As is common with regional releases and other limited releases, there is not much information available online about this cigar. Browsing the web, I came across a news article at halfwheel.com that has this to say of the SS Exclusivo Regional:

In what may become a series of releases, Barry Stein of Miami Cigar & Co. tweeted a picture of the Nestor Miranda Exclusivo Regional Robusto Extra. The 5 1/2 x 54 box-pressed cigar will be limited to 500 boxes of 10 and sold only in the midwest. It will feature a Mexican San Andrés wrapper as opposed to the Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro, Rosado and Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers that are on the regular production versions of the Special Selection.

In addition, there is also a 6 x 60 size, which will retail for $9.00 per cigar and will ship to the region alongside the Robusto Extra next week.

While the Casas Fumando crew has not reviewed the regular production Special Selection, we have  reviewed several other Nestor Miranda lines. You can find the reviews below:

• Nestor Miranda – Art Deco 
• Nestor Miranda – Casa Miranda Chapter One 
• Nestor Miranda – Casa Miranda Chapter Two 
• Nestor Miranda – Collection 1989 

The Facts

Samples Provided by Miami Cigar & Company
Vitola: Robusto Extra – Box Pressed
Size: 5 ½ by 54
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Pairing: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour

Pre-light

Pulling the Special Selection Exclusivo Regional out of the cellophane, I am greeted with a familiar syrupy sweetness that I find on most San Andres Maduro wrapped cigars. On top of the syrupy sweetness, I am getting barnyard and faint honey. The Maduro wrapper is consistent in its milk chocolate color. The San Andres leaf has an extremely fine tooth, several larger bumps, and is veiny

The foot looks and feels under filled but the rest of the cigar is evenly packed with a slight flex when squeezed. The filler tobaccos on the foot shows off sweet cedar, rich earth, and more barnyard. The cap has been applied neatly. Upon cutting the cap, I am presented with a draw that is on the loose side. A spice tingle can be felt on my lips and I am picking up on notes of clove, cinnamon, cocoa, and cedar.

First Third

The Nestor Miranda Special Selection Exclusivo Regional is showcasing common flavors I associate with San Andres Maduro cigars. Cocoa, a syrupy sweetness, earth, and musty wood are all in the mix. However, what differentiates this stick from other cigars that utilize the San Andres Maduro is the balance in the flavors. The retrohale is rich with notes of cedar and black pepper. There is very little spice in my mouth and I do not feel any kind of spice in the retrohale, which is surprising. The draw is loose making it hard to pull as much smoke as I would prefer. The lopsided burn is forming a layered white ash.The flavors  and strength are medium.

Middle Third

Burning down into the second third, the pepper and spice have picked up a notch, and the pepper is very noticeable as I retrohale the smoke.  The core flavors that I noted in the first third have been consistent thus far.  A touch-up was required as I transitioned into the second third, but I have not encountered any additional burn issues. I am glad to report that the draw, while still free, is no longer loose and the smoke production has increased. The white ash has become flaky since the touch-up but still holding past an inch.

Final Third

While the second third did show much evolution in the flavors, the final third has brought forth a citrus tanginess, oak,  and some toasted notes. As I remove the primary band, I find a small crack in the wrapper. At this point, it is not having any kind of impact on the experience. The burn line is the best it has been.  The flavors are high medium and the strength remains right at medium. To the very end, the smoke has remained enjoyable.

Wrap-Up

The Nestor Miranda SS Exclusivo Regional is a solid smoke that delivers traditional San Andres Maduro flavors with an added element of balance but not a lot of variations. I believe the loose draw caused the burn issue in the first third and the flavors to be toned down. The other sample I smoked had a great draw and the flavors were closer to full throughout the cigar. I would say the cigar is medium in strength and full in flavor. This will be a difficult cigar to find as it is a regional release and limited to 500 boxes. But if you reside in the mid-West or know of a retailer who will be carrying the Special Selection Exclusivo Regional that can ship, I recommend that you grab them as soon as they hit the shelf. They won’t be around for long.

*The SS Exclusivo Regional cigar smoked for review smoked considerably faster than the other sample I smoked. This may have been from the loose filler tobacco. The other sample smoked for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

The post Nestor Miranda – Special Selection Exclusivo Regional appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Nestor Miranda is the founder of the Miami Cigars and Company and has recently started producing his own blends that come attached to his name. These include the Nestor Miranda Collection 1989, the newer Nestor Miranda Special Selection and the recent Casa Miranda. The Art Deco cigar also carries the Nestor Miranda blend and is currently sold in 3 vitolas, all of which are over 50 ring gauge.

The Art Deco is a joint effort effort between Nestor Miranda & José Pepin Garcia. I think we all know that Don Garcia is no stranger to success in the cigar industry and if he has a hand in the blending, you can usually be guaranteed it will be a quality cigar. The blend consists of 60% Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and 40% Dominican San Vicente, plus Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano 2000 binders rolled and triple-capped in dark, shimmering Nicaraguan Corojo ’06.

