It’s been well over a decade since Miami Cigar & Company released their previous two Grand Reserve offerings in 2011 and 2012. But to acknowledge the company’s 35th anniversary, Nestor Miranda looked to the My Father Cigar Factory to help create a worthy tribute to his company’s longevity. In a press release, Miranda had this to say:
“The Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve 2024 was a special one for us. 35-year anniversary is a big one. My wife and co-founder of Miami Cigar, Mariana Miranda, and I are still in awe by how far we have come. I really wanted to create a blend that was worthy of such an anniversary. I thank the team at the My Father Cigar Factory, for being patient with me throughout this process, as I wanted this blend to reach the highest possible standard.”
THE CIGAR – NESTOR MIRANDA GRAND RESERVE 2024 by MIAMI CIGAR & COMPANY
Size: 6 1/8 x 52 (belicoso)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $18.00 (the samples smoked for review were submitted by Miami Cigar & Company)
The Grand Reserve 2024 features a mild leather aroma and there’s a combination of floral and sweetness when sniffing the foot of the cigar directly. After cutting the cap, there’s more sweetness found on the cold draw alongside some hay and peanut shells. The cigar doesn’t feature any soft spots and there’s just the right amount of give when squeezed between two fingers.
Upon ignition, a gentle white pepper spice presents itself through the nose accompanied by a mustiness. As far as the draw is concerned, there’s a faint oak woodsiness coming through backed by an even more subtle clove note. The draw is a tad tighter than I prefer so I cut a little more off the cap and that seems to help increase airflow.
The pepper spice has almost completely vanished before the Grand Reserve 2024 has hit the 10 minute mark. That leaves must and a slowly developing graphite presence as the retrohale’s only discernible notes. The soft oak flavor remains steady via the draw as the clove sensation has also bid us a hasty adios. Now that the cigar is drawing much better, construction overall is satisfactory.
More dry must upstairs, more woodsy oak and graphite downstairs. The Grand Reserve 2024 has consistency going for it as it nears the fifty yard line. The cigar looks good as I’m smoking it, with a sharp burn line, a strong ash that waits an eternity to drop, and there’s a generous amount of dark grey smoke pouring off the foot… but visuals alone do not make a cigar “good”. Regrettably, I’m just not experiencing enough depth flavorwise to generate much excitement here in the first half.
The second half continues mostly along the same path, with a now graphite-heavy retro and an unwavering, muted oak note delivered via the draw. The Grand Reserve 2024 performs very well from a construction standpoint until the very last puff. The smoking experience can be categorized as mild/medium in body and mild in strength from start to finish.
THE NUB
FINAL TNCC SCORE = 81
35 years in the premium cigar industry is a monumental achievement and such a milestone is certainly worthy of a special cigar blended to pay tribute to over three decades in the game. I’m just not sure that the Grand Reserve 2024 is that special cigar… at least from where I’m standing. Nothing about the cigar stood out to me as special as I found the 82 minute smoking duration to be rather monotonous and, well, boring. And $18 for a boring cigar is, unfortunately, always going to be a hard pass from the TNCC.
