*Note: This is not a blind review, this is just to give a quick take on a cigar that was provided to us by the manufacturer.
Reviewer: Aaron
Cigar Info
The Nestor Miranda Collection was released this year (2014). The Connecticut is a rebranded version of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut. The blend is the same, so it’s nothing more than a rebranding of that cigar.
The robusto measures in at 4.5”x50 and has an MSRP of $7.25.
Initial Impressions
The cigar has a medium brown wrapper. There are a few visible medium sized veins that carry a slightly lighter color with them. The seams are easily visible and slightly raised. The aroma from the wrapper is a very faint hay, while the foot brings a light tobacco sweetness.
The Smoke
The pre-light draw is very open and is a mix of hay and leather. Upon lighting, there is quite a bit of pepper on my tongue and in the retrohale. At about the half inch mark, the pepper receded from my tongue and a heavy cedar flavor replaced it. There is still a medium amount of pepper left on the retrohale. At the inch mark, some mineral flavors were detectable. After a few more draws, the mineral note is still there and morphs into a bit of minty aftertaste. I would put the body at light to medium and the strength at mild to medium.
In the second third, the cedar has toned down a bit. The smoke is a little drying in the mouth now. The pepper has seemed to have left the retrohale which is now pretty creamy. The flavor is now a very light cedar and remained that way for the remainder of the third. The body is now medium with the strength dropping down to mild.
In the final third, the flavor is creamy cedar with just cream on the retrohale. A quarter inch in and the mineral flavor has returned. With about an inch left, the strength is starting to pick up. The light cedar has now transitioned to a charred oak flavor with creamy oak on the retrohale. The body remained at medium and the strength moved up to medium.
Overall Impressions
The draw started out very loose. As the cigar smoked along, the draw tightened up a bit, but I would still consider it loose. The burn was very good. Not razor sharp, but stayed pretty well in line. The ash dropped off in about ¾ inch chunks. The cigar was fairly firm the entire length with a bit of give at the foot. The pack of the cigar might have been a little loose which contributed to the airy draw, but other than that, no construction issues to speak of.
This cigar was decent. Nothing too exciting, but it did produce a good amount of flavor. With the lighter strength, this cigar would be enjoyable for most smokers and would be a good first cigar of the day or a morning smoke. I could see it pairing very well with coffee. I could see myself smoking this again in the scenarios I just mentioned.
The cigar lasted 1 hours and 33 minutes for me.
I would give the Nestor Miranda Collection Connecticut Robusto a personal score of 85.
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