Brand: Nestor Miranda Special Selection “Ruky”
Blender: Don Pepin Garcia
Vitola: Mini Salomon
Ring Gauge: Aprox 54
Length: 5.25
Wrapper: Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
MSRP: $8.00

Brand:
The Nestor Miranda Special Selection Cigar has been around for a little while now, however, the Ruky is relatively new to the market. It was explained to me that Nestor Miranda’s nickname in Miami is “Ruky”, therefore a cigar was created with the namesake. Unlike the early release of the Special Selection line, these cigars are crafted by Don Pepin Garcia, not STC Cigars in Honduras.

The Ruky edition of the Special Selection is available in boxes of 5 cigars and is available across the country. The manufactures suggested retail price per single is $8.00 before any state or local taxes. This stick is made up of a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

Pre-Light:

Feeling like a full bodied smoke this evening, I went digging around through my travel humidors to find the Ruky cigars gifted to me by my local Miami Cigars rep. Once the cigar was located, I pulled it from the cellophane sleeve and gave it a once over.

The wrapper color was consistent from head to foot. The veins within the wrapper leaf were almost black and made very little difference in the texture of the stick. Upon closer inspection I found the wrapper to be very toothy (oily specs throughout) which gave the leaf a sandy texture. The aroma on the wrapper and exposed foot was that of earth.

After clipping the head of my mini salomon, I checked the pre light draw. To my surprise the draw was free with just a touch of resistance. The nipple shaped foot generally causes a constricted draw until it is burned through, that was not the case with this cigar.

First Third:

After the pre-light inspection was complete, I touched flame to the nipple of my Nestor Miranda “Ruky” and got things underway. Just like any cigar of this shape, I expected the small exposed foot to evenly light the thicker ring gauge beyond. Just like my first sample, this was not the case and the burn was off to a horrible start.

At its worse, one side of the burn line was about an inch down the stick while the other side was closer to three-eighths. Due to the burn issue, I reached for my torch and began evening things out via a touchup. Once touched up, the cigar burned evenly for the remainder of the first third.

As the smoke flowed out of the cigar and across my palate, I was a bit surprised by the level of body this cigar produced. Very different from the standard Nestor Miranda Special Selection, this one hit’s the ground running and slams into the palate with a full bodied blast.

The finish is easy on the palate and leaves me with a silky sort of texture on the tongue and walls of the mouth. The flavor comes across with a dominant flavor of cocoa before settling out to a zingy natural Nicaraguan tobacco taste. Through the sinus I pick up a mixed aroma of leather and coffee.

Second Third:

After nearly forty minutes of puffing on my Ruky, I reached the second third. As the cigar burned, and time passed, all things in this stick began to slowly build. The body was slowly leaving more of a film across the palate while the finish seemed longer and more drawn-out. The strength picked up as well, leaving me with a slightly ill feeling in the pit of my stomach.

After more than an inch and a half of ash developed, it suddenly dropped from the foot of the cigar, landing on the table with a plop. Most of the ash remained intact after crashing down. The burn line remained even, for the most part, with just a bit of waviness. The burn line itself was thin and dark at the tip and slightly blistered and lighter in color further back.

The draw up until this point was excellent and produced plenty of dense and flavorful smoke. The smoke time seemed about right, although I’m unsure of what my smoke time would be on any other cigar of this size and shape. The resting smoke was about average and produced a very pungent room aroma that irritated my eyes and nose. At times I felt as though I would be better off if I bobbed and weaved around the thin cloud of smoke rising from the cigar.

Final Third:

After nearly ninety minutes, I was well into the final third of my Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky. Just like in the second third, I was noticing a complete progression across the board. The body picked up a bit more while the finish became even longer on the palate. The strength was noticeably more powerful as well, which prompted me to pour myself a glass of iced tea to help with the effects of the nicotine.

The flavors of this stick remained consistent in that the initial rush of flavor was that of cocoa. After a few seconds, the cocoa flavor subsided and a natural Nicaraguan tobacco flavor presented itself. The cocoa was becoming more pronounced and slowly transitioned to more of a bitter chocolate. The tobacco flavor just seemed a touch deeper. The aroma through the sinus remained that of leather and coffee.

After one last ashing, the burn line remained thin and even for the rest of the cigar. The burn rate seemed about average and continued to produce a very pungent room aroma. A slight tar droplet began to emerge from the head of the cigar, a quick re-clipping resolved the issue and all was well.

Final Thoughts:

After roughly an hour and a half passed, it was about time to set down my Nestor Miranda Special Selection Ruky. The cigar was telling me it was finished as it began to get harsh and bitter as it burned down to the nub. Up until that point, I found it to be very flavorful and enjoyable.

I’m glad that Chris, my local Miami Cigars rep, told me that it was much more potent than the traditional Special Selection line. Without that warning I would have fired up the stick mid afternoon and definitely wouldn’t have enjoyed the result. Having smoked this in the evening after dinner, the effects of the cigars strength were minimal but still noticeable.

If you are a fan of full bodied, full throttle cigars, this is something you should check out at some point. Factoring in the enjoyment I got out of it, as well as the size and shape of the stick, I think that this is a decent value at $8.00 per single.

Please Note:
While talking to the Miami Cigars rep, I learned that the entire Nestor Miranda Special Selection line is supposed to be B&M only and is not intentionally sold to Online and Catalog retailers. Sometimes things slip through the cracks and they can be purchased online, but that is not the intention.

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