Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro is a dull, medium brown that is fairly lumpy with some raised and knotty veins. The seams are slightly raised and the caps are decently applied. There are two bands, both in a white and black color combination with some pastel earth tones. The primary denotes the brand and line while the secondary denotes the sub-line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of lightly musty wood and cocoa powder while the foot brings cedar and sweet bread. The pre-light draw brings cedar, floral notes and some dusty earth.
John: The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker. There are two bands with a Macanudo Inspirado band sporting a QR code, and a secondary Tercio-Aged band underneath. I weighed the cigar at 19.0 grams on the nose and the humidity as measured by the HumidiMeter Pro was 63.4%. Aromas from the wrapper are faint, sweet raisin and tobacco, and musty wood. Out of the foot, I am picking up on light, dry wood and hay.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with dry oak that has a light smokiness to it, along with some earth and mild black pepper. At a quarter inch in, the earth is right behind the oak. The retrohale is toasted and smoky oak and earth. At an inch and a half in, the whole flavor profile is pretty mellow. As the third comes to a close, the toasted and smoky oak is just ahead of the earth, with some mild black pepper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
John: For initial flavors, I’m getting tobacco, a mild floral note, lavender in the center and a combination of earth and wood through the post draw. Creaminess is at the front of the retrohale as the first third settles in. Earth in the finish is fading to a background note as it continues.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, some chalkiness joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted oak, earth and light chalkiness. At an inch and a quarter, the toasted and smoky oak is now even with the earth up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted, smoky oak and earth are even up front, with chalkiness in the middle and black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
John: Creamy, floral tobacco greets me in the second third with baking spices to follow at light plus, joining with wood on the post draw. The profile evolves to a primarily sweet wood as it continues. Some mild tannins on the finish are the only other evolution to remark on through the second third.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted and smoky oak, earth and light chalkiness. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted, smoky oak and earth remain up front, with chalkiness in the middle and black pepper in the background. The strength remained at medium.
John: Creamy wood leads the cigar into the last third with dry wood on the finish. As the cigar continues to the halfway point, a medium strength earth also joins the finish. There are no other flavor changes to comment on through the last third.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy through the first half and then the second half of the second third required two-relights.
John: The burn is fairly straight through the review process.

Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was fairly tight and a second cut and draw tool didn’t really help.
John: The draw initially starts with mild resistance, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches into the resistant spectrum. As the first third settled in, the draw opened to one notch which moved it up to an amazing draw rating.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with dry oak that has a light smokiness to it, along with some earth and mild black pepper. The second third saw some chalkiness join in and the final third saw the toast level increase a bit. The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro had an average flavor profile throughout and was pretty linear and mundane from the second third on. The burn and draw issues worked together to cause some problems in the second third. This cigar continues the trend of a flavor profile the presents as having tobacco that’s aged and carries a homogenized delivery. Not a cigar I see myself coming back to.
John: The Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro was overall pleasant, with reasonably balanced flavor combinations, but I didn’t find there was enough dynamic combinations or anything that would elevate it above other offerings in the Macanudo line. The burn was perfect, and the draw started mildly into the resistant spectrum but recovered. This likely isn’t something I’d return to, I’d see myself gravitating towards the Macanudo Inspirado White which has always been a consistent performer for me. Total smoking time was a good value at 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.15

Cost/Point

$2.04

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.82

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Macanudo Inspirado Tercio Aged Toro