Stogie Reviews: Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Rosado Danno
Monday, June 8th, 2009One week ago, my colleague divulged his affinity for the Nestor Miranda 20 Aniversario Oscuro, quipping that you’d be “hard-pressed to find a better way to spend $9 and two hours.” While I haven’t yet tried that version of this new release, I can tell you the Rosado is pretty damn fantastic in its own right.
The Miami Cigar & Co.—distributor of such acclaimed brands as La Aurora, Don Lino, León Jimenes, 601, Cubao, and Mi Barrio—launched both 20 Aniversario blends (one Oscuro and one Rosado) in celebration of two decades of producing a Special Selection line named for company founder Nestor Miranda. Both are crafted by Don Pepin Garcia’s son, Jaime, and made in Pepin’s Nicaraguan Tabacalera Cubana factory.
The 20 Aniversario is a very limited release. Only 2,000 boxes of 20 cigars have been made, 1,000 with that Habano Oscuro wrapper that my colleague liked so much, and 1,000 with a Habano Rosado. Both versions come in only one size: an immense (7 x 56) smoke called the “Danno.”
I smoked more than a handful of Rosados for this review (also an MSRP of $9 apiece), and each featured an anvil-shaped pigtail that sits atop a beautiful, carefully adhered cap. While the wrapper isn’t without its share of veins and noticeable seams, the cigar has the look and feel of a super-premium, especially given its glistening, oily sheen. The cross-sections at the foot and freshly cut head appear on the loose side despite the cigar’s firm feel.
Toasting the foot—an endeavor that requires patience due to the Danno’s wide girth—yields mouth-watering aromas of sweet hay, toffee, and wood. The actual flavor is stronger than that preview, though, with plenty of pepper and spice. It’s almost as if Pepin wants to make his presence known from the first puff.
After the white, well-layered ash winds down the first few inches, the flavor takes a gentle turn and develops a softer profile of hazelnut and coffee with cream and sugar. This is what I’d call the sweet spot, and it lasts almost until the band needs to be removed. The final third sees a reprise of the spice and full flavor that are found in the beginning.
The burn tends to meander a bit—pretty much what you’d expect from such a wide cigar—but not to the point of annoyance. The draw is accommodating and the ash well-behaved throughout the 150-minute smoke.
For these reasons and more, I count myself lucky to have a box of 20 Rosados to call my own. I can’t wait to test drive the Oscuro to see how it measures up. Until then, though, and whatever the outcome of that match-up may be, the Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Rosado earns a well-deserved rating of four and a half stogies out of five.
[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Sounds perfect. Maybe you can have a box giveaway contest?? Just sayin’.
Sounds perfect and looks outstanding in that photo. Hopefully you and Patrick S can exchange some of the two blends (if there are any sticks left at this point) and give us an update on which you prefer. I look forward to that.
[...] limited edition 20 Aniversario version has received two four and 1/2 stogie-ratings, for it’s Habano Rosado, and Habano Oscuro versions. To locate a participating dealer, smokers can go to [...]
[...] at one of 500 Nestor Miranda Special Selection authorized dealers, and you’ll be given either a Habano Rosado or a Habano Oscuro. Both four and a half stogie-rated cigars normally retail for $9 apiece. Click [...]
As always this review is spot on. I am finishing my second Rosado wrapped Nestor as I type this. I was able to snag the 2 for 1 deal at a local smoke shop. Great cigar. Thanks for the review and the heads up about the 2 for 1 last friday!!
[...] 20 Aniversario line ranks near the top. My singular complaint has been that the line, both the Rosado and Oscuro blends, is only available in one immense (7 x 56) vitola called the [...]
I was fortunate enough to grab a box of these with a free sampler of a dozen Miami Cigar Co. smokes and a free one year CRA membership. On of, if not the best cigar purchase decisions I ever made. The only downside is that with only 1,000 boxes available, these cigars will be gone in a blink.
[...] Patrick A. from The Stogie Guys reviews Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Rosado. [...]
[...] Patrick A. from The Stogie Guys reviews Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Rosado. [...]
The Oscuro can’t touch the Rosado.
Here’s hoping Nestor realizes the appreciation and demand for the Danno and decides to make it a regular in his lineup. Great cigar!!!
[...] 4 1/2 inch by 50 short robusto features the same basic blend as the Nestor Miranda Special Selection Danno, only in a more manageable format if you’re shorter on time. It’s a medium- to [...]
[...] flavor of hazelnut and coffee with pepper on the finish. Balanced and well-constructed, the Rosado Danno (7 x 56) is well worth its MSRP of [...]