Macanudo Sumatra Robusto

This past spring, at the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Scandinavian Tobacco Group introduced a pair of new lines to one of its most ubiquitous brands: Macanudo.

Half of the pair is the Macanudo Ecuadorian Shade, which uses an Ecuadorian shade wrapper that the company says delivers a smoother, more refined experience. The other new release is the Macanudo Sumatra, which is wrapped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed leaf, which the company says offers a richer, more robust expression with added depth.

Both blends use a U.S.-grown broadleaf binder, with fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and are both made at STG Estelí in Nicaragua, a notable change given that most Macanudos are rolled in the Dominican Republic.

They also come in the same three sizes and at the same three prices:

• Macanudo Ecuadorian Shade/Sumatra Robusto (5 x 50) — $6.99 (Box of 20, $139.80)
• Macanudo Ecuadorian Shade/Sumatra Toro (6 x 50) — $7.99 (Box of 20, $159.80)
• Macanudo Ecuadorian Shade/Sumatra Gigante (6 x 60) — $8.99 (Box of 20, $179.80)

“Macanudo has always been about bringing people together through a consistently smooth, approachable experience,” said Matt Wilson, senior brand manager for Macanudo, in a press release at the time. “With Ecuadorian Shade and Sumatra, we’re building on that legacy by giving smokers two distinct ways to experience the brand — making it easier to find the right cigar for the moment.”

These two lines use pretty similar packaging, ones that take the classic Macanudo look and give it a colorful modern spin. That concept won’t stop here, as STG also showed off two new Macanudo lines for next year: Broadleaf and San Andrés.

• Cigar Reviewed: Macanudo Sumatra Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: STG Estelí
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra-seed)
• Binder: U.S.A. (Broadleaf)
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Shape: Pressed
• MSRP: $6.99 (Box of 20, $139.80)
• Release Date: April 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

There’s a good visual contrast between the bands and the wrappers of the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto; the former are bright and shiny, while the latter are dark and matte. They have a little bit of a waxy texture, but I don’t see or feel any oiliness. All three cigars get a uniform press and have near-identical densities, each with a solid core and a firm pillow density on the outer layers. At first, the aroma is fairly mild, kind of a generic earthiness, but specifically it reminds me of doing yardwork on a cool day, a mix of leaves and soil before some pepper enters on the finish. The second cigar’s aroma is lighter and a bit sweeter, adding cold chocolate milk to the profile. The third turns the lead scent to a really light, candy-like milk chocolate that is followed distantly by some dry wood and a touch of black pepper. The first cigar’s cold draw is a bit firm, the second’s is a bit open, and the third’s is ideal. The flavor is mellow with a little creaminess, some coffee grounds, while I also get some tingle on my lips from the wrapper.

The first puffs remind me of many of the flavors I get from what I’d call a typical cup of coffee: some earth, some chocolate, a little acidity, and some berry sweetness, with a touch of pepper added in. Of course, this sensation comes without the liquid aspect of coffee, as the flavor of the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto is somewhat dry and chewy. Retrohales in the first two cigars are peppery and right around medium intensity, hitting my nostrils with a quick, pleasant sensation of pepper that fades away fairly rapidly. In the third cigar, my nose starts tingling before I take a retrohale, as some ambient smoke finds my nostrils and delivers a rather intense sensation. A really enjoyable sweet and spicy combination emerges just shy of an inch into the cigar; the sweetness tastes like some kind of liquid chocolate, while the spiciness is a mellow combination that draws from chilis and black pepper. The third cigar continues to be an outlier from the other two; while it shares common traits, it’s as if its intensity has been dialed up, particularly the pepper, which brings a bit of heat with it. As this section wraps up, the sweet and spicy combination fades, dialing down to a fairly mellow earthy base, with a touch of Hershey’s chocolate and pepper in the background. Flavor ranges from medium to medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-minus. So far, construction is very good as the cigar puts off a good amount of smoke, draws well, and maintains an even burn line.

At the start of the second third, the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto subtly changes the texture of the smoke, smoothing and rounding it out, making it more palate-coating than in the first third. There’s not a corresponding flavor change, but the change in sensation on my tongue is readily apparent. It’s a more pronounced change in the first and second cigars than it is in the third, which dabbles with the change, but it’s amped up pepper and heat quickly disrupt the sensation, giving the smoke a lot more texture and even some roughness and irritation towards the back of my mouth. This trend of the third cigar having a markedly different experience than the first two continues at the end of this section; it continues with an earthy, rough smoke, while the first two cigars see their flavor and retrohale soften up a bit. In those two, it feels like a thick creaminess has taken over much of the profile, letting a little earth and pepper come out on the finish, which makes for the better of the two experiences. Flavor is medium in the first two cigars and medium-full in the third, while body is more consistently medium and strength is medium-minus. Construction is generally good, but a touch-up or two is needed in the second and third cigars. The third cigar has the more challenging combustion, meaning I need to puff on it a bit more quickly than the other two to keep it burning.

The final third sees the blend shake off the muting of the creaminess and lean big into earth and pepper, the latter of which hits both my nostrils and taste buds. There’s also a building undertone of rich chocolate that is quite good, especially in the third cigar, where it’s a smokier expression, almost reminding me of how the chocolate in a s’more would not only taste, but how the total experience could include some of the campfire smoke. There are still some traces of the coffee flavors from the first third, but slowly, the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto has evolved away from that profile and into one that has really embraced earthiness in the second half. Flavor finishes medium-full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-minus. Construction stays largely issue-free, performing well in the draw, smoke production, and burn line. The final third needs the occasional touch-up if I space out my puffs too much, but it’s only a minor inconvenience to the experience.

Final Notes

• Charlie Minato covered the Scandinavian Tobacco Group booth at the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, where this line debuted. The Macanudo Sumatra was one of more than 30 new releases from STG at this year’s trade show.
• He speculated that these new lines might replace Macanudo Inspirado, which shares a lot of similar traits: shared packaging between different blends, aggressive price points, and some of those cigars were made outside of the Dominican Republic.
• There is a constant bit of nicotine strength in all three of the cigars, but it never delivers enough that I feel any real effect from it. It’s a fine line to walk, but the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto does it well and the result is quite enjoyable.
• STG advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 5 x 50 robusto. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was two hours and five minutes on average, a slower smoking time than I would have anticipated for the size, but it never felt like the cigar was struggling to burn.
• Site sponsors Cigars Daily and Small Batch Cigar carry the Macanudo Sumatra Robusto.

Macanudo
Macanudo Sumatra
Macanudo Sumatra Robusto
Matt Wilson
Nicaragua
Robusto
Scandinavian Tobacco Group
STG Estelí