Macanudo Emissary France Robusto (Single Loose Cigar)

• Length: 127mm
• Gauge: 52
• Strength: Medium to Full
• Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
• Binder: USA Broadleaf
• Filler: D.R.Piloto, USA Broadleaf, Arapiraca Brazil, France
• Origin: Dominican Republic
• Humidor Advised: Yes

Macanudo have been making premium cigars since 1968, earning a reputation for consistency that few manufacturers can match. Whilst many smokers know them for their Café range, the Emissary series shows a more adventurous side of the company, exploring tobaccos from unexpected corners of the world.

For the France edition they travelled to the Mugron River Valley in south-west France, a region with a tobacco-growing history stretching back well over a century. It's not a country most cigar smokers associate with tobacco, which is exactly why this blend caught our attention. The French leaf isn't there as a gimmick either. It has been matured alongside Dominican tobaccos and American leaf before being wrapped in a handsome Ecuadorian Cameroun seed wrapper.

The Robusto is probably the best place to discover what the blend is about. Cedar arrives first, followed by roasted almonds, coffee beans and a gentle sweetness that becomes richer as the cigar develops. There's a touch of baking spice in the final third, but the balance is what impresses most.

It's refreshing to see one of the biggest names in premium cigars looking somewhere entirely different for inspiration. France may not be the first country that springs to mind when discussing fine tobacco, but after smoking one of these you'll wonder why we don't hear about it more often.