I actually picked up this cigar as part of a box set which included 4 Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky’s (2 Oscuro and 2 Rosado) along with an Art Deco. I’ve also enjoyed a few singles of the Robusto Grande vitola bought separately. I want to mention how awesome I think this band is. It’s so retro and different and the colors really pop. The cigars are also packaged in retro tins with the same neat design. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover! So I think that’s enough chatter, let’s get onto the review

Cigar: Nestor Miranda Art Deco
Drink: Unibroue Don De Dieu
Vitola: Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’06
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Habano ’00
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 & Dominican San Vincente
Price: $8.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This looks to be a wonderfully constructed cigar, very even in diameter with a dark golden brown wrapper
• The whole cigar is very firm when squeezed and has almost no bumps on the wrapper
• The head of the cigar is finished off with an extremely clean triple cap, it’s easy to see some extra care went into making this cigar
• The foot looks to be mostly well packed with a one gap that looks a bit under-filled
• The cut was fairly easy despite the firmness of the cigar
• The draw seems to be a bit more open than I’d typically like but it’s not terrible
• Seems that the draw tightened up a bit near the halfway mark making for a perfect draw each time

Burn:
• The cigar toasting was very easy with a short time frame to get the foot evenly glowing
• The initial burn was a bit wavy but it quickly corrected itself and started burning razor sharp after that
• Through the first half I have no complaints about the burn here, it’s still razor sharp and requires zero attention from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke from each draw is fairly full but it’s actually not that thick in density
• The resting smoke here is almost non existent at times, it’s a very friendly cigar to have while non-smokers may be nearby
• The ash is starting off with a nice light gray color and looks to be tight and clean
• I’m getting some awesome striping on the ash and its staying clean and strong
• It lasted nearly 2 inches before making an awesome nosedive into the ashtray. A perfect 10 anyone???
• The next ash only lasted about an inch but it stayed clean and crisp and fell off easily into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives a strong earthy and barnyard aroma with a touch of cedar
• The aroma on the foot carries through with the earthy and cedar notes but adds in a slightly sweet spice, maybe of raw cinnamon
• The pre-light daw brings an interesting mix of sweet notes on top of the cedar, possibly some dried cherries
• Initial flavors are stong in the cedar department with that slightly dried cherry taste in there, very interesting!
• The cedar has stuck around through the first inch but the initial sweetness has tapered off a bit
• For the most part, the cigar has started off in the low end of the medium range with a small bite on the retrohale
• As I continue along, I’m getting a bit of leather and the initial earthy aromas are making an appearance in the flavor department now
• As I pass the halfway mark, the mix of cedar, leather and earth has me seeking a little something more. It’s not bad or harsh but I feel like there’s something missing since the sweetness disappeared…
• As the cigar continued I started getting a bit of the sweetness returning here and there along with some slight nuttiness
• The body is building ever so slowly in the last third, heading into the high medium range
• Some toasted nutty/almond flavors are making this last third a lot more interesting along with the dried cherry sweetness that keeps rearing it’s head here and there
• The nice final mixture of flavors stuck through to the nub with almost no harshness, a very nice finish

Final Thoughts:
As with all of the Miami Cigar offerings I seem to come into them with high hopes. They’ve had such a great track record recently that I only expect the best. The Nestor Miranda Art Deco is a well balanced cigar with a variety of flavors. The first and last 3rds of the cigar were interesting and kept me on my toes but the middle portion seemed to lack something. The burn was excellent the whole way through and overall construction was top notch. The price is also very reasonable so it’s something I would probably buy again, perhaps in the Coffee Break vitola (4.5 x 50). I think that size may be the sweet spot and keep the interesting flavors going from start to finish. If you like a good medium smoke with an interesting profile these are worth checking out.

Added note: I asked Tony his thoughts here and he’s only smoked the Coffee Break vitola and loved it. I’ve only had the Robusto Grande, so I think my guess that a smaller vitola would make this cigar great is probably a good guess!

Pairings:
So this beer comes with a funny sort of story.  I’ve done a few other reviews with Unibroue brews and always loved them, not to mention they are also Canadian which is a plus in my eyes!  Unfortunately, most of their brews are actually not even available for me to purchase cause of the ridiculous taxes and restrictions in my province. The brewery is only about a 5 hour drive away, but it’s in another province… So, I actually picked this bottle up in Florida. Yes, that’s right. I drove 1600 miles away from the brewery to actually buy it! I guess that speaks to the silliness of our taxes here! lol
Enough of my complaining, let’s move onto the actual beer. I had no idea what to expect from this as I’ve never had it before and the bottle doesn’t really explain what type of beer it is. The name of this beer, “Don De Dieu” literally translates to “Gift from God” so I figured it can’t be that bad!
After doing a bit of research, I found out this is a triple fermented wheat beer that is also unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance in the glass. The flavors in this brew are excellent, mixing a little bit of fruit, maybe some vanilla and very smooth malty finish. This is not your average wheat beer though, it packs in 9% ABV and the triple fermentation without filtration makes it feel a lot fuller bodied than you might expect. I found it to be an excellent pairing with the Nestor Miranda Art Deco as it offered up lots of interesting flavors. I think a fine tawny port would also be an excellent pairing here or perhaps keep it simple with a dark soda.

