Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro (2022)

A decade ago, in 2012, Miami Cigar & Co. unveiled a new line called the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut, the third blend in the Nestor Miranda Special Selection collection along with Habano Rosado and Oscuro versions. It was a cigar designed for the morning hours of Nestor Miranda, the company’s president, and to be paired with a cup of coffee.

Two years later, in 2014. the line was phased out.

Eight years later, the line is back, with a familiar but slightly new look and a blend loyal to the original if not an exact copy.

Jason Wood, vp of Miami Cigar & Co., told halfwheel that this new version of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut is as close as possible to the original blend as the company could get it, but acknowledges that it is not identical. One thing helping that cause is that My Father Cigars S.A. is producing it at its Estelí, Nicaragua factory, the same factory that produced the original release. However, the company is not disclosing the components of the new version’s blend, so it is left to speculation as to what tobaccos are being used.

As for the line’s original blend, it used an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.

There’s also a subtle change to the packaging. The original logo used a light gray on top of white color scheme for the logo, now it’s white on top of a dark blue color.

• Cigar Reviewed: Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro (2022)
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Undisclosed
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $8.25 (Box of 20, $165)
• Release Date: May 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

As soon as I take the first sample out of the cellophane, I’m struck that is seems a bit heavier than other cigars, particularly towards the band and head, so maybe top-heavy is the more appropriate term. The experience doesn’t repeat itself, making me wonder if it was how I removed the cellophane if it was a one-off experience, or something else. The cigar itself is quite attractive, starting with the updated band design, though I keep thinking there is some green in the band when it is a dark blue. The wrapper is a soft and supple leaf, and while not particularly oily to the eye, I can pick up a bit with my fingers, again as part of the suppleness and elasticity of the leaf. There’s just a bit of texture to the wrapper and the veins are generally on the smaller side, though their network is fairly visible. There is some give in each of the samples; in the first cigar I find myself concerned about a firm spot right underneath the band. The foot offers an aroma of either milk or cream, and cereal, as if the two were sitting side by side before being combined for breakfast. It’s a light but decently thick aroma with very little pepper and a touch of sweetness but nothing overt. The core of the cigar seems to want to give me a bit more bread or toast as well as some pepper, and deeper follow-up sniffs do reveal those components. One cigar also has a bit of a floral fragrance to it as well, as if a small vase of flowers was also on the breakfast table. Air moves well on the cold draw, though there isn’t much in the way of flavor intensity. It is a very mild remnant of what was offered in the aroma, meaning a bit of creaminess but now what I’d find from the last spoonful of a bowl of cereal.

The Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro starts off like many a modern Connecticut, offering a fair amount of black pepper both on the palate and through the nose, as opposed to the classic, mellower and subdued profile. There’s a bit of creaminess setting the base flavor with thin wood in the mix as well as a lesser contributor, but the pepper is clearly in the driver’s seat out of the gate. One sample has a bit of sourdough bread that is reminiscent of domestic Connecticut shade wrappers, but it’s an isolated appearance. The pepper mellows just a bit as the burn line progresses, and if takes on a bit of a different texture on the tongue; after starting fairly sharp and pointed, it is now a bit softer and makes me think of a ground-up, powdery texture. The other flavors change as well, in particular the cereal flavor shifts towards a plain bagel flavor that is also denser on the palate. Flavor is a vibrant full out of the gate and settles at medium-full, with the body at medium and strength a surprising medium. Construction and combustion are both very good with no problems.

The profile mellows a bit as the second third gets underway, though the flavors get more intertwined and add a layer of complexity that the cigar wasn’t quite able to show in the first third given the pepper being such a driver. A bit of a toasty flavor begins to appear at the edges of the profile and grows its impact, but it doesn’t overshadow the other flavors in the cigar. This change continues to evolve and as it does I notice the creaminess slowly fading away from the profile; while it was never really dominant, its current absence makes me realize and appreciate its presence in the first third. By the midway point, the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro is beginning to remind me a bit of saltine crackers but with a sprinkling of black pepper. Once the burn line crosses the midway point, the cigar makes another evolution, as the pepper ramps up its intensity while staying with a blunter sensation on the taste buds. Getting some smoke through nose is where the cigar really intensifies, both via retrohales and the ambient smoke off each puff. There’s a bit of sourdough bread here as well, though the experience is isolated to a single cigar. The final puffs of this section pick up a bit more pepper and grit, while some creaminess comes back in to try and balance them out. Construction remains absolutely fantastic.

The Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro has flirted with strength thus far, and it finally seems to decide whether or not to pursue it not long into the final third. The first sample hits me much harder than I was expecting, and I don’t know if it was just my system that day, having been out in the heat a bit earlier, or just a strong cigar, but this sample packed a punch. The second was much mellower, and the third was in the middle of those, strong enough to feel but not enough to make me woozy. The sourdough in the one sample now begins to steer the profile, with the saltine crackers, black pepper and a bit of char following closely in tow. When the sourdough isn’t present, those other components jockey for position, and I once again notice that the creaminess has departed. The further I get into the final third, the more I realize that this portion seems to make or break my overall experience with the cigar, as while one cigar dodged the issues, the other two lost the battle against too much toast and charred pepper, with one almost knocking me into submission with strength. Construction remains great and combustion is nearly flawless until the final inch-and-a-half, but I’m willing to take the blame for some of its issues as I had given up maintaining a constant puff rate out of avoidance of what the next puff might offer. Flavor finishes medium-full, body is medium, and strength anywhere from medium to full.

Final Notes

• I probably smoked some of the original version, but I certainly couldn’t tell you that I remember what they tasted like or how this compares to them.
• I’m not crazy about this vitola being called a toro, as I think a cigar should be in that 6 to 6 1/2 inch range in length to get that vitola name. Personally, I prefer robusto extra for this size.
• The bands on these three samples were all pretty well attached, to the detriment of the wrapper at times. Whether I tried to slide it off or peel it off, the top leaf suffered a bit of damage.
• Things like the bands and how they are attached occasionally feel like an overlooked detail, but on cigars like this they become immediately apparent. If a company is using a thinner wrapper that is more delicate than average, it would seem to be to everyone’s benefit to use an adhesive that makes the bands easier to remove.
• It’s interesting to see what comes up as the top news stories of 2012 and 2014, the years the original Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut was released and discontinued.
• I have to give My Father Cigars S.A. credit for how well these were rolled; all I had to do was give the foot of each sample an even toasting and the cigars burned beautifully.
• This has more strength than I anticipated; one cigar really hit me hard, one not so much, and one barely at all.
• Miami Cigar & Co. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 55 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar carry the new Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut Toro.