Boring.
That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of Macanudo cigars.
It has nothing to do with quality, which is always reliably good. They’re well-made and consistent from cigar to cigar. The flavor profile is approachable and widely appealing. Those very qualities have made Macanudo one of the best-selling cigar brands in the United States for years.
Macanudo is a safe bet. It always has been. They’ve earned their place in the cigar world, and there’s no denying the success that comes with that.
But reach for words like compelling, complex, or inspiring, and there’s nothing to grab onto. Those are words we use for cigars that move and engage us.
I’ll come clean.
A Macanudo Café was the very first premium, hand-rolled cigar I smoked back in 1990. For years, I always kept a few on hand. They were my camping smokes. My fishing smokes. The cigar I reached for when I didn’t want to think about what I was smoking.
But as I ventured into deeper waters—boutique brands, more expressive blends—Macanudo slowly lost its appeal. Not because it was bad.
It just didn’t do anything.
Because my meeting schedule was clear yesterday afternoon, I decided to finish my workday at my favorite lounge, West Coast Cigars. As is my ritual, I placed my belongings on my usual seat and did some humidor diving to find something I hadn’t smoked yet.
As I was browsing the Diesel section, my gaze fell on a deep emerald-green box that looked completely out of place. I did a double-take, thinking it might be a Diesel I hadn’t tried yet. But the more I looked at it, the less that made sense. It was too refined. Too composed. It didn’t belong there.
It was a Macanudo.
I pulled one out of the box. It was gorgeous! The gold band with the emerald lettering was elegant and refined. A level of sophistication that conflicted with everything I thought I knew about Macanudo. I felt like an android whose positronic brain was struggling to reconcile what it saw with what it knew to be true.
This was not Macanudo. They don’t do this. My mind raced with rapid-fire questions. What are they up to? Is this a new direction? Did I miss the memo? What is the price of tea in China?
After that momentary glitch, I chuckled to myself and paid for the cigar.
Once I lit it up and settled in, I was blown away.
My good friend Father Bob, one of the shop’s owners, must have noticed the look on my face and asked what I was smoking. I held it up and said, “This. Is. A. Macanudo.”
“I know, right?” he said. “It’s the surprise of the century. Who woulda thunk they’d do something like this?”
I just smiled and nodded.
I was just enjoying the cigar and didn’t bother taking an inventory of flavor notes. But I did pick up that the French tobacco added a unique dimension to the profile—a persistent, sweet, floral note reminiscent of roses.
From an experience standpoint, the Emissary was smooth, structured, and composed. Incredibly balanced and refined, with no sharp edges and nothing out of place. And in spite of that refinement, there was an internal energy that carried the profile forward.
It was so good that I didn’t care what brand it was.
It was just a damn good cigar.
The Macanudo Emissary France is proof positive that even after smoking thousands of cigars, I can still be surprised. Sometimes, all it takes is one cigar to remind you didn’t have it figured out after all.
You can buy these at Cigar Page! The CP guys came through and got me a discount code. Use EMISSARY10 to get a 10% discount on your purchase.
Leave a comment