Macanudo Emissary France Toro (Full Box of 16 Cigars)

• Length: 152mm
• 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

Every now and then a manufacturer produces a cigar that makes you stop and read the blend twice. The Emissary France is one of those cigars.

Macanudo's Emissary range was created to celebrate exceptional tobaccos from around the world, and for this release the blenders looked somewhere few people would have expected. The Mugron River Valley in south-west France has been producing tobacco since the nineteenth century, although almost none of it has ever appeared in premium handmade cigars. Macanudo secured a carefully aged crop and built an entirely new blend around it.

The French leaf is joined by 10-year-aged Dominican Piloto Cubano, 8-year-aged USA Broadleaf and 7-year-aged Brazilian Arapiraca beneath a 10-year-aged Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. On paper it sounds like a blend put together by someone with a globe and a notebook. Fortunately, they also knew exactly what they were doing.

The Toro is my pick of the range. An extra inch gives the different tobaccos time to introduce themselves properly. Cedar and roasted nuts lead the way before coffee, cocoa and baking spices begin to appear. The French tobacco contributes an earthy, slightly herbaceous note that quietly threads everything together instead of demanding the spotlight.

The presentation deserves a mention too. Sixteen individually cellophaned cigars sit inside a handsome wooden box complete with an information card explaining every component of the blend and how long each tobacco has been matured. It's the sort of detail cigar enthusiasts enjoy because half the pleasure is learning the story before striking the match.