Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $12.99
- Cigars provided by General Cigar Company
Background
Several years ago, General Cigar Company undertook to revamp and revitalize the Macanudo line. It was one of the oldest continuously made lines they owned and while the name stood for quality and consistency across decades, it was also being seen by a new generation of smokers as something stale and boring. The Inspirado lines were an early success for the Macanudo division, as were special projects like the Mao. For 2019, they added a new limited release blend that “marks the premiere of a bold, multi-year project for the brand.”
The thought is to take the classic, best-selling Macanudos of the past and reimagine them with new tobaccos. The first release in the Heritage Nuevo (“New Heritage”) series is a new take on the quintessential Macanudo—Café. They took the original’s Dominican fillers and Mexican binder, but replaced the U.S. Connecticut Shade wrapper with an Ecuadorian leaf “cultivated by an independent grower in [the] Los Rios province” and developed just for this project.
General Cigar sent me samples of the Heritage Nuevo release for purposes of review. I am smoking my third sample for this review.
Prelight
The boxes for the Heritage Nuevo release are bright yellow and white, with the Macanudo logo in gold and some black type. The design prominently features a map with Ecuador highlighted, showing where the wrapper comes from. The inside has a lengthy description of the leaf and the growing process. There is a sheath around much of the body of the cigar repeating the map motif, although the review samples I received did not feature the sheath. The band itself is understated and a little dull without the sheath, to be honest.
The wrapper leaf was a fairly even golden color with minimal veining and a nice smooth, semi-oily touch. It had a clean lightly grassy aroma with just a touch of cedar, while the foot was more woody, with hints of earth and sweet hay.
After clipping the head, I had a good draw with a clean grassy flavor with a mild sweetness.
Flavor
The Macanudo Heritage Nuevo took a good minute and a half to get fired up correctly, which is longer than I would expect just from reading the blend makeup. Once I got it going, though, the flavor profile was grassy, creamy and sweet. The retrohale had some cedar, more hay, and a mild white pepper note. As I made my way through the first third, I picked up on some lemony citrus notes but the profile continued to be mostly grassy and creamy.
The second third creamier if possible, with an even milder profile that had light sweet hay notes and hints of cedar and lemon. The pepper on the nose had gone away, leaving just a grassiness.
The last third was practically a carbon copy of the second…more cedar, lemon and grassy notes riding on a creamy mild smoke.
Construction
I had a very good draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
I had trouble with the price of this one for the experience it delivered. It was mild and approachable for novices, but didn’t have much flavor. I’m giving it a half point.
Conclusions
The Macanudo Heritage Nuevo is an interesting concept, but I really wish they had done more with it. To me, the result is a cigar that is every bit as mild as the Macanudo Café, but with slightly different flavors that didn’t really catch my interest during the hour or so I burned it. If it were 3 or 4 dollars a stick less, it would be a little easier to accept, but it just feels like this release is a swing-and-a-miss.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8/10