The post Nestor Miranda Art Deco Robusto Grande appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Nestor Miranda is the founder of Miami Cigar & Company who started off his business by importing and distributing cigars to the United States. The company is family run and was first established in 1989. As you can guess, this is where the name of today’s reviewed cigar come from.

Apart from the brands that Miami Cigar & Company imports and distributes, they have also developed a few of their own lines such as Tatiana flavored cigars, Don Lino, Habanito, and the Nestor Miranda Collection. The Nestor Miranda Collection currently consists of 3 cigars, the Special Selection, Dominicano and the 1989.

As mentioned, the 1989 commemorates the year that Miami Cigar & Company opened their business. This particular cigar is produced in the My Father Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. If you’ve ever had any of the My Father cigars you will know that this factory is known to produce some great cigars and great quality.

Cigar: Nestor Miranda Collection 1989
Drink: Waterloo Brewing Co. Dark Ale
Vitola: Belicoso (6.125 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nigaraguan and Honduran
Price: $4.50
Burn Time: 1.75 hours

Construction:
• Fairly dark almond brown colored wrapper with a touch of oiliness
• Has a few medium sized veins running along the wrapper but none seem big enough to pose any problems
• The tapered cape is excellently applied with clean edges
• The cigar has a fairly soft feel to it, giving quite a bit under a light squeeze
• The foot appears to have some open gaps in the filler, not under-filled but not tightly packed either
• The cut was effortless and clean
• Only needed a small cut, any more and I fear this could have had a very open draw. As it stands now my draw is perfect with a small cut

Burn:
• Toasting was even, easy and slow, lit up perfectly
• Burn has started off somewhat wavy despite a nice toasting, we’ll keep an eye that as it progresses
• Although the burn is continuing to be slightly wavy it’s not getting worse and is keeping within good burn range
• Around the half-way mark the waviness finally strayed a bit too far and needed a minor correction

Smoke & Ash:
• Initial draws give off a comfortably moderate amount of smoke
• Quite a bit of resting smoke from this cigar, giving off a spicy cedar aroma
• Ash appears a little bumpy but seems fairly strong and no flaking
• A nice light grey color on the ash, very consistent and clean
• Ash fell off just past the 1 inch mark, almost into my lap so be sure to tap this one a bit early

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a mostly sweet cedar aroma
• The foot has a peppery and nutmeg type spice aroma to it with some earthy notes
• More pepper on the pre-light draw with some hints of cedar
• Initial draws have a nice pepper kick to them with a smooth cedar finish
• Retrohale also have a peppery bite and still that same smooth cedar finish
• This cigar seems to be starting out in the mild/medium range
• The pepper seems to be slowly mellowing out as my draws progress, the cedar is starting to shine through a bit more and I’m picking up some nutty and earthy notes
• As I pass the half-way mark, the pepper is lightly in the background and the nutmeg has made another appearance on top of the cedar and earthiness
• The body hasn’t changed much as I come up to the last 3rd, maybe just up into the medium category and the retrohale hasn’t changed much
• The last bit of the cigar finished smooth and flavorful and I actually found the body mellowed out a bit near the nub

Final Thoughts:
This was a nice Medium bodied and easy smoking cigar. It had some interesting spicy and earthy notes paired with a nice smooth cedar backing throughout the smoke. There was a good amount of smoke, the burn was fairly smooth with just one small correction, and the ash was nice and consistent. This is definitely worth trying, especially if your a fan of some peppery notes without it being over powering. I found the finish to be a high point of this cigar with it mellowing out and the flavors mixing together smoothly and enjoyable.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was a Dark Ale offering from a brewery not far from me called Waterloo Brewing Co. This is a tasty Dark Ale but it’s not too bold or strong. I found it to be smooth and tasty. I also paired this beer with the A. Fernandez Signature Series recently, check out the review to read more about the pairing.
With this specific pairing I found the Dark Ale to be a bit light for the peppery notes on this cigar. I think it would have paired much better with a stout or porter if I wanted to stick with beers. Other good pairings could have been Scotch, Port, a strong coffee or some dark soda.

I had another Nestor Miranda Collection 1989 with Grahams LBV Tawny Port after writing this review and it paired perfectly, a nice counter-balance with the pepper and spice notes.

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