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| Casa Miranda Chapter Two (Toro) – Pre-Release Cigar |
The Casa Miranda Chapter Two is the second blend in Miami Cigar and Company’s Casa Miranda line. The Casa Miranda line was launched at the 2011 IPCPR Trade Show with the Casa Miranda Chapter One and it finished as our #6 Cigar that year. A few weeks ago, Miami Cigar and Company Assistant Director of Marketing Barry Stein was a guest on Kiss My Ash Radio, and made a reference to“Chapter Two” – a reference to the fact that a sequel was coming in the Casa Miranda line. This would soon be followed by an official announcement of the Casa Miranda Chapter Two. This is a cigar that will be showcased at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show this July. We have recently had an opportunity to smoke some pre-release samples of the Chapter Two. The Chapter Two does justice to the Casa Miranda line as this was a most impressive smoke.
The original Chapter One was produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami, Florida. For Chapter Two, Miami Cigar and Company turns to My Father Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua to produce this cigar. Not only is this a new factory, but as we will see this is a new blend, with different sizes, and a very different cigar experience.
Without further ado, let’s break down the Casa Miranda Chapter Two and see what this cigar brings to the table. As we do with all pre-release cigars, we default to a pre-review to provide our thoughts and perspectives. When the cigar is released, we will revisit the cigar again and provide an assessment rating and score.
Blend Profile
The interesting thing is that this is a most atypical blend by My Father Cigars – especially with the incorporation of Brazilian and Dominican tobacco. It is worth noting that Dominican tobacco was used on the Nestor Miranda Art Deco and Nestor Miranda Dominicano – which are also a Miami Cigar blends.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Not disclosed
Filler: Brazilian, Dominican, and Nicaraguan
Vitolas Available
The Casa Miranda Chapter Two is being launched in four sizes:
Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Corona Gorda: 6 x 46
Toro: 5 1/2 x 54
Gran Toro: 6 x 60
Appearance
For this cigar experience, I smoked the Chapter Two in the Toro size vitola. The Chapter Two has a medium brown, almost caramel colored wrapper. I would definitely categorize this Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper as oily. There are some visible veins, but the wrapper seams are well hidden. The surface is slightly bumpy.
The pre-release cigars we received did not have a band. From the original press release, we expect the banding to look similar to this image below:
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my smoking experience of the Casa Miranda Chapter Two, I went with my usual selection of a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The dry draw notes had quite a bit going on as I was treated to a combination of leather, cherry, and floral notes. As I continued with the pre-light draw, some pepper notes did surface. I considered the pre-light draw to be solid. At this point, I was ready to light up the Chapter Two and see what the smoking experience would deliver.
Flavor Profile
As this isn’t a typical My Father Cigars’ blend, the start turned out to be very different as well. The start to the Chapter Two did not give me the typical Garcia family pepper blast. Instead I was treated to a citrus sweetness on the start with the pepper notes more in a secondary role. The citrus notes did seem to have a bit of an acidic quality to it, and I’ll infer that will settle down with some age. Still, there was enough sweetness to the citrus to make it an enjoyable note. While the pepper was secondary on the tongue, it did play a stronger role on the early retro-hale.
Around the 5 percent mark, some coffee notes entered as a background flavor. Around the ten percent mark, the citrus sweetness dialed back slightly and some earth notes entered the equation. The pepper spice was a close secondary flavor, and the coffee was more of a tertiary note.
By the end of the first third, the earth and pepper notes took over as the main flavor. The citrus was now secondary, and the coffee remained a tertiary note.
By the midway point, the coffee notes began to play a more prominent role. It moved up toward the forefront and also could be detected slightly in the retro-hale. The pepper notes remained in the forefront. While the earth and citrus notes were secondary, they still found a way occasionally to creep into the forefront.
In the last third, the pepper, coffee, and earth notes were the primary flavor with the citrus now diminished. This is the way the flavor profile held until the end. The end of the cigar was not harsh. The resulting nub was soft to the touch, but cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
Overall, the burn and draw performed well on the Casa Miranda Chapter Two. From a burn perspective, the Chapter Two did not require a lot of maintenance to keep the burn line straight. It did require a few touch-ups, but nothing excessive. The salt and pepper colored ash was firm with no major flaking. The burn temperature was ideal. I did feel the Chapter Two burned a little quick in the first third, but it seemed to settle down for the remainder of the smoke.
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| Burn of the Casa Miranda Chapter Two |
The draw was ideal. It did not require a lot of maintenance to puff on this cigar – and it made for an enjoyable cigar experience.
Strength and Body
From a strength perspective, I found the Casa Miranda Chapter Two to have some pop. I assessed the cigar as being medium to full in strength. Toward the end the strength increases, but does not quite cross into the full strength area. As for the flavors, they are rich and robust. I assessed the Chapter Two to be a full-bodied smoke. In terms of the balance between strength and body, I gave a slight edge to the body on the Chapter Two.
While I suspect that time may mellow this cigar a bit in both strength and body, I still feel the Chapter Two will be stronger and fuller than its Chapter One predecessor.
Final Thoughts
As we said early on, the Chapter Two is a completely different cigar in almost every facet than the Chapter One. With this blend, it showcases the versatility of what can come out of the My Father Cigars’ factory. While I wouldn’t categorize the Chapter Two as a young cigar, I do think it is going to evolve more over time, so this is a cigar certainly worth watching once its released. As for comparing anything with Chapter One, it is premature at this time as these were pre-release cigars. Given this cigar is a little fuller and stronger, I would probably steer this cigar to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I see myself smoking again once it’s released.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Source: The cigars for this pre-review were supplied by Miami Cigar and Company. This request was initiated by Miami Cigar in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative to samples provided but this plays no role in a final assessment rating and write-up.
