Initial Thoughts
Casa Miranda is a brand that falls under the Miami Cigar Co. umbrella. The Chapter One was the predecessor of this cigar, released in 2011. That release was made under the supervision of Willy Herrera at El Titan de Bronze factory. Now that Willy is gone (with Drew Estate), there is a new factory and maker. For this chapter, the Garcia Family supervises its production at the My Father Cigars S.A. factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
I have personally not had the Chapter One or many other Casa Miranda cigars. I really don’t have much to compare this to, which can be a good thing I guess. Their cigars are just not that readily available to me in this area, so I rarely get a chance to smoke one. In this case, we received a sample of the cigar. While grateful for the sample, it will not influence the rating.
Looks
The Casa Miranda Chapter Two sports a dark-natural brown wrapper with a lot of veins and visible seams. The foot is slightly misshapen, looking like it has been smashed a little bit. The tobacco inside looks a little loose, so that might be why it was easy to get squished. The triple cap is flush.
I like the band they chose for this cigar. It is a nice, complimentary cream color with deep red print and a red and gray border. There are some nice floral patterns on it as well as a house. It adds to the rustic appearance of the cigar.
Function
The Casa Miranda Chapter Two looks like a rugged cigar and does have a few bumps. In fact, a few spots feel a little hard, like stems under the wrapper. In other spots, the wrapper feels pretty smooth. Overall, I would say it feels pretty solid, with the softest part being around the foot.
Upon sniffing this cigar, I get a strong earth and hay aroma from the foot. The barrel is earth and cocoa.
I clip the cap with my CRA cuter and give it a few test draws. The airflow is pretty good. I detect a faint molasses and hay note, but it is very light.
Smoking
I light the Casa Miranda Chapter Two with my single flame torch. It takes a minute to get going, mainly on the outer edges. Once lit, the burn is pretty even, but the lip is thick. The burn becomes uneven soon after and it goes pretty fast.
The draw seemed nice before lighting, but is actually a little too tight. I have to do double pulls each time to get a good puff. I work on the opening with my knife to loosen it up. This helps quite a bit.
The ash is pretty flaky on this one. It is mostly white, but is pretty loose. Even so, it hangs on for almost an inch, but not fully intact. I need to frequently brush pieces of ash off of me.
Flavor
So far, the Casa Miranda Chapter Two has not been a very impressive cigar. I am hoping that the flavor can bail it out.
The first third begins with a tasty, creamy black pepper. I soon get a hint of sweetness that is a bit grassy. There is a little bite to it that reminds me of horseradish, which is interesting. The only problem is that these flavors all seem muted and are too light to really enjoy. Fortunately, the black pepper is nice on the retrohale.
The second third continues with the pepper and cream, but adds some wood and tanginess as well. As it moves along, there is a nice floral note that develops too, but, again, it is a little too light. Near the end of this section, it is mostly cream, floral, and wood notes.
The final third picks up where it left off, adding a little black pepper in the mix. There is also an occasional bitter flavor that surfaces intermittently. Near the end, there is also a touch of butter present.
Throughout the Casa Miranda Chapter Two, the flavor keeps fading in and out, mostly staying light. It was mild-medium in both strength and flavor. The flavors were very nice, they just didn’t fully materialize. Smoke time was just under one our.
Would I Buy It Again?
No, it was too much of a tease.
Is It An Everyday Smoke?
Not for me.
Would I Buy a Box?
No.
Conclusion
The Casa Miranda Chapter Two is advertised as a medium bodied cigar. My experience is that it was lighter than that, much closer to mild than medium in my opinion. I have since looked at a couple of reviews of it and others seemed to enjoy it. Either they are lying or I just got a dud. I just can’t really recommend this cigar based on the one I smoked. If someone wants to give me one, I’d be glad to give it another go. Otherwise, I think I’ll go with something else.
