#NowSmoking: Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged
#NowSmoking: Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Cigar Review (Video)
Starting October 16, #NowSmoking will change names to My Weekend Cigar. I’ll still be churning out weekly reviews so you can stay up-to-date on what you should be smoking!
Cigar Blend Details:
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana – Santiago, Dominican Republic
Size: 6” x 54
Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Colombian, Tercio-aged Dominican Piloto Cubano
Presented in boxes of 10
The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro Cigar Back Story
Tercio aging is an “old world” tobacco aging process in which handmade bales of royal palm tree bark are used in lieu of canvas or burlap. That’s the hook for the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged cigars line for which tercios were used to age the blend’s Dominican Piloto Cubano fillers for six months. It’s a laborious process, but worth the effort since tercios round out the tobacco in a way that’s not attainable via other methods. This results in tobaccos that smoke with deeper flavor nuances and a more fragrant aroma.
Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged is a limited production line crafted in two sizes, Toro and Churchill, and only 3,400 boxes of 10 cigars were produced. Another interesting feature has also been applied to the cigar bands and boxes. They’re printed with a QR code that smokers can scan to watch a video on the tercio aging process. It’s worth a view, too.
Cigar Basics
This is a good looking cigar with a dark, shiny, and even colored wrapper with a thick appearance, a fair amount of tooth, and a triple seam cap. Only a few veins appear on the surface which, when sniffed, offers a barn hay aroma. The vitola is tightly rolled but draws well with a sweet tobacco prelight taste.
Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Toro Cigar Review
Creamy and sweet with a black pepper snap up front. I also tasted a hint of tart black cherry and a floral note. Settling-in by the first inch, the smoke was medium in body, slightly sweet, and floral with a lighter, white pepper finish. Earthier notes eventually worked their way into the mix.
Much earthier at the midpoint as the body perked-up while the strength held at medium. The smoke remained creamy but not as sweet. The highlights at this stage were a citrus tanginess, rich earth, and a lavender-like floral flavor/aroma. At the crossroads of the final inches, a cedar wood flavor emerged.
The cigar continued to smoke smoothly in its final act. It retained its medium strength but the body was now medium-full. A deep cedary woodiness became more dominant balancing-out the earthier notes. This appeared to produced more depth and imbued the cigar a darker character. That was pretty much all she wrote to the nub.
Are Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged Cigars Worth Buying?
Let me put it this way: The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio-Aged is one of those cigars that offers something out of the ordinary. In other words, if you’re curious about whether the tercio-aged tobaccos in the blend really do offer “deeper flavor nuances and a more fragrant aroma,” then this Inspirado is a good catch. The cigar is exceptionally well made as you would expect from Macanudo, albeit a bit tight. But it performed well overall and revealed several interesting change-ups. That said, I stand by my statement that it may be “the darkest smoke” in the Inspirado line. So, if you enjoy blends that are earthy, woody, floral, and reasonably bold, be my guest, and please comment how you liked it.