Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Gellis Piece Unique is dark tan with some hints of green and some decently raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a gold, pink and blue color combination. The primary carries the brand logo and name while the secondary denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of musty cedar and earth, while the foot brings stewed fruit, cedar and light earth. The pre-light draw brings a combination of stewed fruit and cedar.
Seth: The Gellis Piece Unique is finished with a wrapper that is Colorado in coloring. Dry red clay coloring and very attractive. Bands pop against the wrapper. There are small veins present throughout, and the cigar is silky and firm in texture. The wrapper gives off aromas of leather and barnyard, while the foot has notes of rich earth, tobacco, cocoa and spices.
John: The Gellis Piece Unique came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information, a QR code and an integrated tear space so it remained intact when opened. There is a Gellis primary band and a Piece Unique secondary band. I weighed the cigar at 17.3 grams. For aromas, I could pick up mild bread, sweet wood, tobacco, marzipan, with some syrupy sweetness underneath.
Jiunn: The Gellis Piece Unique has a silky smooth Colorado Claro wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas tell of ample barnyard, sweet roasted mixed nuts and a touch of black pepper spice on the tongue.

Gellis Piece Unique

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, black pepper and some earth. At a quarter inch in, a bit of dark roast coffee joins in. At a half inch in, the toasted cedar gains a light creaminess. The retrohale is creamy toasted cedar, dry earth and black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the lightly creamy toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper a bit behind and earth slightly behind that. There’s also a bit of dark roast coffee in the back half of the profile. The strength is slightly above medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with a lot of white pepper and cedar notes. There are some tobacco and cream aspects present as well, and the finish is of dry earth and coffee. There is a lot more strength to the cigar than expected, and the pepper notes are quite pronounced. I would classify the cigar as medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: Creamy, dry wood gets the first third started. The retrohale takes on green wood at light-plus strength. Some dry, tannic wood takes the center of the profile at light-plus, moving up to almost medium-minus at times. As the first third settles, savory spices come through the retrohale, I’m able to pick out cumin and nutmeg. Some faint white pepper is breaking into the post draw here. Roughly one inch in, bread notes move into the retrohale and mix with the wood, which is becoming more defined as cedar. Moving towards the halfway point, a light honey sweetness comes into the end of the draw. Through the bottom half, green wood is now lingering into the post draw, joining mild tannins and mild dryness. As the bottom half progresses, the dryness on the post draw moves up to medium strength.
Jiunn: The best word to describe the first third is teaser. The cigar teases great flavors such as honey sweetness and creamy nuttiness. But the overall consistent flavors show minerals and cedar. Retrohaling gives sharp dried red pepper spice. The finish continues the mixture of minerals and cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Gellis Piece Unique

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the pepper eases up to become even with the earth a bit further back in the profile, but the pepper still exhibits a long finish. At a half inch in, the dark roast coffee picks up a bit. The retrohale is now creamy toasted cedar, earth and mild black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the creamy, toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper and earth a bit behind and some dark roast coffee just behind the middle of the profile. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
Seth: The second third continues to deliver that white pepper profile with the cedar and cream notes on the rise. Touches of dry earth and tobacco are still present, and there is a nice finish of coffee. The strength and body remain at the same level that they were at in the first third, and the cigar is somewhere between medium and medium-full.
John: Creamy bread greets me in the second third, evolving to green wood in the center of the profile and joined by mildly sharp, tannic, dry wood and honey sweetness to finish and linger. That profile remains stable in components and strength to the halfway point, where the wood moves up to medium strength, and the tannins up to medium on the post draw. Mild chocolate breaks into the retrohale by the halfway point.
Jiunn: The second third goes from teaser to consistent boredom. The profile now is just a mixture of cedar and minerals. The best part is the retrohale as at least I can wake myself up with a shot of spice. Strength and body remains medium.

