Cigar Review: Micallef Migdalia SE Londes

Micallef Cigars celebrated strong women, re-releasing the Migdalia Special Edition for the second year on March 8th, International Women’s Day. The cigar is named for Migdalia Sanchez, who crafted the blend. Migdalia is the matriarch of the Gomez-Sanchez family which heads up the factory that produces the Micallef brand of cigars.

Originally released in 2021 on International Women’s Day, the cigar which also measured 5 x 40 sold out. The follow up cigar while in the same Londres size is said to be in the works in different vitolas as well.

Amanda Micallef, V.P. of Marketing for Michellef states, “The Migdalia S.E.’s release is an important reminder to celebrate the women in all our lives and those in the cigar industry. Migdalia brings her unique brand of magic to the Micallef Cigars factory in Estelí. We all know women like this, the women who make our world turn. Let’s take a moment to spotlight their contributions.” 

All of the tobaccos utilized in the blend are aged four years.

Cigar Review: Micallef Migdalia
Wrapper: San Andres Habano (Mexico)
Binder: Sumatra (Indonesia)
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 40
Size: Londres

The Look: Packaged in 12 count boxes of blue, the cigars sit inside in two rows of six. Each cigar features the classic Micallef logo featuring the family crest with a secondary logo denoting the line, Migdalia. The Mexican grown San Andres Habano wrapper is flawless with a nice amount of oils visit and a flawless row. The foot of the cigar is well packed with no voids of tobacco and in the hand the cigar has a hefty weight to it given the size.

The Notes: The cold draw of the Migdalia SE serves up a slightly floral component with a tough of honey, chocolate and graham crackers which awakens the palate before we light up. The aroma from the foot of the thin ring guage smoke has a slight musty earth component with a subtle honey sweetness.

Once the cigar is lit the cigar has a nice complexity right off the first puff. There are notes of cedar, tangerines and eucalyptus which is a first for me in a cigar and surprisingly it works. There is a lot going on and before we get to the first inch of the cigar some hints of vanilla and honey emerge as well. The cigar has a nice amount of strength to it coming in at just north of medium while having a full body (tasting notes). The retrohale has some more citrus on it with a subtle oak.

As we move into the second third a grapefruit note becomes dominant create a sweet and sour component which I’ve come to expect from cigar using a Indonesian tobaccos. The cigar also features notes of oak, black pepper and wet earth with the retrohale seeing a some addition pepper and citrus notes.

The last third sees the citrus notes dissipate, with continued wet earth as the primary component. In the background there is still come oak, and for the first time a touch of cocoa. The retrohale is smooth with only a small amount of pepper, and continued nots of oak.

The Finish: I would be curious to try the blend in a larger ring gauge where the dominant taste of the binder isn’t the focal point of the cigar. I am admittedly not a fan of of Indonesian tobacco, though I think it would be less dominant in a larger ring gauge. This is not to say it’s a bad cigar, but I think it would be better in a different vitola.

Score: 90
Price: $10.19 / $107.99