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| Casa Miranda Chapter One |
Following the 2011 IPCPR, I made a decision to provide a technical debrief on many of the new cigar releases. However, it was impossible to cover every manufacturer and every cigar because my primary responsibilities were still on the retail end. One cigar that I overlooked was a new release from Miami Cigars’ was the Casa Miranda. The Casa Miranda was definitely one of the more anticipated releases of the 2011 IPCPR. Combined with the release of the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve, the “Miranda” was truly being showcased in 2011. The Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve was an outstanding release, so I was curious if the Casa Miranda would provide a solid 1-2 punch for Nestor Miranda. I was not disappointed as I found the Casa Miranda surpassed the high expectations I had for this cigar.
One thing different about this cigar compared to other Nestor Miranda cigars is where this cigar is made. This cigar is made at the world renowned Miami, Florida’s El Titan de Bronze factory under the watch of superstar blender Willy Herrera. The cigar is rolled by level 9 torcedors, so the best of the best is clearly employed in this process. From what I understand, this cigar is going to be a limited production cigar on an annual basis.
Time to break down and analyze the Casa Miranda in some more detail:
Blend Profile
The Casa Miranda is highlighted by one of the most beautiful Ecuadorian Habano wrappers I have ever seen. It has a silky look to it – making for a very attractive cigar.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitolas Available
At the time of this writing, the Casa Miranda is available in three vitolas:
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Torpedo 6 x 52
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For this cigar experience, I picked up a couple of Casa Miranda Robustos. This was by default because the retailer I visited only had the robusto vitola in stock. I placed a straight cut into the beautiful Ecaudorian Habano cap and commenced with the pre-light draw. The dry notes provided a wonderful combination of berry sweetness layered on top of some notes of wood. The pre-light draw was very satisfactory to me, so I was more than excited to fire up this cigar and see what it would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
The initial notes continued with the berry sweetness I had on the pre-light draw. I also detected some notes of pepper early in the cigar. The pepper was not overwhelming, but it did subside and move to the background rather early. Shortly afterwords, the berry sweetness was complemented by notes of caramel. The berry/caramel fusion made for a very unique flavor early on. An interesting pattern was that was present early on is that I picked up more body on the flavors on the afterdraw each time I drew from the Casa Miranda.
Around the midway point of the Casa Miranda, the berry/caramel sweetness did subside. The sweetness to the cigar did not totally dissipate as citrus notes emerged. The citrus notes did not have the same level of sweetness that the berry/caramel had earlier in the cigar experience. It was also around this point that I also detected notes of coffee. Meanwhile there still were some subtle notes of pepper spice in the background. By this point, the draw and afterdraw were balanced in terms of how much flavor was being delivered.
In the last 30 percent of the cigar experience, spice notes moved to the forefront joining the citrus notes. The spice took on a profile of cedar spice and classic pepper. The citrus and spice made up the flavor profile as the cigar experience came to a close. The finish had a slight kick to it (thanks to the spice). The finish had no harsh notes and finished with a cool and firm nub.
Burn and Draw
Simply put, this cigar scores very high for burn and draw. The Casa Miranda had a razor-sharp burn that required very few touch-ups. It burned at an ideal temperature. For a Robusto, I felt the cigar burned a little slow – and I consider that a positive. The draw was flawless on this cigar – making for a very enjoyable smoking experience.
Strength and Body
The Casa Miranda does an outstanding job at balancing strength and body. From a strength standpoint, the Casa Miranda is not going to provide a large dose of nicotine – making this a classic medium strength cigar. From a body standpoint, the flavor notes had some nice depth to this. It came very close to being a full-bodied smoke, but I still assess this as a medium to full-bodied smoke.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure there is much more I can say that I already said above. This cigar has an outstanding flavor profile, terrific balance of strength and body, and has top quality construction. It’s the type of cigar that I would recommend to either novice or experienced cigar enthusiasts. This is also the kind of cigar that can really be smoked any time of the day. The Nestor Miranda line has had a great year, and without a doubt the Casa Miranda is the cigar that stands alone at the top. Hopefully the name “Chapter One” implies there is more to come from this line.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Assessment: Memorable
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Nero’s Cigars in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
