Nestor Miranda Collection Habano

The Nestor Miranda Collection made its debut in mid 2014. With Miami Cigar and Company celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the company decided to use this occasion to revamp most of its current Nestor Miranda branded offerings.  As a result, the Nestor Miranda Special Selection line has been rebranded the Nestor Miranda Collection.  From a packaging standpoint, new contemporary art deco bands were added.  The brand consists of three distinct blends: the Nestor Miranda Collection Connecticut, the Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro, and the cigar being assessed today, the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano.  I have recently smoked the Habano in a Robusto offering and overall found this to be a solid cigar released by Miami Cigar and Company.

In terms of the offerings, the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano and Nestor Miranda Collection Madro are new blends.  The Nestor Miranda Collection Connecticut blend stayed the same and was rebranded as the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Conneciticut.  Meanwhile the old Nestor Miranda Special Selection Rosado and Oscuro blends have been retired.

Nestor Miranda Collection (Top to Bottom: Connecticut, Habano, Maduro)

Without further ado let’s take a closer look at the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano in the Robusto offering and see what this cigar brings to the table.


Blend Profile

Like the other offerings in the Nestor Miranda brand, the Nestor Miranda Collection is made by the Garcia family at the My Father Cigars factory.  The blend for the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano consists of a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper as well as a Nicaraguan binder.  The filler consists of tobaccos from three countries.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Brazilian
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (My Father Cigars)

Vitolas Available

Each blend of the Nestor Miranda Collection shares the same frontmarks.  The Robusto is actually a short robusto and is the same size as what was called the “Coffee Break” in the old Nestor Miranda Special Selection.

Corona: 6 x 46
Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Toro: 5 1/2 x 54
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

The Habano wrapper of the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano has a medium brown color with a somewhat oily complexion.  The surface of the wrapper has somewhat of a bumpy feel to it.  While most of the wrapper seams are well hidden, there are several visible veins that contribute to the bumpiness.

The band consists its primarily black with lime green and chrome colored trim.  The Nestor Miranda Colleciton logo consists of an interlocking N, and M that also contributes to the shape of the wrapper.    Below the logo is the text “NESTOR MIRANDA” in chrome font.  Below that text is the “COLLECTION” in a smaller chrome font.  To the left of the logo is the text “NESTOR MIRANDA COLLECTION” in landscape mode which each word on a separate line surrounded by a thin lime green pinstripe.  To the right of the logo is the text “HABANO” in chrome text on a lime green background.  To the far right siting on the back of the band is a smaller interlocking N and M Nestor Miranda Collection logo.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I normally do, I started my cigar experience of the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano Robusto with a straight cut.  Once I removed the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  I found the dry draw to the Habano to be simple, but flavorful as I was treated to a mix of sweet cedar notes and a combination of cedar and pepper spices.  Overall I considered this to be a solid pre-light draw.  At this point I was ready to light up the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano Robusto and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano Robusto delivered a blast of spice that is almost synonymous with Garcia family blends. While this one had a black pepper flavor common to the Garcia family blends, I also detected a good amount of cedar sweet-spice. Notes of natural tobacco and then fruit sweetness soon entered the equation. In the early stages, the pepper diminished while the cedar remained more prominent. While the pepper diminished on the tongue, the cedar and pepper remained present on the retro-hale.

By the middle of the first third, the cedar sweetness and natural tobacco were primary flavors. The fruit, and pepper notes became secondary. By the end of the first third, the natural tobacco became more of a nut flavor.

During the second third the nut and cedar were primary flavors. The fruit note surfaced in the forefront from time to time.  By the start of the second half, the nut flavor definitely had a slight edge in terms of being the dominant flavor over the others.

The last third continued to see the nut flavor primary.  The pepper spice inched closer to the forefront. Meanwhile the cedar and fruit notes were still present. There was a little bit of harshness at the end. The resulting nub was firm and cool.

Burn and Draw

Overall I found the Habano to perform quite well when it comes to burn and draw.  For the most part the burn line remained on a straight path. It did require some touch-ups along the way, but nothing that was outside the norm in terms of the amount needed. The resulting ash had a charcoal gray color.  The ash itself was not overly tight, but wasn’t a loose ash either. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano

In terms of the draw, it was also not too tight and not too loose.  It had a satisfactory amount of resistance in my book. It made this an enjoyable smoke from start to finish.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I wouldn’t categorize the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano Robusto as a power-house.  It definitely has more strength than the Nestor Miranda Collection Connecticut. Overall I assessed this cigar as medium strength from start to finish. In terms of the flavors, they definitely had some weight on the palate. I assessed the Habano as being a medium to full-bodied cigar from start to finish. The body of the Habano did slightly increase in the last third, but doesn’t quite hit full-bodied. When looking at strength versus body, I definitely gave the edge to the body throughout this cigar experience.

Final Thoughts

Overall I found the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano blend to deliver some nice flavors.  I definitely found it to be a different cigar than the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Rosado (which is the cigar I would say it maps closest to). This is one of those cigars that if you smoke it undistracted, you will realize there is a lot more to offer with this cigar. This is definitely a cigar you will want to retro-hale. It also is a cigar that serves up a fair (but not overpowering) amount of spice. The only drawback of this cigar is that it did finish up with a slight amount of harshness. This is definitely a cigar I would recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast. I would also say this is the type of cigar a novice can smoking looking to “graduate” into the “medium to medium plus” range. As for myself, it’s one I would go for a fiver for.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 88

References

News: Nestor Miranda Collection Revamps Nestor Miranda Line
Price: $7.50
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Stogie Geeks Extra: Nestor Miranda
Stogie Feed: n/a