Macanudo has continued its collaboration with Napa Valley’s Flint Knoll Winery to produce Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll No 2. The limited-edition expression of Macanudo uses tobacco aged in wine barrels to create a one-of-a-kind smoking experience.
Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll Release No. 2 draws its unique characteristics from tobacco aged in French Oak barrels used to produce Flint Knoll’s 2019 Royal Appointment Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2019 growing season in Napa Valley saw optimal conditions that year, resulting in a complex, fruit-forward wine with intriguing spice. These notes left their mark on the French Oak barrels which in turn influenced the tobacco through a proprietary aging process.
Justin Andrews, new business development manager for Scandinavian Tobacco Group which owns the Macanudo brand said, “Together with Jhonys Diaz, Yuri Guillen and our blend development team at General Cigar Dominicana, we created a new method of aging binder leaf in wine barrels for Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll. It was a time and labor-intensive process, one that had us test binder varietals and aging durations. We ultimately achieved the complexity and nuances we were looking for in the smoking experience.”
Handcrafted in Santiago DR at General Cigar Dominicana, the blend for the Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll Release No. 2 has been carried over from the inaugural release of 2022. Made with a curated selection of six tobaccos from five countries, the exquisite smoke begins with a silky, Ecuador-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf which was chosen for its golden sheen. Beneath the wrapper lies a Connecticut Broadleaf binder leaf that underwent a special barrel aging process and took on characteristics of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon. When met with a blend of Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Olor, Nicaraguan Jalapa and Dominican Piloto Cubano, the medium-bodied cigar delivers a dimensional smoking experience.
Flint Knoll Proprietor Aaron Michaelis said, “By aging the binder leaf in our French Oak barrels, the complexity and spice of our 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon comes to life in a distinctive new smoking experience that’s spicier than the original release. Those who enjoy Macanudo Estate Reserve No. 2 should expect a cigar with notes of creamy vanilla, toasted almonds, dark currants and cedar.”
Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll Release No.2 will be released in two sizes and available through select retailers following its October 2 ship date. The cigars are presented with white bands having deep embossing, accented in copper filigree and are packaged in handmade wooden boxes containing ten cigars each.
- Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll No. 2 Toro (6” x 54); SRP per cigar $19.99
- Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll No. 2 Churchill (7” x 52); SRP per cigar $21.99