You started Warped Cigars a little over a decade ago. What prompted you to get into the business back then?
My dad was a cigar smoker all my life, it inspired me seeing what it did for him and the passion he had for the entire culture aspect. I lived 90 minutes from Little Havana at the time (still do), and I just jumped in my car one day at 18 years old and followed my gut… which led me to many factories all of which who said no to me, except one.
A younger Ernesto Padilla (left) and Kyle Gellis (right) at El Titan de Bronze in 2013 | Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
Back then Calle Ocho was lined with factories and now there is only 1 true factory remaining in Little Havana and that factory just happens to be the one who took me in… El Titan de Bronze… funny how that all worked out.
Speaking of times past, La Relatos (Stories) is your new cigar based off of one of your blends from earlier days. What's your favorite Warped story in the last eleven years?
Correct, the blend is Anubis brought back to life. My first blend I ever did was Anubis in a Churchill size (7 x 47) funny enough… I still have the very cigar rolled on day 1 of production.
Warped Cigars booth at IPCPR 2018 | Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
My favorite Warped story? That’s very hard to answer, in my 11 years of this beautiful industry full of amazing people I have a lot of stories to tell. But if you had me narrow it down, the story isn’t about myself, it’s about seeing the brand go through its life, seeing its growth, seeing my team grow, seeing Sandy at El Titan expand her operation, seeing everyone really enjoy what I work so hard for day in and day out, to create the best possible experience for them. I love watching the brand unfold and how people interact with it.
What were the early days of Warped like? How has Warped changed since you began?
They were hard, and that’s brutal honesty. Back when I started, I was doing B2C (online direct to consumers) while trying to get the brand into shops, and it didn’t take. I had to step back and reevaluate how the company operated and how it would achieve what I knew it could be, then things started to click much better.
Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
It hasn’t changed. The branding piece of it has, but the ideology has never wavered from my original direction. When you smoke La Relatos, you will see even back then I was still doing what you have come to know Warped as now.
What's your process when developing a new blend from start to finish?
It varies. It can start from the brands name and then develop the blend from there or I can be inspired by material and work from there. I don’t force one direction or the other, I work in an organic process and that process sometimes isn’t the fastest but hey… it’s my process.
Warped Serie Gran Reserva 1988 (GR88) | Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
Some of our favorite Warped core lines are now being transitioned into limited production releases. Is this a short term move, or a long term production schedule?
It’s all a factor of production scheduling and my obsession over quality and consistency. If you ask Max how I am, he would reassert that I am obsessive over the quality and consistency of my cigars. So we have to do the best we can to schedule everything, we only use certain pairs who have the best skill to roll the smaller formats we use. I don’t do things like this on purpose, I do it to make sure the experience you have come to known from Warped never changes.
Cigars, Coffee, Candles, and now Wine. How involved are you in each of these creation processes, and is it reasonable to expect that Warped fans who enjoy these other consumables will recognize your influence?
I am involved in every single aspect, I don’t do something without being along for the full ride. From Blue Monster’s racking, to flying out for a day to make sure the bottling went smoothly, I am there every step of the way.
The vineyards at Napa Valley | Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
You are correct, as people have come to know Warped’s certain style, that style is from me, influenced by everything I taste, smell, experience, etc. For example, if you happen to taste Blue Monster or Until the End, you will more than likely go “Yeah, I can see Kyle’s style in this wine”, and so on. Hard to explain…just experience it if you can.
Mailing list is open at www.bluemonsterwine.com, only 50 cases bottled.
Until the End mailing list is open at www.untiltheendwine.com, only 25 cases bottled.
For your cigars coming out soon, how would you describe them to someone that's never smoked Warped before?
Haha, which ones? Each has a different identity…
La Relatos – Throwback. This was my first blend, it was influenced by a plethora of Partagas and HdM I was smoking at the time…spicy and creamy, with a thickness and subtle sweetness.
GR88 – Huge cinnamon influence, chewy, perfect hybrid of complexity and balance.
Edition One Scarecrow – Whoops… you don’t know about that one yet. Ah well, exclusive news for you and the SBC family.
Photo Credit @WarpedCigars
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