Macanudo Inspirado White Staff Review
Today, I’m smoking Macanudo Inspirado White in a standard 7 by 48 Churchill. Macanudo cigars can be found just about everywhere cigars are sold from premium tobacco shops to big box retailers, bodegas, and even gas stations. Originally, the Inspirado line was only available in Europe when it debuted in 2014, but the folks at General Cigar, the parent company of Macanudo, have been distributing Inspirado in the U.S. since 2016. The line has been expanded to include four blends with different wrappers, including Connecticut Broadleaf, Honduran, Nicaraguan, and the Ecuador Connecticut that’s on Inspirado White.
In my earlier review of Macanudo Inspirado Black, it was refreshing to smoke something new and a little stronger from Macanudo, which is best known for the iconic Macanudo Cafe, a creamy and mild smoke that’s been many a newbie’s first cigar. Because Inspirado White is finished in a Connecticut-seed wrapper, it’s naturally closer in taste to Macanudo Cafe when compared to the other Inspirado blends. Underneath the cover leaf is a blend of Indonesian, Nicaraguan, and Mexican long-filler tobaccos. The Inspirado line is made in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
Macanudo Inspirado White cigars are packaged in silver-black-and-white cigar bands and boxes. Each Inspirado blend is color-themed: Orange, Red, Black, and White. The cigars retail for $7-8 apiece but come down to around $5-6 when you buy a box. Although Macanudo is generally considered more of a novice or beginner’s brand, you have to respect them. Macanudo was one of the first commercially successful cigars in the U.S. market following the Cuban trade embargo in 1962. The first Macanudo cigars were made in Jamaica and hit store shelves in the early 1970s. The secret to the brand’s success has been its massive distribution footprint.
Macanudo Inspirado White displays a golden-blond color when I pluck a fresh Churchill from the box. I notice a few seams and a few precious veins in the wrapper when I slide the cellophane off and give the cigar a closer inspection. I can taste hints of wood and cocoa powder after I clip the cap and take a couple of cold draws. The draw is effortless, and my Churchill fires up like a champ when I take a few puffs of it over my soft flame lighter. After smoking it for over five minutes, Inspirado White is more basic than it is special, but that’s what I expect from Macanudo: well-made cigars that don’t cost a fortune and won’t offend the senses.
Twenty minutes in, a bready flavor opens with a dry, peppery texture. Inspirado White is nutty and smooth but not quite creamy enough to meet my expectations for traditional Connecticut-wrapped cigars. Hints of vanilla and citrus develop but there is a papery taste that necessitates a few cold swigs of an IPA as I traverse the second half of the cigar. The construction is solid, and every time I knock the ash off, it’s firm and over an inch long.
In the final third, I slip the band off, and finally I’m treated to the creamier nuances I was hoping for earlier. Tasting notes of almond, butted toast, and baking spices mingle with a touch of leather before a pleasant coffee bean finish. I’ll leave it to you to decide if Macanudo Inspirado White deserves a spot in the best Macanudo cigars you can buy today, but I’m docking a few points for the dry and bitter detour the Churchill took in the middle. I will smoke this cigar again for posterity, however, and evaluate a second performance. A lot of folks who’ve purchase Inspirado White have left glowing reviews, but there are a few who’ve been less impressed. Smoke a single before you jump on a box.
