Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary

At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, Miami Cigar and Company formally launched the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary cigar. 2018 is a year for anniversaries and milestones in the cigar industry. For Miami Cigar and Company founder Nestor Miranda, February 14th, 2018 would mark his 75th birthday. The company made a decision to release a commemorative cigar for the occasion. To produce the cigar the company turned to the My Father Cigars factory, who has produced Miami Cigar & Company’s Nestor Miranda brand over the years. The 75th Anniversary cigar is a limited edition Nicaraguan puro in a massive 7 1/4 x 57 Salomon – a size we don’t often see from the My Father Cigars factory. Today we take a closer look at the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary cigar.

Back in 2013, two cigars were released to commemorate Nestor’s 70th birthday. Nestor Miranda 70th LE Dominican (from La Aurora) and the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Nicaragua (from My Father Cigars). Both of those cigars were lanceros and featured boxes designed in the shape of the Shelby classic automobile. While it wasn’t a complete surprise that there was a birthday cigar for Nestor’s 75th birthday, I expected it would be a lancero again. This time the company opted for the Salomon.

The cigar is also the most premium Nestor Miranda branded cigar by Miami Cigar to date – coming in at $19.00 per cigar.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary Cigar and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

As mentioned, the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary cigar consists of all-Nicaraguan tobacco. The blend is highlighted by a Nicaraguan wrapper. This is a wrapper that Nestor has been on the record stating is his favorite.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Nestor Miranda 75th Anniversary was released in one size – a 7 1/4 x 57 Salomon. The cigars are packaged in 15-count boxes with total production is slated to be 1,000 boxes.

Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary Packaging

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Corojo Wrapper of the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary had a medium to dark brown color with a slight Colorado red tint. Upon closer examination, some darker mottling could be seen on the surface. The surface of the wrapper had a light coating of oil on it. There was a short nozzle shape leading to the open footer of the cigar. By the head of the cigar there was a gentle belicoso tip.

There are two bands on the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary. The primary band has a white background with gold trim. On the center of the band is a diamond jewel shape with silver accents. Across the diamond is the text “Nestor Miranda” in a gold signature font. The words “HAND” and MADE” surround the left and right of the diamond shape featuring a darker font. Below the signature is the text “COLLECTION” in dark font. Above the diamond is a smaller diamond shape with the initials NMC. The lower part of the band has silver and gold adornments.

The secondary band is gold in color with white font. The top of the band is wedged so that the diamond tip from the upper band can fit into it. The center of the band has a 75 surrounded by a wreath design on the lower portion. The text “ANNIVERSARY” is just below the wreath arranged in a curved fashion. The text “1943” and “2018” sit on the left and right side near the center of the band. There is a white pinstripe near the upper and lower portion of the band.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Using a Credo Special T cutter, a straight cut was used to clip the tip of the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary. This cutter features a 36 ring gauge hole and produces a smaller ring gauge cut where I could take advantage of the tapering of the Salomon. Once the tip was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw phase. The dry draw delivered a mix of earth and leather. This wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw, but since this activity is not scored there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to light up the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary started out with notes of earth, coffee bean, creamy wood, and black pepper. Early on the creamy wood and coffee bean moved to the forefront. Meanwhile, the earth and white pepper settled in the background. As for the retro-hale, there was an additional layer of white pepper.

Later in the first third, the white pepper receded further. By the second third, some cedar mixed in with the creamy wood and coffee bean. By the midway point, the coffee bean notes developed a slight bitter component, but this didn’t throw off the equilibrium. Meanwhile, the retro-hale morphed into more of a black pepper varietal.

The last third saw the coffee notes take over as the dominant note. There were still notes of classic wood and cedar present. The creaminess present during the first two-thirds subsided. The background notes saw a slight increase in the pepper. There also was some earth present. This is the way the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

For the most part, the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary maintained a straight burn path. There was some curvature early on with the burn line and some jaggedness as the cigar experience progressed. The cigar did require touchups along the way. The resulting ash was on the firm side with a salt and pepper color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary

Draw

When it came to the draw of the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary, it was low maintenance. I found this cigar easy to derive flavor from. Salomon cigars sometimes are too open when it comes to draw, but there is no such problem with this Nestor Miranda cigar.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, I found the intensity levels to mesh well with the flavors produced. This is a cigar that started out mild to medium in both strength and body. By the midway point, the intensity levels for both attributes moved to medium. The intensity continued to increase at a gradual rate and toward the end, both attributes closed in on medium to full but didn’t quite cross the threshold. Throughout the smoking experience, the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I did find the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary cigar to be an enjoyable smoke. This cigar was somewhat more dialed back than most cigars I have had out of the My Father Cigars factory. As I mentioned, I think the fact that this cigar was dialed back worked in favor of the flavor profile delivered. While the flavors were good, I still felt this cigar could have used a little more in the way of a “wow” factor – especially given this cigar’s $19.00 price point. Still, this is a cigar I would recommend to either the novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, there was still enough going on where I would buy this cigar and reach for it.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Earth, Cream, Wood, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Excellent