Micallef Blue Toro

During the 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Micallef Cigars showcased a follow-up to its Micallef Black line. The new Micallef Blue is made up of a Mexican San Andrés Sumatra wrapper covering an Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

“Following the success of Micallef Black, our job is to exceed expectations,” said Dan Thompson, president of Micallef Cigars, in a press release. “The Micallef Blue is a slightly sweet San Andrés Sumatra, praised by those who got to enjoy it early—another premium experience at an unbeatable pocket-friendly price.”

The Micallef Blue launched with the same two vitolas and price points as the Micallef Black.

Like the Micallef Black, the Micallef Blue is made at the company’s factory in Nicaragua. Boxes of the Micallef Blue started shipping to retailers on March 25, 2024.

• Cigar Reviewed: Micallef Blue Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Micallef Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $8 (Box of 25, $200)
• Release Date: March 25, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

In a certain light, two of the pale brown wrappers have a slight green tint. Despite the obvious lack of oil, the Micallef Blue Toros are slick, almost elastic, to the touch. The feet of all three cigars have an obvious square shape instead of anything resembling round or oval, and I find a very obvious patch on one cigar. There are no major protruding veins on any of the three cigars and all three cigars are extremely hard when squeezed. Aromas from all three wrappers include strong pencil lead, sweet woodiness, baker’s spices, barnyard and earth, but the second cigar has a massive dark chocolate note. Bringing the feet of the cigars to my nose, I smell quite a bit of dry straw combined with coffee beans, along with some earth, generic nuttiness and light vanilla sweetness. After punch cuts, the cold draws include flavors of roasted peanuts, gritty earth, stone crackers, leather tack, potato chips and sweetness that reminds me of vanilla beans on two cigars and dark fruit on the last one.

Starting out, the Micallef Blue Toros feature a very light spice on my lips, along with flavors of barnyard and anise. After about a dozen puffs, a strong combination of cedar and roasted peanuts takes over the profile, followed by semisweet chocolate chips, light citrus acidity, hay, earth and white bread. There is a bit of bitter espresso on the finish of two cigars, while the third one just features generic earth. On the retrohale, all three cigars include varying amounts of black pepper and powdered sugar sweetness,  with the first cigar having a bit more than the other two. The flavor ends at medium-plus, while both the body and strength reach a solid medium. So far, there are no issues whatsoever when it comes to construction, with the burn lines, draws and smoke production working in harmony for all three cigars so far.

During the second third, the profile becomes noticeably creamier as flavors of buttered popcorn and cedar become the top combination. Secondary flavors include an extremely dry hay note that is almost strong enough to be a main flavor, along with light lemongrass, gritty earth, leather, bagel breadiness and roasted peanuts. All three cigars now have the same bitter espresso on the finish, while the combination of powdered sugar sweetness and black pepper remains. The flavor bumps up to full, the body stays at a solid medium and the strength hits medium-plus. Two cigars need minor touch-ups with my lighter to avoid larger issues, but all other aspects of the construction gave me no issues.

Although the creaminess in the profile continues to be present, it is less obvious than it was during the second third. Cedar and hay now top the flavor profile, easily outpacing secondary notes of cocoa nibs, leather tack, gritty earth, barnyard and generic nuttiness. During the finish of my third cigar, a jalapeño note shows up on the finish for a very short time, and the combination of powdered sugar sweetness and black pepper is noticeably less distinct compared to the second third. However, there is quite a bit more strength present—all three cigars hit a point just under the full mark before the end of the cigar, resulting in balance issues for all three cigars—and the body increases to medium-full but the flavor decreases to medium-plus. Finally, there are no problems at all with the construction of all three cigars before they come to an end.

Final Notes

• Earlier this year, Micallef announced a relatively unique arrangement with Micky Pegg, co-founder of All Saints Cigars. In this agreement, Pegg was named the new president of sales for Micallef, and Micallef’s sales team would start selling All Saints cigars. However, that agreement is scheduled to end by the end of June.

• As mentioned above, there was a very noticeable patch on my first cigar.

• On the backside of the main band is a depiction of two shaking hands with the words “Two Families” on top and “One Legacy” on the bottom.
• Like the Micallef Black, the Micallef Blue line is extremely—almost shockingly—wallet-friendly, especially considering how average prices on premium cigars seem to be creeping higher year after year.

• While these cigars are officially listed to be 6x 52, none of the cigars I reviewed measured exactly 6 inches and only one came in at 52 ring gauge.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three cigars averaged out to two hours and three minutes.