I have to wonder what other people who wrote reviews on this cigar were smoking.

I mean -- come on! -- some have written that smoking this cigar was like having sex.

What? This is a 3½-inch long cigarillo with a ring gauge of 26 -- it is thinner than most cigarettes! If people are comparing this cigar to having sex, then they could only be talking about a "quickie."

I am not a big fan of cigarillos, although I do like the Macanudo brand very much -- in particular, the Macanudo Hampton Court and Hyde Park cigars.


The Macanudo Cafe Miniature
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I consider these small cigars to be the equivalent of a Turkish coffee... very little is there to enjoy, and what one does end up smoking is usually strong and sometimes bitter.

The Macanudo Miniatures that I have (received them as a gift), are made from 100% tobacco (no paper products). The wrapper is a natural color, aged Connecticut-shade leaf from the Dominican Republic. The binder is from Mexican leaf, and the filler tobaccos are from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Jamaica.

These particular cigars are not dry-cured or baked, but no special handling is really necessary. I've had a small box of these cigarillos for over a year now, and see no need to keep those that I have still have left in a humidor. These cigarillos are guillotine cut at the head and foot, are wrapped in cellophane, and sold in paperboard boxes containing eight miniatures.

More often than not, cigarillos have strong tobacco flavors and are bitter/acrid. These particular miniature cigars from Macanudo, however, are fairly mild and feature a nutty flavor. They burn quickly, lastly about 10 minutes or less.


Price and Availability
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I purchased in quantity from JR Cigars (www.jrcigars.com), you can buy these miniatures for a pretty cheap price: About $50 for 10 packs, each containing eight cigarillos. Let's just say $5 per pack of eight. The normal retail price you could expect to pay at a regular tobacconist is about $7 per pack (of eight).


Recommendations
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I've only tried three or four brands of cigarillos before. Al Capone Pocket Cigarillos, which I purchased in Switzerland, these Macanudao Miniatures, and some Schimmelpennick cigars (a very famous Dutch brand). There are some very well known marketers who also sell cigarillos, including Zino Davidoff (Switzerland) and Alfred Dunhill (U.K.).

I am not a big fan of miniature cigars like these. If you are pressed for time, then you probably shouldn't try to smoke a cigar in te first place. As much as I enjoy Macanudo cigars, I really do no recommend this cigar. Consider, instead, the Macanudo Ascot -- a 4¼-inch cigar with a ring gauge of 32. This is the smallest size cigar I could suggest, but if you have an extra dollar to spend, trade up and try the Petit Corona -- 5-inches long with a ring gauge of 38 (38/64ths of an inch in diameter).


Recommended: No

Cigar Name: Macanudo Cafe Miniature
Cigar Rating: Don't bother
Price per cigar ($US): $7 for Eight