Macanudo Inspirado Green
Company Website: http://macanudo.com/age-gate/
Strength: 3/5
Size: Robusto
Origin: Dominican Republic
Price (local): $8.15 (plus tax)
Beverage: None
Flavor Text:
The grass is greener on Macanudo’s side.
At this point, there’s not much I can say about Macanudo that you haven’t heard before. This classic brand has its share of hit cigars and a strong coalition of fans, and when a new Macanudo hits the shelves, there’s nothing short of a stampede. The Inspirado series is a line of contemporary offerings from Macanudo, and now the Inspirado Green is finally here and ready to impress.
Inspirado green starts with a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper – a first for the Inspirado series. This gorgeous, oily leaf coats an Indonesian binder and well-aged Dominican long-fillers, all resulting in a sultry medium-bodied profile loaded with notes of black pepper, coffee, and cocoa. A truly unique cigar, the Inspirado Green is one of the finest Macanudo releases to date.
Sometimes, it is really nice to work in a cigar shop.
Every now and then, when times are simpler, we will have reps from different companies come in and give us some samples to try. I first noticed the Macanudo Green at the store last week, but with Churchill sizes being the only one I'd be able to get my hands on, I decided to just pass on it. I typically like to try a Robusto or a Toro when I try a new cigar because I feel like I just get a much better idea of the flavor profile when I try these sizes as opposed to a Churchill. On this day, however, we had some deliveries from a local rep and they left me, you guessed it, a new, oily, fresh Macanudo Green Robusto. Not a bad Thursday night so far.
I was excited to try this new offering from Macanudo. I am not the world's biggest Macanudo fan; I like a good amount of punch from my cigars and I have long known Macanudo to not really provide much of the hit that I like from my smokes. I had heard and read that this new Green Macanudo had some additional firepower that I crave, and after smoking it, I can't say I was too disappointed. I have long been a fan of the Macanudo Orange Inspirado in all of it's forms, and I actually love to use that cigar to break the monotony between all of the stronger things I smoke. For about a year, the Mac Orange Inspirado was my go-to for afternoon smokes or something that I deemed a bit lighter than my usual favorites, so I did not grab this new Inspirado thinking that I wouldn't have a great time with it. I was pretty excited to get my hands on something new.
I ended up punching this cigar instead of cutting it. I usually always cut my cigars because I want as much smoke as I can get, but I decided to punch this one and experiment with that. The punch provided no real restriction on the amount of smoke I was able to draw from this cigar throughout the time I spent with it. I was getting a good deal of smoke to draw from this cigar, which I always love. For me personally, nothing limits the amount I enjoy or do not enjoy a cigar like the tightness of the draw. As a matter of fact, last night I had a Fuente Work of Art that I couldn't even finish because of the tightness of the draw. Wrap tightness is my most important factor when reviewing a cigar and I think a tightly-wrapped cigar that requires heavy doctoring to draw much smoke from it just creates a miserable experience. With the rising costs of cigars and the heavy taxes, especially here in New York, I think that accessibility of draw should be the top concern for any company's rollers because with so much competition in the marketplace, ensuring that relaxing experience for the money and being memorable to the customer in that fashion becomes paramount to survival.
Now that you know too many of my personal thoughts on how to roll a cigar, I am pleased to report that this Macanudo did not disappoint.
The first draw of this cigar provided a powerful, peppery plume of smoke. I have read the remarks of other people who state that this cigar is less strong than the Macanudo Orange, and I believe that is patently incorrect. This Macanudo Green is closer to the Macanudo Black than the Macanudo Orange, and all I think it takes is one pull to understand that. Whereas the Macanudo Orange is buttery, this Macanudo gives off a silky dark coffee and light pepper pull at first light. I liked it, but I was glad I had eaten a bit before hand.
The strength of this cigar held firm throughout, and I definitely caught the flavor all the way down the stick. Strong, silky dark coffee and maybe a tough of leather were what I was able to pull from this Macanudo Green, all the way down to my still-burnt fingertips. This is a cigar I would recommend for someone who is a fan of the Macanudo Orange who would like to work their way up into the brand's stronger offerings. As I said earlier, I do not believe that the Orange is stronger than the Green, and I don't think it's close. Orange, to me, is a perfect Medium cigar. Green, on the other hand, I would classify as Bold, Strong, choose your word to characterize the punch this cigar provides. After a light meal is where I'd place this beauty, and as a "dessert" stick for the experienced aficionado, I think it finds a nice niche. With a coffee? Maybe a little bit much. However, it is certainly worth trying out. The flavor is very apparent and it will provide the buzz a strong cigar smoker needs to be satisfied.
Final rating: 8/10 for good draw, freshness, evenness of burn, consistency of flavor, and lack of complexity.
Try It / Skip It?: Try it.
Happy smoking!
CB
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