Miami Cigar & Company brought back the Nestor Miranda Special Selection last year in celebration of their 30th anniversary. The original cigar was sold in the mid-2000’s and with this new version, it is again made at the My Father Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The blend uses a Nicaraguan Habano Rosado wrapper, Nicaraguan criollo 98 binder, and fillers from the Condega, Estelí and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. It is offered in three sizes: Coffee Break (4 1/2 x 50) — $6.95, Toro (5 1/2 x 54) — $7.50, and Gran Toro (6 x 60) — $7.95.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro Length: 5 1/2″ Ring Gauge: 54 Country of Origin: Nicaragua Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano Binder: Nicaragua Criollo 98 Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Jalapa) Factory: My Father Cigars S.A. Blender: Don Pepin Garcia, Nestor Miranda Number of reviewers: 4 – Isaac M.(The Nothing) Joseph S.(Bearded Bastard) Jake P.(Jake P.) Randy B.(randobush) Price: $7.50 Age: 8 Months Release Date: May 2019 Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“The wrapper on this cigar showed a few small veins on a beautiful brown tobacco with a fair amount of oil on the surface.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Aroma: 90
“Smells a bit like a musty muddy dirt road. That’s not a bad thing.” –Randy B. (randobush)
First Third
Blind Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda | Special Selection Toro
Flavor: 92 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The very first puff on this cigar provided a rich tobacco flavor and molasses. Very quickly some white pepper notes appeared and they transitioned into green peppercorn, and then black pepper. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the pepper notes were gone. There was a sweetness to the cigar that I likened to cornbread. Main flavors of the first third included rich tobacco and tea.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“At first puff, I was like “oh no, this taste like a dirty ashtray” BUT this cigar quickly came around in the first third. None of the flavors stand out as profound, but rather hints of baking cabinet spices, cocoa powder, a slight butterscotchy nougat, cedar, a just a wee bit of black pepper-just enough to make the retrohale a hair less than perfect.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Second Third
Blind Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda | Special Selection Toro
Flavor: 89 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“This was the best part of the cigar. The earth flavors were still very present but some leather and nutty flavor helped not be overpowered by it. Roasted coffee beans and some musty bitterness faired well to end this section.” –Jake P. (Jake P.)
“Right off the bat, I’m appreciating how the finish pleasantly holds on to my palate until the next puff. The retro is now smooth and pleasant as well. Butterscotch, baking spices, cocoa powder and very slight black pepper. Flavors are becoming more profound in the transition, and are meshing together very well in the second third.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Blind Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda | Special Selection Toro
“Again mostly earth flavors like dirt and wood finished the final third. With a few inches left I got a strong metal flavor that was not pleasant and although I tried to push through it was unsuccessful, and made me put it down before I would have liked.” –Jake P. (Jake P.)
“Another relight was required to start the final third. Alder and oak notes came in, taking over the tobacco which had been the mainstay from the beginning. The sweetness of the cigar, marked by molasses and sorghum, faded away. The trio of peppercorn flavors from the beginning returned in the end as well.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 90
“The draw was pretty spot on with a v-cut.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Burn: 93
“Burned great, only needed a few touch ups on the last end.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Construction: 89
“Very nice construction allowing a nice ash that fell in 2” chunks. No stems were present, and this cigar performed very well.” –Randy B. (randobush)
“This cigar had a great solid start. Unfortunately it couldn’t hang on to that start and faded away throughout the second half. I’m certainly hoping my sample was the only one that had problems as I would like to revisit this cigar as it was producing a good flavor profile.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Overall, a great cigar, started off complex, mellowed a little then it kicked it up a notch on the last end. I nubbed the snot out of it.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“If you like strong earth flavors in your cigar this would be right up your alley. I don’t think this would disappoint you. Excellent burn and smoke output made this a very easy smokable cigar. My only negative was the overpowering metal taste at the end. I would like to smoke this again to see if I would get the same ending.” –Jake P. (Jake P.)
“This brown beauty ended up being a very pleasant and enjoyable smoke on all levels. The retrohale was nice and smooth with just the right amount of zing without offending the nasal passages. I would smoke this cigar again.” –Randy B. (randobush)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda | Special Selection Toro
Overall Score – 89 – Very Good
Blind Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda | Special Selection Toro
Summary
"This brown beauty ended up being a very pleasant and enjoyable smoke on all levels. The retrohale was nice and smooth with just the right amount of zing without offending the nasal passages. I would smoke this cigar again." -Randy B. (randobush)
