Cigar Preview: Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve

Torpedo, 6.25" x 52 ring gauge/ $10, approx. MSRP

Today I'll be previewing the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve. It is comprised of Nicaraguan filler and binder with Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper. This cigar is a limited edition run. There will only be 1000 boxes of 10 released. It should be in your shops shortly after you read this.

The cigar is very nice looking with the dark brown wrapper with some tooth and oil to it. The green and gold band contrasts nicely with the wrapper. The box press is not too sharp as the edges are rounded. Giving the cigar a squeeze I'm able to detect a slight amount of give but there were no soft spots. When I put my nose to the wrapper I detected an intense aroma of leather with barnyard coming from the foot. After clipping it with my MTX I got a great draw with the taste of chocolate with a hint of sweetness.

After lighting it up I was rewarded with the tastes of cocoa powder, earth and some spice. The draw was perfect and it produced a lot of smoke. After a few puffs the spice started building especially on the retrohale. The ash was white on the outside and dark on the inside. It held on for about three quarters of an inch before needing to be tapped off.

By the second third the spice had definitely toned down. The flavors were mainly of cocoa powder and leather. The construction continued to be spot on. I would say it was medium bodied and strength at this point.

The final third saw a little change in the flavors to earth and leather. The spice did start coming back a bit. I would still call it medium, but at the upper end.

Overall this was a quite enjoyable cigar but I didn't feel it was terribly complex. I think that a limited edition should have some more bang for your buck. I would smoke it again but I wouldn't go out of my way to search for it.

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