Micallef Blue Robusto

This year, Micallef followed up the success of last year’s Micallef Black cigar with the Micallef Blue. With the Blue, one can expect to see a similar format, but with a change in the wrapper, moving from the Mexican San Andrés maduro on the Black to a San Andrés Sumatra for the Blue. Additionally, where the Black was created to be fuller bodied, the Blue sets off to offer a sweeter, medium-bodied experience.

“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.” —Dan Thompson, president of Micallef Cigars

In looking at the history of Micallef, we see that it was created back in 2016 by Al Micallef after meeting the Gómez Sanchez family. The Gómez Sanchez family was well known for their expertise in premium tobacco, dating back three generations within the craft. Merging together their families and their dream of crafting high quality cigars, the cigar manufacturing business was born. The road to success was not an easy one. It took time and resilience. But they were able to break into the industry by slowly chipping away, eventually gaining a following among some loyal cigar hobbyists. This following has intensified with their Cigar Ambassador Program, which works on building a sense of belonging revolving around the love of the hobby.

“Our goal was to produce high-quality cigars that people would love and to build a community around our brand.” —Al Micallef, founder of Micallef Cigars

Similar to the Black, the Blue comes in two sizes: Toro and Robusto. The Micallef Blue cigars are packaged in 25-count boxes, with a price point that makes this a very affordable cigar for the consumer, much like the prior release of the Black (and the subsequent Micallef Red).

Micallef Blue Robusto Breakdown

Appearance

The San Andrés Sumatra wrapper of the Micallef Blue is a medium brown color with a slightly toothy appearance and feel. There are no veins noted, however, a spiraling seam is seen. This cigar displays a single band, showing the modernized Micallef look in a blue-heavy color scheme. The main band color is a deep royal blue with gold ink. The words “MICALLEF” and “CIGARS” are imprinted on the band above and below a gold crest, bearing a knight in shining armor.

In terms of packaging, the boxes tie in the color scheme that we see on the band, being a deep royal blue and gold. On the underside of the lid, the family crest is prominently displayed, drawing the consumer in and making no mistake that this is of the Micallef brand. Interestingly, neither the band nor the cigar box indicates that this is the Blue cigar. Rather, Micallef lets the color presentation speak for itself, insinuating that the cigar is of the Blue line.

Smoking Experience

While inspecting the Micallef Blue, one notices the smell from the wrapper is a mixture of mineral, salt, and cinnamon aromas. The feel of the cigar is fairly solid, and you can appreciate the slight toothiness of the wrapper leaf. With a straight cut, the cold draw has a very salty, mineral taste.

Taking time to light the cigar properly, there is a rich smoked hardwood flavor that is picked up, along with some upfront notes of oak. On the palate, there is a mild mineral-laden salt flavor noticed. The start of Micallef Blue reminds me of the aromas of the inside of my wood BBQ smoker, and the flavors produced when I prepare meat on it. The retrohale produces a smoky hot red pepper, offering a surprising level of spice based on the blend of this cigar.

The robusto’s very firm feel alludes to a solid construction, which does lead to a tight draw when smoking. The burn is fairly slow, with a rather wavy char line. It requires a bit more touchups than I normally prefer. A light white smoke rolls off the cigar, leading to a dense, dark gray ash that holds for about one cm at a time.

As the middle of the cigar is reached, the smoky hardwood flavor decreases, and the mineral salt flavor fades away. The retrohale changes to a straightforward hot red pepper note. Unfortunately, by the end of the cigar, the flavors have largely faded, offering little complexity and closing out with a bit of a letdown. The retrohale shifts to solely black pepper, providing the final note of flavor as the smoking experience concludes.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

Micallef Blue continues the Micallef Color Series, achieving what appears to be a successful contrast to 2023’s fan-favorite Micallef Black. The Micallef Blue tones down the intensity from the former, offering a medium-bodied cigar with less bold and rich flavors than the Black. The flavors at the start of the cigar were very enjoyable, most notably including the smoky oak hardwood notes that were hitting my palate early on. Unfortunately, the flavors fell off near the middle to end, providing little to latch onto. I found the draw to be a bit too tight, and the need for frequent touchups took away from my enjoyment of the cigar. Speaking on price point, it is very much appreciated in an industry where a quality seven-dollar cigar is hard to come by. Ultimately, if the smoky hardwood flavor lasted throughout the entirety of the cigar, at this price point, I would smoke this again. However, I was a bit disappointed in the lack of flavor as the smoke continued, so I am unlikely to pick up this cigar again.

• Currently, the Micallef Blue ranks on Dojoverse as “99% Smokable,” placing in the top seven percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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