Micallef Blue Toro | halfwheel

Last year, Micallef Cigars released the second addition to its Color Series, which the company says is an exercise in making minor adjustments to blends and maintaining consistent sizes. To accomplish this, each blend in the series will be released in the same two vitolas: a 5 x 52 robusto and a 6 x 52 toro. This allows customers to compare different tobaccos and how they affect a cigar’s blend directly.

The Color Series debuted with the Micallef Black in 2023, a blend covered in a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper. In 2024, the company released the Micallef Blue, which uses a Mexican San Andrés Sumatra-seed wrapper, an Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

The third cigar in the series was Micallef Red, which incorporates a Mexican San Andrés habano wrapper. Earlier this year, Micallef added the Purple line, which combines the Mexican San Andrés wrapper and fillers from the Blue line with the Nicaraguan binder and other fillers from the Red line.

Like the rest of Micallef’s cigars, the Micallef Blue is made at the company’s factory in Nicaragua and boxes started shipping to retailers on March 25, 2024.

“Following the success of Micallef Black, our job is to exceed expectations,” said Dan Thompson, president of Micallef Cigars, in a press release. “The Micallef Blue is a slightly sweet San Andrés Sumatra, praised by those who got to enjoy it early—another premium experience at an unbeatable pocket-friendly price.”

Here is what I wrote in my original review a little more than a year ago:

After a relatively standard first third, the Micallef Blue Toro really takes off in the second third, as flavors of buttered popcorn and cedar on the palate—along with some powdered sugar sweetness on the retrohale—make for an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, those flavors not only become quite a bit less distinct in the final third, but the strength increases enough to noticeably throw off balance. If the entire cigar was as complex and enjoyable as what I found in the second third, the score would be higher, but I am hoping that a bit of time will tame the balance issues in the final third.

• Cigar Reviewed: Micallef Blue Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Micallef Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $8 (Box of 25, $200)
• Release Date: March 25, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

From a visual perspective, this Micallef Blue Toro is extremely similar to what I remember about the cigars from my first review: a pale brown wrapper that is slick to the touch, even though there is almost no oil that I can discern. However, unlike those original cigars, the foot on this cigar is round with no sign of a square shape, and there is some nice give when I squeeze it. A strong cacao nibs note is the first thing I smell from the wrapper—in fact, it is so strong that I could smell it as I was taking the cigar out of its cellophane—followed by dank earth, sweet barnyard, cedar, leather and very light cinnamon. A combination of coffee beans and dark chocolate leads the aromas emanating from the foot—almost like a mocha latte without the creaminess—along with leather tack, generic nuttiness, vanilla extract and a small amount of peppermint. After a straight cut, flavors of dark chocolate and aged cedar lead secondary notes of cashews, black pepper, dry hay, potato chips and baker’s spices.

A combination of gritty earth and black pepper starts the Micallef Blue Toro off, but the profile quickly shifts to include distinct notes of creamy cashews and aged cedar at the top. Secondary flavors of sourdough bread, gritty earth, herbs, dry straw, granola and cinnamon show up at various points, while the retrohale features both black pepper and a distinct oatmeal cookie sweetness that seems to be getting stronger as the first half burns down. Thankfully, the bitterness on the finish that plagued two of the cigars in my original review is totally absent on this one, replaced by a jalapeño note that is strong enough to be noticeable, but far from overwhelming. Flavor ends the first third at full, while the body reaches a point just under medium, and the strength hits a solid medium. There are absolutely no issues at all with construction, as the straight burn line, great draw and thick plumes of smoke all work together in harmony.

Although the creamy cashew note from the first third remains at the top of the profile during the second half, the aged cedar note is replaced by a powdery cacao nibs note. Additional flavors of rich coffee beans, hay, plain popcorn, cinnamon, chalk and a light floral note all make appearances, while the jalapeño flavor on the finish has increased slightly. Oatmeal cookie sweetness continues to dominate the retrohale, but the amount of black pepper has increased slightly. Flavor remains at full, but the body increases to a solid medium and the strength bumps up to medium-plus. The construction remains a high point, and there are zero issues with the burn, draw or smoke production before I finish the cigar after one hour and 52 minutes of smoking time.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.