Coming in at #7 is the 601 La Bomba Warhead VI by Espinosa Cigars. The story of the Warhead line is well-documented. This was a cigar that was an off-shoot of Espinosa's powerful 601 La Bomba line. The Warhead would replace La Bomba's Nicaraguan Habano wrapper with a Broadleaf wrapper. The idea was to keep to La Bomba's strength and produce an entirely new flavor experience. The Warhead was first released in 2013 and has been a near-annual release since then with each version coming in a different size.

For the first five installments of the Warhead, the cigars were box-pressed. The Warhead VI would mark a major change in that this was a short, chunky figurado that was a rounded vitola. The vitola measures 5 x 58. As for the blend, in addition to the Broadleaf wrapper, Warhead VI uses all -Nicaraguan tobaccos. Production comes from AJ Fernandez's San Lotano factory which Espinosa partners with for production on several lines.

Warhead VI delivers notes of mocha, earth, wood, cherry, and red pepper. This is a powerful cigar that is full strength and in fact, might be the strongest Warhead to date. The flavors produced start out medium to full before progressing to full-bodied in the second half.

It was in 2013 when the first Warhead landed on the Countdown and that was the first year Espinosa landed on a Countdown. Since then Espinosa has not missed a Countdown and this marks the ninth consecutive year they have landed on the Countdown - a Cigar Coop record for consecutive years. This is the fifth time a Warhead has landed on the Countdown. It's also the 5th cigar made at an AJ Fernandez facility, and third cigar overall to come from AJ's San Lotano factory. Of the 24 cigars unveiled thus far on the 2021 Countdown, this is the 17th from Nicaragua.

For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria: https://cigar-coop.com/2021/12/announcement-criteria-for-the-2021-cigar-of-the-year-countdown.html

Cigar Coop Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-lLF

On Episode 60 of Prime Time Jukebox, we continue our recap of the Rolling Stone’s recent refresh of their Top 500 songs of all time. This segment will cover songs 400 to 351 and Dave and Coop will go through some of their favorites that made the list, and assess how fairly these favorites were ranked.

For this show, Dave smokes the Powstanie Wojtek 2001 and Coop smokes the PIVRobusto by Dion Giolito.

As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:

• Full Episode 60 Playlist

• Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs of All Time List (2021)

On Episode 60 of Prime Time Jukebox, we continue our recap of the Rolling Stone’s recent refresh of their Top 500 songs of all time. This segment will cover songs 400 to 351 and Dave and Coop will go through some of their favorites that made the list, and assess how fairly these favorites were ranked.

For this show, Dave smokes the Powstanie Wojtek 2001 and Coop smokes the PIVRobusto by Dion Giolito.

As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists:

• Full Episode 60 Playlist

• Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs of All Time List (2021)

Coming in at #8 is the Lavida Habana LE by LH Premium Cigars. LH Premium Cigars is owned by Nick Syris, who also does his own blending. Since launching in the United States in 2014, LH Premium Cigars has built up a loyal following. Until 2020, LH Cigars did not have a limited edition offering but that changed when Syris released the Lavida Habana LE. (Lavida Habana is the name that “LH” is derived from).

Syris works with Tabacos de Costa Rica - located in Costa Rica to produce his cigars. The Lavida Habana LE is highlighted by an Ecuadorian Vuelta Abajo seed wrapper, a favorite that Nick Syris likes to work with. Other than that the tobaccos in the blend have undergone an additional period of aging and fermentation, there is no other information above the Lavida Habana LE blend being disclosed.  The LE was produced in one size - a classic 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars are adorned with black and gold rings - the original ring used by LH Cigars.

The Lavida Habana LE produced a flavor profile consisting of coffee, chocolate, earth, cedar, baker’s spice, citrus, and pepper. This cigar was a little bolder than most of the LH offerings, but at the same time, it was not overly bold. The flavors produced were medium to full-bodied, and this was countered by medium to full strength.

2021 is the second year LH Premium Cigars lands on the Countdown - and the first since 2016. The Lavida Habana LE is the first cigar from Costa Rica to place on the 2021 Countdown, and it's the first time since 2018 a Costa Rican-made cigar has earned a Countdown slot.

For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria: https://cigar-coop.com/2021/12/announcement-criteria-for-the-2021-cigar-of-the-year-countdown.html

Cigar Coop Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-lLD

Coming in at #8 is the Lavida Habana LE by LH Premium Cigars. LH Premium Cigars is owned by Nick Syris, who also does his own blending. Since launching in the United States in 2014, LH Premium Cigars has built up a loyal following. Until 2020, LH Cigars did not have a limited edition offering but that changed when Syris released the Lavida Habana LE. (Lavida Habana is the name that “LH” is derived from).

Syris works with Tabacos de Costa Rica - located in Costa Rica to produce his cigars. The Lavida Habana LE is highlighted by an Ecuadorian Vuelta Abajo seed wrapper, a favorite that Nick Syris likes to work with. Other than that the tobaccos in the blend have undergone an additional period of aging and fermentation, there is no other information above the Lavida Habana LE blend being disclosed.  The LE was produced in one size - a classic 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars are adorned with black and gold rings - the original ring used by LH Cigars.

The Lavida Habana LE produced a flavor profile consisting of coffee, chocolate, earth, cedar, baker’s spice, citrus, and pepper. This cigar was a little bolder than most of the LH offerings, but at the same time, it was not overly bold. The flavors produced were medium to full-bodied, and this was countered by medium to full strength.

2021 is the second year LH Premium Cigars lands on the Countdown - and the first since 2016. The Lavida Habana LE is the first cigar from Costa Rica to place on the 2021 Countdown, and it's the first time since 2018 a Costa Rican-made cigar has earned a Countdown slot.

For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria: https://cigar-coop.com/2021/12/announcement-criteria-for-the-2021-cigar-of-the-year-countdown.html

Cigar Coop Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-lLD