess, cedar, orange citrus, dried fruit, caramel, vanilla, spice, sweetness, and butter.

I’ve been thrilled that I didn’t have to report construction issues to you.
Strength is medium/full.

Newbies and experienced palates alike will love this blend.
An easy going cigar blend with as much flavor as your palate can handle.

The earthy tobacco notes excel now. In the past, I’ve mentioned how you seem to be able to taste the soil the plants were grown in. This is one of those blends.

I know, I know. I’m fawning like a school child over this blend. I look forward to the day when Taste-O-Vision is in place so you can experience my experience as I smoke and write. Of course, I will be dead by then but I can dream.

The spiciness dissipated. But as I near the end, it has returned. In a big way. It gives the strength of the cigar a kick in the pants.
The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández is about as close to a perfect cigar as possible. That’s my palate speaking.
I could smoke this cigar all day long and never tire of it.

Instead of the flavor profile evening out near the end, the Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández gets richer and more complex.
The chocolate, creaminess, spice, and malt are screaming laughter.

The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández finishes without a hint of harshness, heat, bitterness or lack of big flavors. And no nicotine.

Clearly, I highly recommend this cigar. If you’ve got the dough, snag a box. If you can, at least buy a 5 pack. I received two cigars. I didn’t smoke the first one before this review. I’m very glad I didn’t. Now I have another to smoke when I feel the time is right.
Final smoke time is just over 2 hours.

RATING: 96

PRICE POINT:
The Futuro Selección 109 by Warped Cigars & Casa Fernández is major quality.
The $10.00 price tag is nothing. Not for this blend. It countermands the ridiculous pricing coming out of this year’s IPCPR trade show.
$10.00 is what we used to pay for a high premium long ago and far away. Kudos to the folks at Warped and Casa Fernández for keeping the price tag low.

SUMMATION:
Kyle Gellis and Max Fernandez are journeymen of their craft. I hope we don’t have to wait a year for their next blend to surface.
This was a very special cigar experience. I cannot remember a blend this complex and flavorful.
The only cigar to come close was one I reviewed back in July. Ezra Zion All My Ex’s.
A great cigar to review first thing in the morning makes my whole day.

Here is how you can light your cigar flawlessly and rid yourself of runs:
Originally posted 9-19-15

I have learned, or re-learned, how to smoke a cigar to achieve ultimate efficiency and absolute mechanics.
I began having troubles with remembering how to light a cigar properly. I was left with runs in the cigar that burgeoned with every cigar I smoked. This caused extreme frustration…and a lot of cursing.

And then in a nano second of lucidity, my solution became clear. That moment of clarity meant I don’t light the cigar by rotating the stick and holding it away from the lighter while creating a cherry in the middle of the foot and then expanding to evenly light the foot.

Instead of that failed process, I rotate the cigar, while still an inch or so away from the single torch flame, but I light the outside edge (About 1/16″) with a laser sharp focus instead of lighting the bottom of the foot. I do this several times and blow on the glistening redness of the edges. I finish when I reach a ring that is 1/8″ wide.) You need a real steady hand.

Instead of puffing, I first blow out to discard any leftover butane that may have clung to the cigar.
Once I’ve done that, I can gently smoke a few puffs. I then put the cigar down and let it rest for 2-3 minutes stabilizing the burn.

I only take a few puffs every couple of minutes. Thereby, allowing the foot to cool.
This does two things. The first being that flavors are more intense from the start and not influenced by extreme heat. And second, I create a perfect, razor sharp char line.

If, by chance, the cigar begins to canoe due to lousy rolling, I put it down and let it cool before re-lighting it in the same fashion as I did at the start of the cigar…lightly torch the outer edge of the foot but not letting the flame touch the foot as a whole. This way, the cigar burns inward instead of outward. If the cigar is very poorly rolled, then I ditch it.