Vitola: Robusto- 4.5” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$8.00
- Provided by company
Background
The “new” Nestor Miranda Collection debuted in 2014 and featured Nicaraguan blends made in the My Father Factory in Esteli, wrapped in Connecticut Shade, Habano or Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro leaves. These were “color coded” with blue, green and red packaging, respectively. The prices were fair and the cigars were very good, giving plenty of choice to people who prefer different experiences when lighting up.
In 2016, Miami Cigar & Company released an extension to the NMC line-up…a yellow-trimmed Corojo-wrapped version. It features Nicaraguan fillers and binder leaves, along with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, and they are once again made in the My Father factory.
I have had a few of these prior to this review stick, which comes to me courtesy of Miami Cigar & Company.
Prelight
I’ve liked the packaging for the NMC since I first saw it. It’s sleek and modern, with a touch of art deco in it, plenty of foil brightwork and subtle trim that telegraphs the type of cigar it is to anyone who is familiar with the brand. The continuation of the theme here with the yellow trim does nothing to dampen my enthusiasm about the overall look.
When it comes to the wrapper of the cigar itself, the color is darker than any of the other NMC releases except for the Maduro. The NMC Corojo is a brown color about halfway between milk and dark chocolate, it had a nice oiliness under the fingertips and in the light, and an aroma that mixed earth, leather, and natural tobacco. The foot of the cigar had a little more earth in the balance, along with a touch of chocolatey sweetness and cedar.
Once clipped, the cold draw was very good and featured flavors of cedar, natural tobacco and cocoa powder.
Flavor
The Nestor Miranda Collection Corojo fired up with a mix of cedar, cinnamon, earth and baking spice flavors that was really more complex than I had expected. There was a touch of dried fruit sweetness in the mix and a mild heat on the back of the palate. The retrohale was where the majority of the pepper spice resided, basically acting as an inferno for my nasal passages.
The second third had a more solid wood and cedar profile, with lighter touches of earth and dried fruit on the palate. The pepper burn on the nose had backed off quite a bit, allowing some notes of wood and roasted nuts to come through there.
The last third had more wood and earth notes, along with some citrus and a resurgence of cinnamon and pepper spice.
Construction
The draw was great, the burn line was very even and the ash was never flaky.
Value
The price tag on the entire NMC is very fair, making for excellent value.
Conclusions
It’s said in some articles that one of Nestor Miranda’s favorite wrapper leaves is Corojo and that’s why they decided to do this blend. After smoking it, I can see why he loves it so much. The NMC Corojo is medium-bodied and complex, with just enough pepper to spice things up and enough sweetness to have a really nice balance. For myself, I still prefer the Maduro version, but this is a very good cigar.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
