The Macanudo Inspirado series is one of my personal favorites. The Black being my top pick with Red a close second. They’re joined by Green, Orange, White and Palladium which are all mainstays in the Macanudo roster. This past May, Macanudo released a special limited edition stogie to the Inspirado lineup; the Brazilian Shade.
The Brazilian Shade is just that, special and limited seeing as they released only two sizes; Churchill (1,500 boxes) and Toro (2,000 boxes) in boxes of ten. What really makes these cigars special is the unique leaves in which Macanudo has never combined before; the Brazilian wrapper from Bahia and one of the fillers, the Carmen Cubita from Mao in the Dominican.
For our review we smoked 3 Toro (6.5 x 52) Brazilian Shade cigars. The wrapper is a Brazilian grown proprietary Connecticut shade leaf that is golden brown in color and has a smooth sheen to it. Nestled underneath the wrapper is a Mexican San Andres binder encasing five filler tobaccos; Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican, Carmen Cubita, Nicaraguan Jalapa and Dominican Piloto Cubana. It is a nice looking cigar. Good seams and the veins, lighter in color than what I typically smoke.
As most of you know already, The First Lady and I live in the Great White North, so no beaches this time of the year unless we hop on a plane and get the heck out of Dodge. But that didn’t stop Susan from getting the sexiest sultry pictures for The NGCS… even stripping down in 0 degree Fahrenheit weather and laying right in the snow. She’s a real trooper this one!
After prying my eyes away from The First Lady in her sexy lingerie, I gave the cigar the ol’ Sniff-Sniff. Right away I’m hit with a familiar and likable scent, barnyard. That earth and woody mix that just takes me back to visiting a farm. It’s wonderful. The cap adds an aroma of almonds to the mix, making this an absolutely delectable cigar.
After cutting the cap with my go to V-cutter, I give it a good cold-draw.. yeup, still there. Barnyard. A little more distinctive now. Leather, hay and cedar fill my senses and make my head wobble a little bit. Did I just get light headed in anticipation? This has me very hopeful.
Upon lighting the cigar, the barnyard notes are definitely still there. Leaving me to assume they’re going to be the main attraction today. However there is back up actor, and he wants on the stage.. roasted coffee beans joins the show. It’s a wonderful bouquet of aromas, albeit on the mild side, strength wise. The smoke is creamy and the burn is smooth throughout the first-third. With just a small hint of pepper appearing in the retrohale.
Moving into the middle of the cigar, hay and cedar remain but leather seems to have bowed out. The roasted coffee beans have transitioned into espresso. Maybe they were espresso beans in the beginning I noticed, but could not specify. There is the faintest note of chocolate on the tail end of the smoke. And the retrohale is still providing some pepper, however it is underwhelming. The cigar is just touching medium-strength at this point and I begin to wonder if it’s going to advance further in the final-third.
Much to my dismay, it does not. The cigar stays in the low end of medium-strength. The final-third delivers almost no change. The body seems to be stuck with the strength.. a low end medium. This cigar isn’t bad by any means. It’s just not strong. It’s a good light to medium-strength and bodied cigar. For myself, I would enjoy this cigar while sipping coffee in the earlier hours of my day. It is quite enjoyable in that respect and delivers rich creamy smoke and a good burn throughout. No relights or touch-ups were required, even with the outdoor smoking. Personally I just like more bang in my cigars. If you enjoy lighter-strength cigars, this one is a good choice.
