In 2018, Warped’s Kyle Gellis launched DROP. He says “some people have their hobby outside of their career, mine is crafting blends and concepts for DROP.” Through hyper-limited members-only releases and an expanding core line, Gellis has developed a community of enthusiasts that supports every project and eagerly anticipates the next one. For these releases, DROP has partnered with three of the most renowned factories in all of cigars – El Titan de Bronze, Aganorsa Leaf, and Tabacalera La iSLA.
Today, August 4th, at 11:00A EST, the site’s countdown clock reached 00:00:00 and DROP began offering the new Bits of Havana Especial. The Especial is a variation on the original Bits of Havana blend that has quickly become a favorite of DROP members. Coming out of the Aganorsa Leaf factory, the Bits of Havana Especial is said to be on the plus side of medium. The wrapper is Nicaragua Corojo ’99. The Binder is Nicaragua Criollo ’98. The Filler is a combination of Jalapa Medio Tiempo, Corojo ’99 and Nicaragua Criollo ’98. DROP has shared the following tasting notes: Rich earth, wood, cinnamon, molasses, dried fruit, leather, black pepper, and cocoa. The ten count box is $90 USD.
Something that stands out almost as much as the cigars themselves is that Gellis’ creative playground hasn’t attracted the “us vs them” mentality that often forms on the periphery of modern cigar clubs. Gellis is a quiet and effective operator, the cigar world equivalent of a highly trained special operative. You only know about DROP’s mission when it’s over, the only evidence that it ever happened is the cigars. By having those cigars speak for themselves, he’s been able to keep the conversation civil. Members of multiple cigar clubs eagerly participate in DROP’s drops and the project’s social media pages contain only positivity and love for cigars rather than trolling from members of “competing” clubs.
For someone like me, the boxes and branded baubles that some companies work on bringing to the public are almost as much fun as the actual cigars they make – I love any endeavor that spends time thinking about presentation and theatricality. Gellis gets it, often manages to find neat ways to compliment DROP’s releases. A great example is the Moon Garden ‘Painted by Moonlight’ box drop, which came with a special Moon Garden pin that is not available for purchase on its own.