Meerapfel Meir Robusto

Late last year, Meerapfel Cigar shipped its debut release in a singular 5 3/4 x 52 parejo vitola. That cigar was named Richard, after Richard Meerapfel, who passed away in 2003 and was heralded by some as saving Cameroon wrapper from extinction in the early 1990s. He is also the father of Jeremiah Meerafpel, who has become the face of the company, and his brother, Joshua.

In February, the company released its second line, which was once again named after an important family member. This time, the cigar was named Meir, in honor of Meir Meerapfel, who set up the Meerapfel cigar factory in the village of Untergrombach, Germany, in 1876.

Unlike the company’s debut release, the Richard Double Robusto, the Meir is being offered in four different vitolas. However, as was the case with the aforementioned Richard Double Robusto, Meerapfel Cigar is disclosing no information about where the cigars are rolled or what tobaccos are being used.

 

Three of the vitolas are sold in boxes of 25 cigars, but the Double Robusto size is sold in a 10-count box where the cigars are packaged on top of an ashtray. This is similar to the Richard Double Robusto, though the color of the Meir’s ashtray is blue with gold accents, compared to the Richard Double Robusto’s ashtray, which is red with gold accents. All Meerapfel Cigar releases are limited to 613 boxes per year.

The Meerapfel Meir line currently includes four different vitolas:

• Meerapfel Meir Double Robusto (5 3/4 x 52) — €94 (Box of 10, €940) / $86 (Box of 10, $860)
• Meerapfel Meir Robusto (4 7/8 x 50) — €46 (Box of 25, €1,150) / $42 (Box of 25, $1,050)
• Meerapfel Meir Churchill (7 x 47) — €54 (Box of 25, €1,350) / $50 (Box of 25, $1,250)
• Meerapfel Meir Pyramid (6 1/8 x 52) — €62 (Box of 25, €1,550) / $57 (Box of 25, $1,425)

• Cigar Reviewed: Meerapfel Meir Robusto
• Country of Origin: Undisclosed
• Factory: Undisclosed
• Wrapper: Undisclosed
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Length: 4 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $42 (Box of 25, $1,050)
• Release Date: February 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production*
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*Production is limited to 613 boxes annually.

Covered in a pale milk chocolate brown wrapper and one of the most intricate bands I have seen in some time, the Meerapfel Meir Robusto is a sight to behold. Those wrappers are quite dull from a visual standpoint, with almost no oil that I can discern, although there are some very obvious veins running up and down the lengths of all three cigars. Aromas from the wrappers are fairly light but include cinnamon, dark chocolate, roasted espresso beans, yeast, cedar and generic sweetness. However, there are quite a few more notes emanating from the foot, including creamy cashews, cedar, barnyard, plain oatmeal, earth and some dark, fruity sweetness. Finally, the cold draw brings flavors of Spanish cedar, sourdough bread, gritty earth, cocoa nibs, backer’s spices, cinnamon and light floral sweetness.

A combination of spice and a sweet floral note starts the Meir Robusto off as I light the foot, and while the spice begins to recede almost immediately, the floral note is joined by a powdery cocoa nibs flavor at the top of the profile. Secondary notes of cinnamon, tea leaves, sourdough bread, mocha coffee, cedar and earth flit in and out, while white pepper and pomegranate sweetness are present in virtually equal amounts on the retrohale. Flavor starts off strong at medium-full, while the body and strength lag far behind at mild plus and a point just under the medium mark, respectively. When it comes to construction, I am unsure how the situation could be improved: the draws and smoke production are excellent, while all three cigars feature burn lines that never come close to giving me any issues.

Moving into the second third, the profile of the cigar is still full of the same wonderful combination of slightly sweet floral and powdery cocoa nibs, followed by creamy cedar, cashews, toasted bread, roasted espresso beans, cinnamon and light hay. In addition, while there is slightly more white pepper on the retrohale as the burn line crosses the halfway point, the amount of pomegranate sweetness remains about the same. Flavor increases to land just under the full mark, the body makes it to a point just under medium and the strength ends the second third firmly at medium. Construction-wise, each of the three cigars continues to exhibit amazing draws and plenty of dense smoke, but the burn on my second cigar runs into just enough trouble to need a minor correction in order to stay on track.

I notice a saltiness on my lips during the final third of the Meerapfel, which combines nicely with flavors of cashews and roasted espresso beans that take over the top spots in the profile until the end of the cigar. Additional notes of dry oatmeal, cinnamon, creamy cedar, dry hay, earth and a less-obvious floral note make themselves known at various points, while the amount of both white pepper and pomegranate sweetness remains unchanged on retrohale compared to the previous third. The flavor crosses into full and stays there, while the body joins the strength at a solid medium. After that small hiccup in the second third of the second third, the construction for each of the three cigars is once again giving me no issues at all, with the burn, draws and smoke production all trouble-free until I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• Reinhard Pohorec, vp of Meerapfel Cigar, told halfwheel that while the Meir began shipping to stores in the U.S. in February, the company released the cigars to stores in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East late last year.
• I can’t say enough about the packaging for the Meerapfel Meir: the boxes are gorgeous—if a bit unwieldy—while the band is one of the most intricate I have seen in a very long time.

• Speaking of the box, while it is impressive from the outside, the inside includes a feature I don’t remember ever seeing: an opening specifically cut out of the bottom of the box to hold Boveda packs.
• As Patrick noted in his review of the Richard, Meerapfel Cigar created a new line called Création de Coeur, which the company uses exclusively to raise money for charity. While there are no details about the blend, it is different than the lines that are sold in stores. The company says that the Meerapfel family covers all of the costs associated with the cigar and then donates the cigars to raise money for charity. The first box was sold at a March 8 event at restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville de Crissier outside of Lausanne, Switzerland. It benefited the charity Morija, which provides humanitarian aid and development programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
• If you are not retrohaling while smoking this cigar, you are wasting both your time and your money.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and 38 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Meerapfel Meir cigars, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. has it in stock on its website.