Earlier this year, General Cigar Company released the seventh installment under its Macanudo Inspirado Series, the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade. The Macanudo Inspirado Series is a series of cigars under General Cigar Company’s Macanudo brand that brings a contemporary look and feel. It’s also served as an innovation platform for the Macanudo brand – incorporating things the brand hasn’t seen before. For example, 2018’s Macanudo Inspirado Red was the first box-pressed Macanudo. and the previously released Inspirado, the Macanudo Inspirado Green, would bring a Brazilian wrapper to the Macanudo line for the first time. The Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade once again uses a Brazilian wrapper, but this time it incorporates a Connecticut-seed Shade grown wrapper grown in Brazil. Brazilian-grown Connecticut Shade wrappers have been released before, but there have not been a lot of major releases to hit the market. Today, we take a look at the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade wrapper in the Toro 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. Below is a list of the Macanudo Inspirado releases. In the case of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade, this is the first Inspirado to not use a “color” in the name of the cigar.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade features a multi-national blend of tobaccos from four countries. In addition to the Brazilian-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper, the Inspirado Brazilian Shade features a San Andres binder and tobaccos from Brazil, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Production for the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade is handled out of General Cigar Dominicana in the Dominican Republic. One of the Dominican tobaccos in the filler is a blend that General calls “Dominican Cubita.” Dominican Cubita is proprietary sun-grown tobacco cultivated on a one-acre plot in the bucolic region of Mao, Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Brazilian-Grown Connecticut Shade
Binder: San Andres Mexican
Filler: Brazilian, Nicaraguan Jalapa, Dominican Piloto Cubano, Dominican Cubita
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana

Vitolas Offered

The Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade is offered in two sizes. Each is presented in ten-count boxes.

Toro: 6 1/2 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 48

Packaging of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro

Appearance

The Brazilian Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade had a light brown color with a slightly weathered look. There was not much in the way of oil on the surface. There was a slight bumpiness on the surface of the wrapper. There were some visible veins on the surface. Any visible wrapper seams were on the thin side.

The band of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade was highlighted by the colors of the Brazilian flag. The band itself had gold trim. There was a thick yellow stripe going through the center of the band. On the center of the band is the text “MACANUDO” in dark font. Just below the yellow stripe is the text “Inspirado” in white scripted font. Behind the band is the Macanudo logo in white font. The band also has some additional older Macanudo logos in a watermark stamp-like design.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut to remove the cap was used to commence the cigar experience of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a combination of cream, wood, and a slight baker’s spice. The cold draw was definitely on the light (mild) side and this would be a sign of things to come. Overall it wasn’t a bad pre-light draw, but it wasn’t the most exciting one either. At this point, it was time to toast the footer of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro commenced with notes of cream, wood, and citrus. This was soon followed by notes of baker’s spice. Early on the cream and citrus notes became primary. The baker’s spice and wood notes settled into the background. On the retro-hale was a very subtle amount of citrus and wood.

During the second third of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro some earth notes emerged in the forefront. The citrus notes remained in the forefront and at times there was a slight amount of astringency to the citrus notes. The cream notes diminished throughout this stage of the smoking experience and by the end of the second third, the cream notes dissipated. Meanwhile the baker’s spice and wood remained grounded in the background. The retro-hale now was more wood-centric.

By the final third, the earth notes took over as the primary note. The citrus receded into the background joining the baker’s spice and wood notes. There was a slight amount of black pepper that also surfaced in the background. This is the way the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Each of the samples of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro had a meandering burn path. As a result, this burn required frequent touch-ups throughout the smoking experience. The resulting ash was silver gray with some darker speckling. The ash was relatively firm. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The draw of the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro had a slight resistance to it – making this ideal in my book. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavors from.

Strength and Body

As indicated from the pre-light draw, the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade Toro was a dialed-back smoke. This is a cigar that not only started out mild in strength, but the flavors were mild in body. By the second half of the smoking experience both the strength and body moved into mild to medium territory – where it remained for the duration of the smoke. Both the strength and body balanced each other with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One thing is for certain, the Macanudo Inspirado Brazilian Shade is a mild cigar. It’s one of the mildest cigars I’ve had this year. I don’t mind that this is a milder cigar. There are certainly some good mild cigars out there. The problem is that after a promising start, I found the flavors disappointing. At the same time, I was battling a meandering burn. In the end, I was hoping for more out of this cigar than I got. It’s a cigar that I’d recommend trying a sample of first before deciding whether to purchase not.

Summary

Key Flavors: Citrus, Earth, Cream, Wood, Baker’s Spice,
Burn: Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Mild (1st Half), Mild to Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild (1st Half), Mild to Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good