Warped: The Haunting Cake

The Haunting Cake is the pressed form of The Haunting, a blend Warped founder Kyle Gellis and Cornell & Diehl head blender Jeremy Reeves prepared together. On top of a Virginia base, AA-grade Dominican Criollo cigar leaf — also used in Warped's cigar lines — and Dominican-origin black Cavendish are added. The mixture is formed into crumble cake; the maker notes pressing lets the flavors meld together.

On the smoke, the leather and spice tones the cigar leaf brings come forward, while Virginia leaves a lingering, hazy sweetness underneath. Nicotine load is medium; the texture calls for a slow smoke from those unaccustomed to cigar leaf. It's released as a seasonal, limited run, so it isn't in continuous production.