Cigar Info
Last year, General Cigar announced a second limited-edition cigar in the Inspirado line: Macanudo Inspirado Jamao. The first limited Inspirado was the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade from 2021. The Macanudo Inspirado Jamao gets its name from a proprietary wrapper grown on a network of tobacco fields in the Northwestern Dominican Republic. It is a combination of the regions Jamastran and Mao.
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.
Macanudo‘s team of agronomists have been experimenting with tobacco cultivation and seed acclimation in Mao, D.R. for decades. There, in the Cibao Valley, the agronomists also work with a collective of independent local growers to cultivate and cure experimental tobaccos. With Macanudo Inspirado Jamao, one of those special sungrown tobaccos is being used in this blend as a wrapper.
Besides that special wrapper, the rest of the blend uses a Honduran binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Macanudo Inspirado Jamao is produced at General Cigar Dominicana in Santiago, DR, Macanudo. Production is limited to 2,300 boxes, each containing 20 cigars, and was released exclusively in the U.S. It comes in two sizes: Toro 5.75 x 52 MSRP per cigar $10.49, and Churchill 7 x 49 MSRP per cigar $10.99.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 5 3/4″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Dominican Habano
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Blender: Jhonys Diaz
Number of reviewers: 5 – Kevin J. (maninblack77) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Price: $10.49
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: July 2022
Contributed by: General Cigar
Initial Impressions – Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro
Appearance: 89
“Very oily reddish brown wrapper, with a very bumpy surface and visible raised seams from foot to cap. The wrapper is so oily on this cigar it looks like it was sprayed with clear urethane, it’s that shiny. The seams are slightly visible with the reddish blotches doing a good job of hiding them. There is not too much tooth to the wrapper.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Aroma: 88
“A sweet floral scent off of the foot that smells a bit more deep and musky off just the wrapper.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
First Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“There is a combination of dry and bitter, with sweet and creamy. Hay and cedar are the first notes that hit the palate with honey, cinnamon, and a floral finish. It is interesting that the strong black cherry notes in the pre-light are nowhere once the cigar was lit. Retrohale has a bitterness to it most notably damp concrete and acetone while there is a strong red pepper note on the finish. Strength, body, and complexity are all medium here. The bitterness in the retrohale is actually detracting from the flavor notes on the tongue at this point and are not playing well together. The draw is great, as is the burn. If we could get that bitterness out of the retrohale, things would be great!” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“The opening notes are tart cherry, cacao, and sweet oak. As I reach the inch mark there is a light cinnamon starting to tingle the top of my tongue. The retrohale has a substantial dose of pepper that tingles the nostrils. The flavor profile is fairly even with a medium-long finish.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Floral sweetness is still the sum of this blend, but a hint of cedar is starting to come through. I’d also call the smoke a rather creamy and soft mouthfeel.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“When my tongue touches the cap while smoking there is a very sweet flavor noted. The previous acetone flavor has gone away. Very strong floral and salty mineral wet concrete flavor. Retrohale has a very musty yet sweet citrus fruit flavor.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Heading into the home stretch, there was still a lot of salted nuts as well as cocoa and baking spices. The strength kind of sneaks up on you. Very enjoyable finish to this cigar.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“The flavor profile remains pretty one note for me. It’s a nice floral taste but almost no complexity. I did get a surprise nicotine kick in the final couple of inches.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Overall Impressions – Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro
Draw: 88
“The cigar draw is a little too open to me but would be serviceable to most. Although it was slightly opened the draw allowed for a cool flavorful smoke.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Burn: 90
“The burn was never straight but it kept up with itself and never needed a touch-up. The burn line is medium thick and dark.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Construction: 90
“The cigar looked like a painted piece of art from the start and performed well.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 88
“This cigar started off kind of bland with some bitterness but really opened up in the second and third thirds. Nice mixture of flavors including cocoa and salted nuts with an abundance of baking spices. I’m definitely intrigued to see what this is.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“This is one of those cigars that might create problems with some smokers. The flowery ash and uneven burn might cause some to relight it too many times. This would change the flavor profile for most. If they can get past all of this they might enjoy the smoking experience. All that being said, this cigar is a “Don’t judge a book by its cover” kind of cigar. You should try it out and see what you think.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“The start of this cigar into the early parts of the second third brought down the satisfaction level overall. There is nothing wrong with bitterness in a cigar, but what was present in my experience here with the notes of acetone made it a chemical bitterness that was not at all pleasant. The midway part of the second third was a major turnaround and through the finish, the cigar developed very nicely, ending with a sweet and spicy profile that was very enjoyable. I would love to try this paired with Dr Pepper since the ending of the cigar reminded me so much of the soda. I would be interested to try this cigar again and see if the early bitterness was just a miss, or if that is actually what is present in the blend.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“There were a lot of flavors and intense notes to this smoke. However, these flavors just did not hit my palate right. The cigar did start with an off-putting acetone flavor, but this went away. Throughout the whole smoke, it was intense floral notes with a sweet taste to the tongue if it touches the cap. There was a salty mineral wet concrete flavor noted as well. Retrohale was a mixture of musty flavor, black pepper spice, and then citrus fruit flavor.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“I did enjoy this blend overall. Though very one note it was a nice sweet floral note that stayed consistent throughout once I got past a very harsh first half inch. There were some slight construction issues but nothing unbearable. I would revisit this blend in the future when craving a very floral taste.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)”
Smoking Time (in minutes): 74
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Kevin J. | 90 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| Estevan Z. | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 90 |
| Kevin A. | 90 | 88 | 83 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 87 |
| Chad M. | 85 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 85 |
| Lauren S. | 90 | 95 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 87 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.