Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro

Today, we take a look at the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro, a limited edition cigar introduced in 2023. The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged is the ninth installment in General Cigar Company’s Macanudo Inspirado series. 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, the Macanudo Inspirado Red was the first box-pressed Macanudo, while the Macanudo Inspirado Green would bring a Brazilian wrapper to the Macanudo line for the first time. In the case of Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged, General Cigar brings in a classic aging technique known as tercio aging. Tercio aging involves aging tobacco in handmade bales made of royal palm bark. In this case, it is Dominican Piloto Cubano that is aging for six months. According to General Cigar, the tercios round out the tobacco in a way that is not attainable through other methods, delivering deep nuances and heightened aroma. While it’s not necessarily a contemporary technique used with this release, it is another example of Inspirado’s innovation.

The Macanudo Inspirado line was initially 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:

For now, let’s turn our attention to the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged features a multinational blend highlighted by a San Andres Mexican wrapper. The remainder of the blend consists of an Indonesian binder and a combination of Colombian and Dominican tobacco. It is the Dominican Piloto Cubano that is aged in tercios.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Colombia, Dominican (Dominican Piloto Cubano Tercio-Aged)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana

Vitolas Offered

The cigars come in two sizes: Toro and Churchill – packaged in ten-count boxes. A combined total of 3,400 boxes were released in the U.S. market. Production comes from General Cigar Dominicana in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Toro: 6 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 49

Appearance

The Mexican San Andres wrapper of the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro had a classic roasted coffee bean color. On the surface of the wrapper, there was some oil. This was a wrapper that was definitely on the toothy side. The surface of the wrapper had some visible wrapper seams and some thin visible veins.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered notes of cocoa and leather with a slight astringent component. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this time, I moved on to light up the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro and proceeded with the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro opened up with chocolate, anise, coffee, earth, and cedar notes. It didn’t take long for the chocolate notes to move into the forefront. The anise, coffee, earth, and cedar notes settled into the background. On the retro-hale, there was a layer of red pepper present.

As the second third of the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro commenced, the chocolate notes remained primary. Notes of mixed pepper emerged in the background on the tongue. The pepper notes, along with the coffee notes, increased in intensity. The coffee notes increased more rapidly, and by the midway point, they displaced the chocolate notes in the forefront. The chocolate settled in the background with the anise, earth, cedar, and pepper notes.

The final third saw the coffee notes remain grounded in the forefront. The pepper notes still increased at a gradual rate. Meanwhile, anise, earth, and chocolate notes remained in the background. This is the way the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Regarding its burn, the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro delivered a nice performance. This cigar required minimal touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path. Except for a slight amount of waviness, the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro had a relatively straight burn line. The color of the resulting ash was primarily silver-gray with some darker streaks mixed in. This was an ash that was on the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro

Draw

The draw of the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro delivered a nice performance as well. There was a touch of resistance on this draw – and that is something that I have a preference for. An ample amount of smoke was produced from the Tercio-Aged Toro.

Strength and Body

Given the blend’s use of Indonesian and Colombian tobacco, I expected a cigar on the milder side. Instead, the cigar treated me to a medium-strength, medium-bodied experience. The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro had a slight increase in intensity for both the strength and body, but in the end, this cigar remained in the medium range for both attributes. In terms of strength and body, the body maintained a slight edge.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The Macanudo Inspirado Series started with each blend being named after a color. Lately, the Inspirado Series has moved away from that naming convention and focused on the blend’s innovation (i.e., the Tercio Aging). At the same time, the colors continue to be an essential part of the packaging. I found the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged to be unique as it featured colors reminiscent of tobacco leaves in the process of curing.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro Packaging

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro was an excellent cigar. I encounter a lot of cigars with various innovations – whether its tobacco or tobacco processing techniques. In quite a few of those cases, the cigars do not deliver on its promise. With the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro, this was not the case. This enjoyable cigar delivered on the most crucial attribute – flavor. The flavors delivered were unique and had enough complexity to satisfy. With a price point of $10.49, this is also a good value in today’s market.

Ultimately, this is a cigar I would not hesitate to recommend to either the novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy multiples of and smoke again. With a score of 90 points, the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio earns the Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Chocolate, Anise, Cedar, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good