I have a strong affinity for the Joya de Nicaragua factory and their cigars. It was the first factory in Nicaragua I ever toured, and I’ve loved their cigars going back before I ever dreamed I’d have the opportunity to visit the factory, let alone the country where they were made. I’ve had the great fortune of having visited twice, and the remodeling they did in the two year span between visits was remarkable (my own photos below). I really look forward to reading this book, although I’ve been really bad about reading books 
lately. The history of this factory is amazing, the brand has been through a lot, and the cigars coming from there are among my favorites. I decided to smoke the Cinco Décadas Diadama last night, which Joya de Nicaragua very kindly sent to me in a beautiful presentation consisting of one each of the Diadama and El General (Churchill) sizes along with two of the Quatro Cinco from five years ago. I went with the Diadama, a beautiful 6″ x 54 perfecto, with undisclosed wrapper, binder and fillers. The Cinco Décadas are only available in the two sizes and are priced around $20 in states like mine that don’t have a cigar tax, so expect sticker shock. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a large portion of the “undisclosed” part of the blend is Nicaraguan, I mean, why wouldn’t it be on a cigar that’s commemorating the first cigar company in Nicaragua’s Golden Anniversary? Ironically, I liken the flavors in this cigar quite a bit to those found in the Joya Silver, more so than any of the heavier blends like the Antaño or the Quatro Cinco. The Cinco Década has a sweet, oatmeal-raisin kind of flavor going on, I kind of like it, as I liked it in the Silver (specifically the Toro). It’s very different from what I expected and am used to, making me want to go back into the JdN Classics and refresh my memory. As one would expect, the burn and draw were exceptional, once the proper aperture was cut on the head, too small restricted the draw too much I found. I stuck with a straight cut on this specifically so I could make such adjustments if needed. I ended up enjoying this cigar to a ¾” nub, and the flavors only intensified as it funneled into the smaller ring gauge, I didn’t allow it to over heat. This is a cigar that’s worthy of celebrating Joya de Nicaragua’s storied history, it’s refined, it’s classy, and it might set a standard for what’s to come in the future.
Joya de Nicaragua Publishes “Cinco Décadas: The Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar”
How Nicaraguan cigars came to be, and how they have conquered the world, are stories full of hope, love, family, friendship, resilience, and redemption. “Cinco Decadas: The Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar” is a new book by Joya de Nicaragua that captures this journey, from the very early days of the leaf, until today. It is a celebration to being first, to five decades of success, crisis and resilience, uncovered from sources and facts never seen before and from testimonies of those who lived through it all.
Cinco Décadas, published by Nicaragua’s first Premium Cigar Maker, is intended to shed light on the collective evolution of the Nicaraguan people, of the country, and the company through the lens of one singular product: the most Nicaraguan cigar, a product that has become a means to share that evolution with the world and has transformed the lives of thousands of Nicaraguans and millions of cigar lovers around the world. You will hear from the people of Joya de Nicaragua in their own words, how they headed of the country’s first premium cigar manufacturer; came to work for it; fight for it; love it. The pages of Cinco Décadas are a testament to those people that, filled with courage and hope, helped build this unparalleled institution.
A Multi-Talented Effort
It took Joya de Nicaragua more than two years of research to be able to tell the story of the Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar; a story that was majestically captured by the renowned British journalist Nick Hammond, and complemented by the country’s and region’s top talent in creativity, editorial, photography and design. “Being asked to write the story of Joya de Nicaragua was something of a dream come true. Finally, the chance to really get my teeth into some cigar research. To write of a cigar firm which has defied the odds to survive and thrive today. To write of a country which ceaselessly fights for a better life. And to write of the company owners – the Martinez family – whom I hold in the very highest regard. I’m very proud to have been involved in this remarkable project”, says Nick Hammond, writer.
“For many people, Nicaragua is a newcomer to the cigar world; but at Joya de Nicaragua we’ve always known how deep and rooted tobacco culture has been in our history and in our identity. We wanted to demonstrate this to the world, but we wanted to do it in a remarkable way, one unlike any other cigar book out there. With Cinco Décadas our goal was to showcase the profound impact that tobacco and cigars have had in our country, in our people, our culture and in our future. It’s not a book about a person, or a family, or the process of making cigars. It’s book about all of those things. This book allows us to appreciate cigars in a more meaningful and complete way.” – Juan Ignacio Martínez, Executive President of JdN
A Poetic Visual Journey
Illustrated with beautiful images throughout 204 pages and eleven chapters, the book takes us through a journey of Nicaragua, the city of Estelí, then through the post-colonial era, followed by the social struggles of the 1900’s until the evolution of the Joya brand today. It also touches on the exceptional aspects of the cigar making process and the social impact of the industry. It closes with a depiction of how Joya de Nicaragua has evolved to become one of the world’s most renowned premium cigar brands.
“As we close the chapter of our first 50 years, we begin to write the story of the next five decades hand in hand with the story of our whole nation”, concludes Juan. The first edition of “Cinco Décadas: The Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar” is in English and it will later translated to Spanish and other languages. It will be available in special Joya de Nicaragua events starting in October and in certain specialty shops around the world. Towards the end of the year, it will be available online.
About Joya de Nicaragua
Established in 1968, Joya de Nicaragua is Nicaragua’s first and oldest cigar factory in operation. This year we celebrate our biggest milestone yet, our 50th anniversary. JdN’s commitment to quality along with their skillful and resilient people have brought their handmade cigars to over 50 countries around the world, making it Nicaragua’s most international brand. This year, JDN pays tribute to the birth of the Nicaraguan cigar industry and celebrates five decades of being the most Nicaraguan cigar. For more information, please visit www.joyacigars.com
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
I managed to smoke a couple of the new La Palina Blue Label TAA Exclusive Toros this week, and thought I’d share my thoughts, but first, I mixed last year’s TAA Bronze Label in just to compare. These follow the Black and Red Label releases, which were made at the PDR factory in the Dominican Republic, with the Bronze and now the Blue coming from the Placencia’s El Paraiso factory in Honduras. The Bronze Label went into regular release after it spent a year as the TAA exclusive. I smoked this last May and I think the few months in the humidor did it some good, because it had noticeable sweet flavors that I failed to note originally, and I probably would have made mention of that. I selected it because the size was right for the time I had, and the 5½” x 50 size was good for a nice hour and a half or so smoking time. I’d be very interested in smoking other sizes of this blend, I found it to be quite enjoyable!
New this year is the La Palina Blue Label. The Blue Label is exclusive to TAA stores and is made at El Paraiso in Honduras, which is owned by Placencia. The wrapper is Habano, the binder is Honduran, and the fillers are Nicaraguan and Honduran. This is available in a 6½ x 52 Toro, which is a size I like in a cigar I like, and I like this cigar. When I can get another fifteen or twenty minutes smoking time out of a cigar that’s very good, I’m a happy dude. I smoked two of these over the course of a few days, which I rarely do. The first example I smoked left me with some questions, I found it slightly more earthy and leathery than I prefer, however, I had some distractions, and tonight I smoked the second example without any distractions and found more of the sweetness along with that earthiness that I had found with the Bronze Label, although the sweetness was far more in the background and subdued. The burn and draw were exceptional. While this cigar is ready to go, I think age will be kind to this cigar. Fortunately, I have a chain of TAA stores close by, so I should be able to get my hands on more of these, I’ll have to see if they have them.