Gellis Piece Unique

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the toast level and the dark roast coffee both pick up a bit. The retrohale remains creamy toasted cedar, earth and mild black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper picks back up a bit. At an inch and a quarter, some wood bitterness joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the creamy toasted cedar with some wood bitterness is up front, with black pepper just behind and the earth and dark roasted coffee in the middle of the profile. The strength bumped up to medium-full.
Seth: The final third is right in line with the first two thirds. Notes of cream, cedar and white pepper. Tobacco and earth are still present with a touch of coffee on the finish. Like before, strength and body are at a level between medium and medium-full.
John: A mildly bitter wood is my initial impression here, with medium tannic wood and mild sharpness in the center and finish. Medium-full strength tannins define the post draw. As the last third settles in, green wood returns to the finish. By the halfway point, bitterness is lingering into the post draw to stay on the palate between puffs.
Jiunn: The final third is the same as the second third, with a mundane mixture of minerals and cedar. Strength and body finish the same medium.

Gellis Piece Unique

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout, and the ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: The burn was good from start to finish.
John: The burn was mildly wavy to start, correcting itself. The burn was straight through the second third, becoming wavy in the bottom where the wrapper cracks under the second band. The burn was straight for the last third.
Jiunn: Flawless burn providing tight ashes, even burn and cool burning temperatures.

Gellis Piece Unique

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was perfect throughout.
John: The draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches.
Jiunn: Great draw performance, providing the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, black pepper and some earth. Some dark roast coffee joined in pretty quickly. Later, the cedar gained a light creaminess. The second third saw the pepper mellow a bit and the dark roast coffee increased a bit. The final third saw the toast level, dark roast coffee and pepper all increase and later some wood bitterness joined in. Construction was perfect. The Gellis Piece Unique had a nice profile through the first two thirds with a good combination of flavors and balance. The final third took a step down as some of the components increased and it lost its balance. It’s been a while since I’ve had an enjoyable experience from both Gellis/Warped and La Isla, so it was nice to see it all come together. The price point is quite high, but for an occasional cigar, this might be one to splurge on.
Seth: I enjoyed the Gellis Piece Unique. It’s not worth $40.00, but it is a solid cigar. It’s a stronger Connecticut, I guess you would say a modern Connecticut, but it lacked some transitioning and depth that you need with a cigar at this price. Those are qualities you need with any cigar over $20.00. The cream, cedar, tobacco and white pepper notes were enjoyable, and they went well with the strength and body of the cigar. The presentation was great as well, and it had the look of an elegant/pricey Connecticut, which this cigar is with it being $40.00. The burn and draw on the cigar were nice as well, and you also want that with a pricey cigar. La Isla seems to have highs and lows as a factory, and I would consider this one of its highs. It was solid from beginning to end. Gellis as well has had some highs and lows out of the factory, but this was one of the solid releases. Some of his others have been complete messes. Average cigar, and may I advise that you please save your money on this cigar. Don’t spend your $40.00 on this smoke. You’d be better off sending the money to Jiunn.
John: The Gellis Piece Unique delivered a flavor profile that was primarily centered around wood flavors, ranging from tannic wood to green wood and occasionally some savory spices and honey sweetness. The burn was wavy at times but otherwise perfect, and the draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum. Setting aside the ultra premium price point for a moment, the flavor delivery here wasn’t something I found overly engaging, interesting or dynamic. When you factor in the ultra premium price point, the excessive glue used on the secondary band, which led to the wrapper cracking, is unacceptable. While cigars are a handmade product, when your price point moves up into this territory, you are not left with any room for errors. This is not a cigar I would be interested in returning to in the future. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 12 minutes.
Jiunn: Smoking the Gellis Piece Unique pissed me off. There are some great flavors being teased (honey sweetness and creamy nuttiness), but overall it was filled with boredom in minerals and cedar. It’s upsetting to know it can be much much better than this. And honestly, I expected much more out of a $40 price tag. Easy pass for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$5.87

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.25

Cost/Point

$6.40

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.60

Cost/Point

$7.14

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$6.96

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Gellis Piece Unique