Nestor Miranda Special Selection Coffee Break Oscuro (4.5x50)

I recently reviewed the Nestor Miranda Danno 2012 and the Don Lino Africa, which is also a blend by Nestor Miranda. They are brands of the Miami Cigar & Co. and so far I have found nothing to complain about with any of their offerings. I was gifted this stick by @Cigar_G on twitter via one of his giveaways, thanks G! Now to see if it fits in line with the excellent construction and flavors I have come to expect from Nestor Miranda. The wrapper is a Nicaraguan Oscuro which houses a Nicaraguan binder and filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. There are a couple of decent size veins on the milk chocolate brown wrapper, but I don't see them causing any radical burn issues. The body is solid and well packed with no soft spots that I could find. The wrapper offers the scent of cocoa and dark chocolate and the foot offers more of the same. I clipped the triple cap with my Xikar MTX and found a near perfect cold draw with the flavor of mildly sweet molasses. I used a single torch lighter to toast the foot and get the coffee break going. The initial third opened with notes of toasted nuts, coffee, and an earthy spice. There is a floral note that seemed to pop in at times in the first third. The finish is smooth with a mildly sweet caramel tone. The second third brings some cocoa and woody notes to the mix as the nut and coffee notes entertain my palate. The body remains medium throughout the first two thirds. Near the mid-way point of the cigar the coffee notes become more of an espresso as some black pepper starts to emerge. Going into the final third the black pepper kicks up just a touch. The floral notes disappear completely as some cinnamon notes join the espresso, wood, and toasted nut to finish the burn. The burn was perfect until the final third, when it went a bit wavy. It was not really enough to justify a correction since it was so near the point of being finished. The flavors on this little gem were rich and smooth and it produced tons of delicious smoke. I have only recently discovered the Nestor Miranda cigars and have been very pleased with each and everyone I have set ablaze so far. The price point on these is around 5 bucks a stick so it won't kill the wallet to give them a try. I am sure you won't be disappointed if you do. The Coffee Break size is available in the Oscuro wrapper along with a Connecticut and a Habano Rosado. Thanks again to Cigar_G for the stick smoked for this review!

Don Lino Africa Kuro (4x45)

I have seen the Don Lino Africa in a few catalogs from various merchants and always thought to myself it looked tasty but wasn't sure about them. That was honestly my mistake and I regret not getting these at some of the absurd prices I have previously seen them at. I picked up a few of these in a sampler and after smoking the first couple of them I had to know more about them. I quick search revealed that these are from Miami Cigar & Company and blended by Nestor Miranda. The Africa was actually inspired by a trip to Africa that Nestor Miranda had taken. This is the smallest of the sizes measuring in at 4x45 but don't let the small size fool you. The light brown Habana seed Nicaraguan wrapper covers a Nicaraguan binder and filler from Africa, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The wrapper had a few decent sized veins but nothing that should cause a crazy burn. The wrapper had a mild hay scent and the foot smelled of sweet tobacco with a hint of cocoa. I clipped the cap with my scissors and found a perfect draw with a light cocoa note. It lit easy with my single flame torch. I have to say that I underestimated this little guy, it is FULL of flavor. The first half of the cigar had notes of coffee and leather with just a bit of fruit-like sweetness and a oaky woodiness. The retrohale offered some nice spice that lingered on the tongue and throat. This was huge surprise in the area of flavor, it is a truly is a little flavor bomb. Somewhere around 3/4 of an inch into it, the spice on the retrohale calmed down a notch and flavors really started to pop out at you. In the second half the fruit-like sweetness takes on more of a pear flavor with the leather and coffee notes still present. The cocoa still made an occasional appearance in the second third but was less noticeable. The ash was a medium-dark gray and held pretty tight for about an inch at a time. It maintained a medium to medium-full body and was absolutely full flavor. Despite it's small size, burn time was close to an hour and burn itself was near flawless and required no retouches. The price point on these in the Kuro size is usually around 5 bucks a stick. At the time of this review Cigarsinternational.com has a box of 40 listed at 79.00 which is less than 2 bucks per stick. I should note that most sizes other than the Kuro are sold out at the time of this review. I can't believe this stick doesn't get more mention than it does, I found it to be well made and super flavorful. I will definitely be getting more of these, especially in this perfect little size. For more information on Nestor Miranda and his brands go to http://www.miamicigarandcompany.com/ The link to Don Lino Africa on CI is HERE