2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #13: Micallef Black Toro

#13 2023 Cigar of the Year: Micallef Black Toro

SPECIFICATIONS

Wrapper: San Andrés Mexico Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaragua
County of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Micallef Cigars S.A.
Toro: 6 x 52
Price: $8.00

Sponsor: No
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Micallef Black Toro (10/30/23)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 2 (2020, 2023)

The Details

The #13 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Micallef Black Toro. If there is one cigar company that has made the best use of its Ambassador group, it would have to be Micallef Cigars. The Micallef Ambassadors group is an integral part of providing input to its products. One piece of feedback that Micallef heard frequently from its Ambassadors group is that it needed a cigar that was fuller in terms of strength and body compared to most of the medium strength and body cigars that existed in the portfolio. For the Micallef Black, Micallef incorporated this feedback and developed a blend to on the fuller side. Micallef Black had a soft launch just prior to the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show and had a full launch at the Trade Show itself. It’s the Toro size of the Micallef Black that landed a spot on this year’s countdown.

Micallef Cigars launched back in 2017. Over the past three years, the company has made some strategic investments in procuring higher-grade tobaccos and efficiently escalating production at its factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The Micallef Black is the first new line to come to market that is a product of these efforts. The blend features a San Andres Mexican Maduro wrapper over an Ecuadorian Habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua. Production comes from Micallef’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The Toro size measures 6 x 52. Micallef is able to leverage its vertically integrated model and has priced the Black Toro at an aggressive $8.00 price point.

The Micallef Black Toro delivered notes of mocha (a combination of coffee and chocolate either fused or complementing each other), mixed fruit, citrus, mineral, and pepper. In terms of strength and body, this cigar delivers as promised – starting with medium to full-bodied flavors and medium to full-bodied strength before progressing to full-bodied flavors and full strength in the second half. The construction was pristine on each of the cigars I’ve smoked – and it’s a testament to the infrastructure Micallef has been investing in.

This is the second time Micallef Cigars has landed on the Countdown, and it is Micallef’s first appearance since 2020. Meanwhile, if you are keeping score at home, this is the 10th cigar from Nicaragua to land on the Countdown – so Nicaragua is now beginning to pull away in terms of most cigars on the Countdown.