Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda Special Selection

Robusto Grande, 5.5" x 54 ring gauge, Oscuro
The Miami Cigar Company is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2009 and to mark the occasion they have released the Nestor Miranda Special Selection. Miranda is the director of Miami Cigar, makers of Don Lino and distributor for La Aurora. This cigar is yet another creation of the well-known Pepin Garcia but, other than that, information is difficult to come by as the manufacturer's website does not even state the sizes available. Cigars International states that it includes Nicaraguan and Costa Rican filler, but another sources says there may be some Honduran. In the long run, the origin of the tobacco is not as important as the flavor it delivers, but this lack of information is pretty disappointing.

The appearance is nice--a dark, muddy brown wrapper with a light oil sheen; several prominent veins given it a more rustic feel. The band is classy and just a little flashy, but it does not cover half of the cigar like some bands do these days. The aroma from the body was very faintly barnyard; from the foot I got cocoa and a touch of hay. The prelight draw was pretty much perfect and I got a dark chocolate flavor and spiciness on the lips.

Right off the bat, the smoke was heavy and slow-moving, and it left an oily feeling in my mouth--this is a cigar you might taste the next day...and maybe the day after that! The flavor of espresso was dominant, although there was also dark chocolate and a nice spicy finish. The coffee flavor of this cigar was actually more akin to Turkish coffee as the first third progressed--strong, a little bitter and a bit muddy. The spice ramped up considerably as well, which as a great accent. The one problem I got was a big canoe that had to be corrected. I had already read a couple comments from people that had smoked several of these each and they had similar problems at a rate of about 1 in 6 or 7 cigars.

The burn problems continued into the second third and had to be corrected again. The flavors became more earthy while still maintaining hints of coffee and plenty of spice. So far this was a full-bodied smoke.

The final third was more earthy and the spice mellowed out considerably. The construction issue persisted, though, which was really disappointing. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a full-bodied smoke, but caution them about possible burn problems. Hopefully that issue can be corrected quickly as 1 out of 7 (or so) that don't burn right is simply too many. I have another of the oscuro in my box and hope to be able to report that the construction was better there. I also will be reviewing the corojo version soon.

Body: 9/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10

P.S. Since my first cigar for this review, I smoked a second and the burn line was virtually flawless. In this instance, my score for "Construction" would be 2/2, which would raise the rating for the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Oscuro to a 9.5.