Monday, May 24 2010
A couple of weeks ago I received a little "care package" from Miami Cigar & Company. Inside was a press release about the new Nestor Miranda Collection 1989 cigars and five Nestor Miranda Collection 1989 Torpedoes. I was eager to try them, but they were a little too soft, so I thought a little rest in my humidor would do them good. Finally, yesterday I felt the cigars were ready. But before I give you my take, here's the back story on this attractive and surprisingly sensibly-priced cigar.
The name of the label represents the year of Miami Cigar & Company's founding. This is also the third release in the Miranda series produced by My Father Cigar Corp, making the "1989" another Nestor Miranda-Pepin Garcia team effort. The blend is all Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa leaf with two wrapper choices, Rosado and Oscuro. The cigars are offered in three shapes, Robusto, Toro and Torpedo, and the good news for consumers is that all the cigars carry a $5.00 price tag. But are they worth it?
My Torpedo (6 1/8" x 52) had the Rosado wrapper. But as lovely as it is, your eye can't help but notice the extra-large, highly detailed embossed band with big "1989" numbers placed front and center. Above them are little gold embossed letters that spell out "1989" in Roman numerals. So, let's get to this cigar that I paired with a glass of Taylor Fladgate Late Bottle Vintage 2003 Port.
The cigar was nicely packed, clipped cleanly and provided an easy draw. The pre-light flavors were a sweet mix of mostly nutmeg and leather. Once lit, instead of the usual peppery start, sweet and spicy flavors leaped onto the palate; primarily nutmeg, sweet wood and a sort of hickory-like flavor. Most complex cigars build up to these flavors, but this one took off right out of the gate. The balance through the first third was excellent, and I could clearly taste everything it was throwing at me. Although this cigar didn't have the prettiest ash, it was quite firm, and held on tightly for a long time before surrendering to gravity. 
At about the midpoint, a creamy toffee flavor entered the party and I was really getting into it. I almost wish I had paired the cigar with coffee, or maybe something even lighter like the tonic & lime juice I had last week with my Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo. You really don't want your drink to interfere with all the flavors going on in this cigar, but the Port, though it had a lot of body, wasn't too overbearing.
By the last third, this cigar was just one delicious candy bar of a smoke. The nutmeg and toffee and sweet wood and even a some mocha-java flavors were all swirling around my palate like a perfect storm. As usual, I let the cigar rest longer between puffs at this point, and with about three inches left, the cigar suddenly fired-off a blast of potent dark tobacco with a very burly character. I wasn't expecting a change-up like that, but the core flavors remained true for the most part and ended at the one-and-a-half-inch mark where I finally put it down.
The Nestor Miranda 1989 Torpedo is definitely one of the most interesting and enjoyable cigars I've had all year, which is why I strongly suggest you try one of them and taste for yourself. Kudos all-around for Señores Miranda and Garcia.
~ Gary Korb
