The sophomore release in the Macanudo Cigars’ Emissary lineup is the Emissary France. According to Macanudo’s website the cigar features, “rare and refined French tobacco grown in the Mugron River Valley, nestled between Bordeaux and the Spanish border. Nurtured by the Atlantic sea breeze and the region’s rich terroir, this tobacco develops distinct notes of salt and dark berries.” After last year’s España release cracked our top 10 and really made me question my palate, I was more than looking forward to this release.
Rolled in Honduras at STG Danlí, the Emissary France features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper (that they say has been aged for 10yrs), over Broadleaf binder from the US (again, aged for 10yrs), and fillers that include Dominican Piloto (aged 10yrs), American Broadleaf (aged 8yrs), Brazilian Arapiraca (aged 7rs), and French tobacco (aged 4yrs). That’s a lot of aged tobacco…or, so they say.
OVERVIEW
VITOLA: Toro
SIZE: 6″ x 52
ORIGIN: Honduras
FACTORY: STG Danlí
WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: USA Broadleaf
FILLER: Dominican Piloto, USA Broadleaf, Brazilian Arapiraca, and France
STRENGTH: Medium
SOURCE:
Macanudo
ENVIRONMENT
WHERE:
Studio/Lounge
WHEN:
June 17
DRINKS:
Bottled Water
WEATHER:
Indoors
HOW MANY CIGARS SMOKED:
4
PRODUCTION
RELEASE TYPE Regular Production
ORIGINALLY RELEASE DATE March ’25
TOTAL PRODUCTION
Typical Box Size: Boxes of 16
Production Totals: Unknown
VITOLA BREAKDOWN
o Toro (6″ x 52)
o Robusto (5″ x 52)
o Perfecto (5-3/4″ x 50)
o Churchill (7″ x 48)
BAND DESIGN
The band is the inverse of the España: gold with blue accents. I think it’s sharper than the España. The detailed design is much more visible on gold. “Macanudo” is written in gold against the blue accent stripes on the bottom and the top of the main band. The blue foot band resembles the España band, though it is a much darker shade of blue, and features “France” written in gold.
PRE-LIGHT OBSERVATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
The Emissary France had the right amount of give when pressed with my thumb and forefinger. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper is reddish brown in color and shows off more than a few veins. The wrapper on each one had a few blemishes that could be found. Quite mottled and toothy, the wrapper felt rough between my fingers. Rustic may be the best way to describe it; however, the gold and blue band seems to elevate the look of the wrapper.
AROMA
Lifting the Emissary France to my nose, the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper gives off a single note: barnyard. It is overpowering and intoxicating. I usually love cigars that have that barnyard funk to them. The foot gives notes of sweet tobacco, spiced cake, a hint of vanilla, and maybe a bit fruit. All of that floats on a bed of barnyard.
COLD DRAW
The draw is almost perfect. Notes of citrus, nuts, earth, and baking spices are easily found from the cold draw. There is a nice sweetness that comes through, too.
SMOKING EXPERIENCE
LIGHT & DRAW
Cut: Le Petit by Les Fines Lames
Fire: Vector Icon II
The initial light reveals notes of peanuts, red pepper flake, wood, honey and baking spices. There is a nice citrus note that is making my mouth water. Black pepper on the retrohale. The initial few puffs are sublime. Heavy cinnamon, honey, wood, and nuts with just a hint of orange zest.
SMOKE
The smoke is creamy and plentiful. It has a nice mouthfeel to it.
FIRST THIRD
>> Wood, Honey, Citrus, Baking Spices
The first third begins with notes of wood, nuts, earth, and leather fighting for supremacy. The sweetness seems to have been left behind, in favor of more savory notes. Black pepper and baking spices on the retrohale. There is a bit of lemon zest that begins to come through. The burn line is just a little less than straight, but nothing concerning. The ash is, for the most part, compact. Gray with streaks of black. Wood has won the fight for dominance. It is flanked by peanuts, leather, earth, and a hint of herbal tea. Honey and citrus can be found lurking in the background. Citrus lingers on my palate, continuing to make my mouth water. As the first third goes on, the citrus becomes more pronounced. It helps give life to the otherwise mundane and earthy notes. Cinnamon and honey help the leather and wood notes seem less…boring. The burn line begins to go…wonky, as the ash starts to lose cohesion.
SECOND THIRD
>> Chocolate, Charred Wood, Vinegar, Baking Spices
The middle third begins with notes of dark chocolate, charred wood, black tea, and a bitter vegetal note. Citrus and honey notes are nowhere to be found; instead, there’s an almost chemical note that reminds of vinegar. Baking spices on the retrohale. The burn line remains pretty wonky. The ash has a more than a few loose flakes. Nothing seems to be coming together in this third. Each cigar smoked for this review had the same chemical like aftertaste. The herbal tea fights the dark chocolate; charred wood and vinegar are not flavors that I’d put together; and there just isn’t enough baking spices on the retrohale. The sweetness and citrus that really gave the Emissary France life are a distant memory. The middle of the second third sees some welcome changes. Cayenne pepper and salted nuts join the chat. Dark chocolate gives way to milk chocolate. That chemical aftertaste is still going strong.
FINAL THIRD
>> Coffee, Vinegar, Wood, White Pepper
The final third starts with roasted nuts, citrus, coffee, and black pepper on the retrohale. A hint of honey returns to the flavor profile. There’s a charred meatiness to the beginning of the final third. White pepper on the retrohale. Vinegar and a generic wood lingers on my palate. The burn is, less than great. On one Emissary France, it appeared that it wanted to explode (see the above pic). It required a heavy touch-up. The ash is just flakey. The aftertaste is almost acrid. It is for sure overwhelming. What started with a roar, is finishing with a cry for help. There just isn’t much to the final third outside of wood, coffee, vinegar, and white pepper.
RATING & FINAL THOUGHTS
FLAVOR PROGRESSION
From the initial light until the end of the first third, the Emissary France was really good. With big notes of black pepper, honey, red pepper flake, peanuts, and a nice citrus note, the Emissary France had the makings of another winner. But it falls apart in the last two thirds. What started as an herbal or floral note began to leave a chemical like aftertaste on my palate. Then it somehow morphed into vinegar? It just wasn’t great. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was off-putting. The vinegar/chemical note made it difficult to find what was working for the flavor profile.
BURN EXPERIENCE
The burn was almost as disappointing as the flavors. None of the samples burned very well. In fact, one was slightly underfilled in the middle third. I had to squeeze it together and pull just a little harder to keep it lit during my least favorite third.
RATING BREAKDOWN
0.80 / 0.80 … Craft & Aesthetic
0.48 / 0.50 … Pre-Light Characteristics
0.50 / 0.50 … Lighting Process
6.49 / 7.70 … Smoking Experience
0.20 / 0.50 … Personal Enjoyment
COMPLIMENTS & CRITIQUES
- The initial third was almost perfect for this reviewer.
- Great presentation and overall look for the Emissary France.
- Flavor profile after the initial third fails to come together.
- Burn and fill issues in each cigar smoked for this review.
THE EMISSARY FRANCE FALLS SHORT.
I hate that the Emissary France didn’t come together for me. I really enjoyed the España last year. It surprised me. I was also surprised that the France fell so short of the bar set by the España. To be fair, each time I smoked the Emissary France I would find things I loved about the flavors…until that same overpowering chemical/vinegar aftertaste showed up. It was too much of a punch in the mouth for me. That said, your palate might interpret that note a bit differently. The more disappointing aspect was the burn issues and the underfilled issue. I’ve been seeing more and more underfilled cigars over the past 18 months and I’m not thrilled with the trend.
