Nestor Miranda Special Selection Oscuro
Friday, December 23rd, 2011I picked up this cigar at random. What appealed to me was the size, look, and the fact that they call this size the “Coffee break.” I like coffee breaks, I like cigars… Why not give it a try. This cigar can be had in an Ocsuro wrapper or Rosado. You can read more about this cigar at their website. As always, I paired this cigar with water.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
Size: Coffee break 4.5 x 50
Price: Around $6.50
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The chocolaty looking wrapper had a smooth appearance, with minimal flaws and veins. The smell of the wrapper and foot was a mild, almost undetectable earthiness. The cigar was well packed, with a couple minor soft spots, but nothing of concern. The pre-light draw had slight resistance. The pre-light flavor was a dark bitterness that reminded me of coffee.
The burn required two minor corrections, and the ash held for around an inch.
Flavor:
The first third had nice dominant coffee and woody flavors. When passing smoke through the nose, there was an easy peppery spice that had a pinch of sweetness. As this third came to a close, subtle, dry chocolaty notes made an appearance.
The second third had an increase in sweetness. The dominant flavor was similar to a dark chocolate, not like a Hershey bar. The spice peppery spice didn’t go anywhere, but it did take on a sweetness that made the nose and mouth tingle. The wood and coffee was more noticeable on the aftertaste. Towards the end of this third, the chocolaty and woody flavors (combined with coffee) would trade places as the dominant flavor.
The last third took on a dominant woody and coffee-ish flavor. Chocolate was always there, but in the background. Like before, the pepper spice remained, and had a but of a zing. There was a slight earthiness in the background, but spice, coffee and wood overshadowed it.
Conclusion:
This was a solid medium to maybe lower full bodied cigar. The flavors switched up, and it had a good balance of body and power. I could see this going well with a mid day coffee. For a seasoned smoker, even early in the morning would work. This versatile little cigar could do pretty well at almost any time of the day, it just depends on the smoker. I liked it.
