In 2022, General Cigar Company released the eighth installment under its Macanudo Inspirado Series, the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao. The Macanudo Inspirado Series is a series of cigars under General Cigar Company’s Macanudo brand that brings a contemporary look and feel. It 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. In the case of Macanudo Inspirado Jamao, it uses a proprietary wrapper grown in the Dominican Republic’s Mao region using a Habano seed varietal that originated in the Jamastran region of Honduras (the name Jamao originates from Ja (Jamastran)+Mao). Today we take a closer look at Macanudo Inspirado Jamao in the Toro size.

The Macanudo Inspirado line was originally launched in Europe in 2014. It wasn’t until 2016 that the line was introduced to the U.S. market. Below is a list of the Macanudo Inspirado releases

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the proprietary Habano wrapper, the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao features a Honduran binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Production comes from Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG)’s General Cigar Dominicana facility in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Habano (Mao Region in Dominican from Jamastran seed)
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana

Vitolas Offered

The Macanudo Inspirado Jamao is offered in two sizes – each presented in 20-count boxes. A total of 2,300 boxes were released for the U.S. market.

Toro: 5 3/4 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 49

Appearance

The wrapper of the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro had a light rosado shade to it. There was a very light sheen of oil on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper had some visible veins that were on the surface of the wrapper. There were also some thin wrapper seams that were visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro, a straight cut was used to remove the cap of the cigar. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered a mix of wood, cedar, and citrus sweetness. This was not the most exciting of pre-light draws. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numerical score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the foot of the Macanudo Inspiration Jamao Toro and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Macnanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro opened up with a combination of classic wood, cedar, earth, and tannin notes. Early on the wood notes moved into the forefront. The tannin, cedar, and earth notes settled in the background. As the cigar moved through the first third, the tannin notes joined the wood in the forefront. In addition, some black pepper notes also surfaced in the background, and these notes also became present on the retro-hale.

Late in the first third, there were some citric sweet qualities that were joined at the hip with the Tannin notes. As the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro moved into the second third, the wood and tannins remained in the forefront. The earth notes occasionally popped into the forefront. The cedar and pepper notes remained in the background.

The last third saw the wood and tannin remain grounded in the forefront. The sweetness that was complementing the tannin notes was gone. There was more pepper and cedar than earlier on, but they had not moved into the forefront. In addition, some earth notes remained. This is the way the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao came to a close. The cigar finished with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

The Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro had a jagged burn line and at times meandered off the burn path. This resulted in the cigar requiring multiple touch-ups. The resulting ash was a near medium-gray with some dark spots. This wasn’t the firmest ash, but it wasn’t loose nor flaky either. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The draw for the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro was slightly on the open side. Normally I like a touch more resistance on the draw. This was also a cigar where it was low maintenance to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

Overall the Macnaudo Inspirado Jamao Toro started with mild to medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. There was a nominal increase in both attributes. By the second half, the strength level also was in the medium range. As for the body, it remained in the medium range for the duration of the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The Macanudo Inspirado Series started out with each blend being named after a color. Lately, the Inspirado Series has moved away from that naming convention and has focused on the innovation of the blend (i.e. in this case the “Jamao” Habano seed). At the same time, the colors continue to be an important part of the packaging. Light blue is the dominant color on the band. While it isn’t necessarily my favorite color for a cigar band, it still does look nice against the lighter rosado shade of the wrapper. The box isn’t as blue-centric as it is white with a geometric pattern on it.

Photo Credit: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When I first heard of the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao from General Cigar, I was quite excited. While some of the Inspirado releases have been better than others, I always liked the innovation platform the innovation series has presented. Unfortunately, the Macanudo Inspirado Jamao did not deliver. There was not only a lack of a balanced flavor profile, but the flavors produced were disappointing. I wanted to like the cigar because of the Jamao wrapper, but the blend was not enjoyable. This one pains me to say, but I cannot recommend this cigar.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Tannin Notes, Earth, Cedar, Pepper, Citrus
Burn: Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good