Cigar Review: Casa Miranda Chapter Two Robusto

In the summer of 2011, Miami Cigar & Co. debuted Casa Miranda, a “small-batch, ultra-premium” line comprised of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. Shortly after the cigar was unveiled, the man responsible for blending the highly anticipated release, Willy Herrera, left El Titan de Bronze—the Miami factory where the cigar was made—for Drew Estate before Casa Miranda even came to market.

Notwithstanding Herrera’s departure (and subsequent success with the Herrera Estelí line), Miami Cigar introduced Chapter Two in 2013. Unlike Chapter One, Chapter Two is made at the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It boasts a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper around tobaccos from Brazil, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

Four sizes are available: Robusto (4.5 x 50), Corona Gorda (6 x 46), Toro (5.5 x 54), and Gran Toro (6 x 60). The Robusto retails for $6-7 and, like the other Chapter Two sizes, has a dark, beautiful wrapper that’s almost chalky in texture with a fair amount of oils. The feel is pretty firm throughout, which is interesting since the foot shows a less-than-tight packing of tobaccos. The pre-light notes are reminiscent of cocoa and earth. Overall, the Robusto looks and feels like a well-built smoke. And, for what it’s worth, I particularly like the band, which is understated and detailed.

The flavor gets off to a fast start with a medium- to full-bodied taste of espresso, dark chocolate, peanut, and dry wood right at the outset. There are also some sweet background notes of dark cherry and nougat. The texture is light and billowy, and the smoke production is excellent.

While the balanced flavors don’t change much—save for the introduction of leather in the final third—the intensity of the profile definitely evolves as the Robusto progresses. After the medium-plus start, the body is decidedly full-bodied by the midway point. And by the time you reach the nub, this little smoke has tons of Nicaraguan strength and spice.

With excellent construction observed across several samples, an approachable price point, and big, bold flavor condensed in a smaller format, there’s a lot to like about the Casa Miranda Chapter Two Robusto. It’s worthy of a very admirable rating of four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys