Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican

The Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican is one of two cigars released by Miami Cigar and Company to commemorate company president Nestor Miranda’s 70th birthday.  Miranda is well-known for being at his cigar events carrying lancero vitolas of his Nestor Miranda Special Selection, so it was little surprise that the vitola of choice for this release would be a lancero.  I recently have had an opportunity to sample the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican – and simply put, this was outstanding release.

As mentioned, there are two cigars that were released for the Nestor Miranda 70th LE.  These cigars have distinct blends from different factories  Miami Cigar and Company has turned to the two factories that it has fostered the closest relationships with.  For the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican, it is the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic (for whom they are the U.S. distributor for).  The other cigar is the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Nicaraguan – and for that blend, Miami Cigar turned to the My Father Cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.  Both the Dominican and Nicaraguan editions of the Nestor Miranda 70th LE are packaged together in a keepsake retro automobile box (based on a car that Miranda has always admired).  Each box contains six of the Dominican blend and six of the Nicaraguan blend.

Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican (Top), Nestor Miranda 70th LE Nicaraguan (Bottom)

Automobile shaped packaging of the Nestor Miranda 70th LE cigars

The LE in the name implies limited.  Miami Cigar and Company is only producing 1000 boxes and has only released 700 at this time (holding the remaining 300 until a later point in time).

The focus of this assessment will be on the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican.  Without further adieu, let’s break down this cigar and see what the overall experience brings to the table.  As a disclaimer, this particular assessment is based on a single smoking experience.

Blend Profile

While it wasn’t a surprise to find a five country multi-national blend out of the La Aurora factory, it was a little surprising to see that the wrapper of choice was a Mexican San Andres.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Fillers: Brazilian Nicaraguan, Dominican

Vitolas Available

As we mentioned, the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican (as well as the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Nicaraguan) is a lancero.   The cigar measures 7 1/2 x 40.

Appearance

The Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican’s San Andres wrapper has more of a rosado look to it.  The color is definitely a cross between coffee bean and colorado red in color.  The complexion of the wrapper is oily and mostly smooth (there were a couple of small bumps).  There is a tiny pig-tail on the cap.  There are some visible wrapper seams (although most are well hidden).  I also noticed a couple of visible veins.  There also was a nice barnyard aroma to the cigar.

The 70th LE Dominican has two bands.  The primary band is has a U.S. highway sign design on the front of the band.  The top half of the road sign is white with the “Nestor Miranda Collection” logo in red font.  The bottom half of the sign has a large 70 in copper and white font on a black background.  Three is silver trim around the road sign.  To the left and right of the sign is a black and silver chain-link pattern to it.  To the left of the sign it says “1943” in white font on a red diamond-like background sitting on the chain-link pattern.  To the right of the sign it says “2013” – also in a white font on a red diamond-like background sitting on the chain-link pattern.  The 1943 represents the year Miranda was born while the 2013 represents the release year.  Finally on the back of the band is the copper colored Miami Cigar and Company logo.

There is also a footer band that is mostly red.  On the red background is the text “Dominican Republic” in copper colored font.  There is also copper and silver trim around the band.  On the back is the text “Nestor Miranda 70” in white font arranged in landscape mode.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

While there was a slight pig-tail, I still opted to clip my Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican with a straight cut.   The pre-light draw provided a nice mix of flavors as I was treated to notes of coffee, cedar sweet-spice, and some mild citrus notes.  Overall I considered the cold draw to be a positive experience.  At this point I was ready to light up my 70th LE Dominican and see what the overall smoking experience would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican provided a mix of pepper, natural tobacco, and coffee notes.  Around the five percent mark, the natural tobacco and pepper became the primary flavors while the coffee notes were secondary.   By the ten percent point, the background coffee notes took on more earthy flavors.  I could definitely detect the pepper through the nasal passages and on the retro-hale.

Later in the first third of the 70th LE Dominican, the earth notes moved to the forefront – joining the pepper flavors.  At the same time, the natural tobacco notes receded into the background.

While the flavor profile held into the second half, there was an additional flavor that surfaced.  I detected some hickory in the background.  While it was subtle, it gave this cigar a little smoky flavor and it really gave a unique edge to the flavor.

Toward the final stages of the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican, the pepper became the lone primary note and the earth notes receded to the background. The hickory and natural tobacco flavors had pretty much dissipated. The end of the 70th LE Dominican had some spice, but was not harsh.  The resulting nub was soft to the touch, but cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican is as well constructed a lancero as I have seen.  It was no surprise that this cigar did very well in terms of burn and draw.  The burn line remained razor sharp for the entire smoking experience – requiring minimal touch-ups.  The resulting ash was firm with a salt and pepper color.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

The draw was effortless on the 70th LE Dominican.  This made the cigar an enjoyable one to puff on.

Strength and Body

When it came to the attributes of strength and body, I felt the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican did very well at maintaining a good equilibrium between the two.  From a strength perspective, the 70th LE Dominican starts out medium.  In the second third it kicks up to medium to full.  By the last part of the cigar, I felt the strength had snuck up on me – crossing into the full strength range.

The body follows a similar pattern.  It starts out medium-bodied and moves to medium to full-bodied in the second third.  By the last body had crossed into full territory. In particular, I liked the way the flavors increased in depth in almost a linear fashion.

Final Thoughts

I will admit, I am not a cigar enthusiast who romances the lancero vitola.  I find that to enjoy a lancero, the blend must come together – with some optimization for the lancero format .  In the case of the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican, this is such a cigar.  In general, I like what I have seen come out of the La Aurora factory in the past twelve months – and this cigar is another good example of that.  This does make a nice special occasion cigar.  I would steer the 70th LE Dominican more toward the experienced cigar enthusiast who doesn’t mind a smaller ring gauge.  If a novice cigar enthusiast wants to try something stronger and bolder, then I would recommend the 70th LE.  As for myself, this was a cigar worthy of a box purchase.  It is definitely a cigar I would seek out and pick up.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st third), Medium to Full (2nd third), Full (Last third)
Body: Medium (1st third), Medium to Full (2nd third), Full (Last third)
Finish: Good
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 93


Source: The cigar for this assessment was gifted to me by a friend – thanks JP.