Stogie Reviews: Nestor Miranda 1989 Oscuro Belicoso

16 Aug 2010

As the economy struggles to hit its post-recession stride, some sympathetic cigar makers are cutting us a break by introducing modestly priced blends. Case in point: the new “1989” from Nestor Miranda.

Nestor Miranda 1989 Oscuro Belicoso It celebrates the year Miranda founded Miami Cigar & Co., distributor of such brands as La Aurora, Tatiana, Don Lino, and Miranda’s eponymous Special Collection. It also celebrates frugality. “While we do not have any cigars in the Nestor Miranda Collection that are expensive, we wanted to offer an excellent smoke at a very reasonable price point,” said Rene Castañeda, vice president of Miami Cigar. “It has become obvious that smokers, like everyone else, these days, are seeking to restrain their spending.”

When I think of restrained cigar spending I don’t think of the combined talents of Nestor Miranda and Don Pepin Garcia. But, for $5 per cigar, that’s exactly what you get in the 1989 blend. To make it, Miranda commissioned Garcia to develop a cigar based on his desired flavor profile and Garcia concocted a recipe of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos.

Available since May, 1989 is handmade at Garcia’s My Father Cigars in Estelí with one third medium-filler and two thirds long-filler. Three vitolas are in production: Belicoso (6.1 x 52), Robusto (5 x 50), and Toro (6 x 50). Each comes in either a Habano Rosado or Oscuro wrapper.

I sampled three Oscuro Belicosos for this review. This is a dark, mottled cigar that’s bumpy, dry, and a bit veiny. Spongy in the hand with a clear pre-light draw, it sports an ornate band (with Miranda’s name in super-small script on either side) and a wonderfully pungent aroma of cocoa.

The first puff reveals a taste of damp earth, black pepper spice, and coffee beans. While the Oscuro is billed as medium- to full-bodied, the airy texture of the smoke seems to diffuse the concentration of flavors, resulting in a lighter profile than anticipated. Things get more interesting after the first inch. Here, a creamy nuttiness develops to offset what was once a predominantly salty taste. The ensuing balance is a welcome addition until it seems to fade down the home stretch.

On construction, the 1989 delivers over and above what you’d expect from a $5 sandwich-filler cigar. The gray ash holds together well and the burn requires hardly any touch-ups to stay even.

Notwithstanding these notable physical properties, I doubt this new Nestor Miranda creation will blow any seasoned cigar veterans away. But it probably isn’t supposed to. While its taste may be a bit monotonous at times—even a tad papery now and then—the Belicoso offers consistency and a straightforward profile in an affordable package. A respectable everyday selection, it earns three stogies out of five.