Review: Casa Miranda Chapter One Robusto

I’ve enjoyed many of the cigars released by Miami Cigar & Co., with my personal favorite being the Special Selection Danno 2010. When Miami Cigars announced that they would be releasing the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserva and the Casa Miranda at IPCPR 2011, they immediately went on my short list of cigars to try. In case you haven’t heard Casa Miranda is made in Miami, in Calle Ocho, by Willy Herrera of El Titan de Bronze. As a result of the cigar being manufactured in at ETB, Casa Miranda will be in limited supply, even though it is a regular production line.

Casa Miranda will come in three sizes:

• Robusto — 5 x 50 — $10.00
• Toro — 6 x 52 — $11.00
• Belicoso — 6 1/4 x 52 — $12.00

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Miami Cigar says that Casa Miranda is “a new approach to an old school tradition.” Let’s see if they are right.

• Cigar Reviewed: Casa Miranda Chapter One Robusto
• Country of Origin: USA
• Factory: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
  
• MSRP: $10.00 (Boxes of 20, $200.00)
• Number of Cigars to be Released: Regular Production
• Release Date: August 2011
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

The Casa Miranda has quite a rustic appearance. The wrapper has a very slight tooth, very little oil, some prominent veins, and feels soft and dry to the touch. The foot smells of hay with a slight hint of manure, while the wrapper itself has a woody smell with a slight sweet note. Construction is very good with no soft spots and a well applied cap. I don’t get very much on the cold draw other than a slight hint of something sweet.

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The First Third starts off with a big blast of pepper. I really didn’t expect that much black pepper right at the beginning of this cigar. The pepper is actually so strong that I am having a very hard time finding any other notes at the moment. After about a half inch the pepper finally starts to fade a little bit and some other notes are emerging. There is a woody note, that reminds me of pine, and a green tea note.

Into the Second Third and this cigar is burning like a champ with an almost perfectly straight carbon line and a very sturdy ash. The woody profile is still present but seems to be transitioning to a more cedary profile because of the addition of some sweetness. The pepper is meandering in and out, while the green tea flavor remains faintly in the background. I am definitely enjoying the cigar more now than I did in the first third.

The Final Third is much the same as the second third with predominately woody profile. The flavors have been well balanced for the majority of the smoke and construction has been spot on. Overall the cigar gets better as you go and the final third has been the most enjoyable.

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Final Notes:

• The initial blast of pepper on this cigar was a little overwhelming at first and I am glad that it subsided fairly quickly.
• The construction on this cigar is top notch, which is to be expected from the people at ETB.
• I’ll be interested to see if Chapter Two sees a departure away from this woody profile to something else.
• Final Smoking Time was 2 Hours

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The Bottom Line: I was really looking forward to this cigar, and frankly it didn’t live up to my expectations. I’ve liked various cigars that have come from the ETB factory, just as I have enjoyed many of Miami Cigar & Co. releases, but something about this cigar just doesn’t do it for me. I actually tend to prefer a woody profile to the chocolate/coffee profile present in so many cigars, so it’s not an issue of not liking cigars with that profile. Ultimately the cigar is a good cigar, but nothing about it feels inspired. The flavors are well balanced throughout the majority of the cigar but nothing really captured my interest. In the end I’d rather smoke a Tatuaje Havana VI for less money than this cigar. I’ll be the first to admit that reviewing cigars isn’t a science and is very very subjective. For whatever reason this cigar just isn’t something I would seek out in the future. There are other reviews of this cigar around and some people seem to genuinely love this cigar as I am sure many will especially if they like the woody/hay/cedar profile.

Final Score: 86

patrickmize

Patrick Mize wrote for SmokingStogie and took part in setting up halfwheel through the latter stages of 2011. Unfortunately, due to his new job, Patrick was forced to stop cigar blogging. Before his time at SmokingStogie, Patrick wrote for StogieGuys.com.