In 2020, General Cigar released the sixth installment under its Macanudo Inspirado Series, the Macanudo Inspirado Green. Macanudo Inspirado is a line under General Cigar Company’s Macanudo brand that brings a contemporary look and feel. It’s also served as an innovation platform with the Macanudo brand – incorporating things the brand hasn’t seen before. For example, 2018’s Macanudo Inspirado Red was the first box-pressed Macanudo. In the case of Macanudo Inspirado Green, it incorporates a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper – marking the first time Macanudo has used a Brazilian wrapper leaf. Today we take a closer look at the Macanudo Inspirado Green in the Robusto size.

The Macanudo Inspirado line was originally launched in Europe in 2014. It wasn’t until 2016 when the line was introduced to the U.S. market. The following are a list of the Macanudo Inspirado releases:

Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto - Closed Box — Closed box of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto

Without further ado, let’s break down the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table:

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Macanudo Inspirado Green is a multi-national blend. In addition to the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, it incorporates an Indonesian binder and a combination of Colombian and Dominican fillers. Production is handled out of the General Cigar Dominicana factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Colombian, Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana

Vitolas Offered

The Macanudo Inspirado Green is offered in three sizes. Each is presented in 25-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 x 50
Churchill: 7 x 48

Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto - Open Box — Open box of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto

Appearance

The Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper had a dark wood color to it. Upon closer examination there was a slight amount subtle mottling on the surface. The wrapper also had a slightly toothy texture to it. This was a wrapper that had a slightly rugged look with some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams.

Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto - Close Up — Close up of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto

As expected, the band of the Macanudo Inspirado Green has a primarily green color. The band itself has silver trim. There also is a thick silver stripe going through the center of the band. On the center of the band is the text “MACANUDO” in green font. Just below the silver stripe is the text “Inspirado” in white scripted font. Behind the band is the new Macanudo logo in silver font. The band also has some additional older Macanudo logos in a watermark stamp-like design.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto. Once the cap was removed it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee bean, earth, and a slight sweetness that was a cross of citrus and licorice. To me, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the foot of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto and see what the actual smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto started out with notes of cocoa, coffee bean, earth, red and white pepper, and more of the citrus/licorice combination. Early on the coffee bean became primary. The other notes settled in the background. In addition, there was a combination of red pepper and cedar on the retro-hale.

During the early part of the second third of the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto, the coffee bean became the primary note. In the background, the citrus notes took a slight edge over the other notes. The pepper at times had a slight pungent effect and slowly increased in intensity during this phase. Meanwhile, while there were some earth notes present, the cocoa and licorice notes dissipated.

By the final third the coffee bean notes remained grounded in the forefront. The pepper notes were now the most prominent in the background with the citrus and earth notes further back. This is the way the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto did require frequent touch-ups along the way to maintain a straight burn line and straight burn path. The touch-ups did the trick, but the cigar required more touch-ups than I prefer. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose nor flaky. This was an ash that was light gray in color. The burn temperature was ideal. The burn rate was slow, but this had no adverse effects on the smoking experience.

Draw

The draw to the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto was on the open side, but was not a loose one. This was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto was medium from start to finish. When comparing this to traditional Macanudo cigars, the Inspirado Green is going to be a bolder cigar.

There wasn’t much in the way of variance of the strength and body of this cigar. At the same time, the strength and body both balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto is a solid cigar. Usually I am not a fan of taking a brand out of its comfort zone in terms of how it’s positioned, but overall I think building the Inspirado Series as a separate pillar under Macanudo is a good thing. Typically I find that Brazilian Arapiraca can be very pungent. While the pungency isn’t present early on with the Inspirado Green Robusto, it is going to surface in the second half of his cigar. Still, at $6.89, the Macanudo Inspirado Green Robusto is going to provide some really good value. This is a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke and purchase again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Mustiness, Cedar, Cream, Black Pepper, Hay
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good