Today, we’ll review the Maracana Toro from Oz Family Cigars. The Maracana is the fifth regular production line created by Tim Ozgener and Oz Family Cigars. Ozgener currently leads both Oz Family Cigars and Crowned Heads, but he is also well known for his time at CAO Cigars when his family owned the brand. One cigar closely associated with CAO and Ozgener is the CAO Brazilia, which features a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper and is regarded as one of CAO’s legendary cigars. Since the launch of Oz Family Cigars, Ozgener has received numerous requests for a Brazilian-wrapper cigar.
The year 2026 was ideal to release a Brazilian cigar, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup, a tournament where Brazil has a rich history of success. When Ozgener was with CAO, he created a unique cigar called Bratalia, which combined the Brazilia and the CAO Italia—melding Brazilian and Italian tobacco, as both countries are recognized as World Cup powerhouses. For his new offering under Oz Family Cigars, Ozgener chose the name Maracanã, after one of Brazil’s most famous soccer stadiums.
Without further ado, let’s break down the Maracana Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
Oz Family Cigars has made its first four lines and several limited editions in the Dominican Republic (Casa Carrillo) and Nicaragua (NACSA). These are factories also associated with Oz Family Cigars’ sister company, Crowned Heads. Crowned Heads also works with My Father Cigars in Nicaragua. In 2026, Oz Family Cigars started working with My Father for its 2026 releases. For the Maracana, Oz Family Cigars teamed up with My Father to produce it. The difference is that My Father would produce the Maracana at its Honduras factory. Oz also produced a special Limited Edition World Cup cigar from the My Father Nicaragua factory.
The choice of My Father may surprise some folks. Maracana is a cigar that revolves around the Brazilian wrapper. My Father Cigars hasn’t done much (if anything) with the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. For all practical purposes, this would be a first for My Father Cigars. The remainder of the blend features a double binder of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos also comprise the filler.
- Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
- Binder: Honduran, Nicaraguan
- Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Honduras
- Factory: My Father Cigars Honduras
Vitolas Available
Maracana comes in four sizes – each in 21-count boxes. The Robusto Extra is a 55-ring-gauge cigar and a staple of the regular production Oz Family Cigars lines.
- Robusto: 5 x 52
- Robusto Extra: 5 1/2 x 55
- Toro: 6 1/2 x 50
- Gordo: 6 x 60
Appearance (*)
The box-pressed 6 x 50 Maracana Toro, wrapped in Brazilian Arapiraca, looked like a slender chocolate bar. The surface had a slight sheen of oil. Upon closer examination, the surface showed slight mottling. There were some thin visible veins. Most of the wrapper seams were barely visible. As for the box-press itself, it was a soft box-press with slight rounding around the sides.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
A straight cut was used to light up the Maracana Toro. Once the cap was clipped, it was time to begin the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered notes of cocoa, cedar, and tart sweetness. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Maracana Toro, toast up the cigar, and head into the smoking phase.
Tasting Notes
The Maracana Toro opened up with more notes of cocoa and tart sweetness. These two notes became primary early on. Earth and nut notes also appeared in the background. The retrohale produced a layer of white pepper. As the cigar moved through the first third, the white pepper joined the earth and nut notes in the background.
As the Maracana moved into the second third, the cocoa and tart sweetness remained the primary notes. Baker’s spice joined the earth, nut, and pepper notes, which remained in the background. Around the midway point, the cocoa notes receded into the background, joining the other background notes. The pepper notes slowly increased toward the end of the second.
The final third saw the tart sweetness and pepper as the primary notes. Notes of earth, cocoa, and baker’s spice still lingered. The nut notes had dissipated. I found this portion of the cigar to have muddled flavors. As the Maracana Toro smoking experience came to a close, the cigar finished with a soft, cool nub.
Burn
Overall, the Maracana Toro had a low-maintenance burn. This cigar had a relatively straight burn line. The Maracana Toro stayed on track with minimal touchups. The resulting ash was light to medium gray. The ash was skewed toward the firmer side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and temperature stayed within ideal ranges.
Draw
The Maracana Toro drew on the open side. This wasn’t a loose draw, but I normally prefer a slight amount of resistance. The open draw had no adverse effects during the cigar experience.
Strength and Body
The Maracana Toro started with medium strength and medium body, both well-balanced in the first half. As the first half progressed, both strength and body gradually intensified. By the second half, they reached a medium-to-full level. However, in this phase, strength gained a slight edge over body, which was surprising, as strength increased subtly.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
Much was made of the “busy” bands on the first three Oz releases: Bosphorus, Aramas, and Firsat. I really liked those bands. On the fourth release, Karatoba went with a simpler, striking presentation in copper and black. Maracana follows Karatoba’s path but uses gold with a green background. Like Karatoba, Maracana’s simpler presentation works very well. The Brazilian-flag green was a great touch.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
The Maracana is not a cigar that replicates the old CAO Brazilia. On one hand, I like that, but on the other, it didn’t recapture much of the magic of Brazilia. The Maracana starts out promising, but the flavors decline as the smoking experience progresses. The last third simply was not enjoyable. While the $12.95 price point for a 6 1/2 x 50 Toro is reasonable in today’s market, I wouldn’t recommend purchasing one without trying a sample first. I am curious to see how this cigar smokes in the other formats.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Cocoa, Tart Sweetness, Earth, Nut, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
- Burn: Excellent
- Draw: Very Good
- Complexity: Medium
- Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
- Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
- Finish: Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 87
REFERENCES
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating.
