I decided to go on a bit of a bender on some cigars from one of my favorite cigar factories. No, not that one, I’m talking about Joya de Nicaragua. Joya de Nicaragua was actually the first real factory I really had the pleasure of touring. It was early in 2011, coming up on ten years ago. I walked in smoking one of my favorites, an Antańo Dark Corojo El Martillo. It was really hot and I was nearing the band and ended up putting the cigar down as I felt some feelings coming on and the last thing I wanted was to get a case of the nicotine sweats there. It was there that I saw them rolling the Cabinettas, and Jonathan Drew had introduced us to the brand new #13 Lancero the night before, still a favorite of mine. I have a sentimental attachment to the brand, and it help that I love the cigars the make, there are very few that I won’t smoke. This extends to cigar they make for other people 
as well, of course. So I’m more than grateful when they share some of the great cigars they make with me. This is especially true in the case of the Cinco Decadas El Doctor. This is named for the owner of the company, Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, who I met at the IPCPR show in 2011. This is a 6″ x 52 torpedo with a box press. The Cinco Decadas line is unlike some of the more popular cigars in the JdN portfolio. It isn’t the powerhouse Nicaraguan that they are famous for, it’s refined and elegant. There are some sweet spices and nutiness involved in the flavor. I think these are wonderful cigars. If you want a hint of what these are like on a budget, give the Joya Silver a try, there are similarities.
I went back to the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 yesterday afternoon in the Robusto Grande size and was, as usual, delighted. I vacillate between this 5½ x 52 and the Gran Consul size being my favorite size, although I think I’ve smoked a fair number of Consuls over the years. Oddly, I don’t think I’ve smoked the Toro in this line! Weird. The Robusto Grande is close enough, and it’s a great cigar. It’s full bodied, it’s got the pepper and coffee that I like, and it’s completely satisfying. This is another one of my long time favorite cigars.
Last night I came across a Quatro Cinco Torpedo in the humidor. I think this was my last Quatro Cinco, unless there’s another one hidden someplace. This line precedes the Cinco Decadas by five years, it was the 45th anniversary celebration cigar. I’m not sure if there’s something significant about celebrating an odd numbered anniversary or what, maybe they were afraid that FDA regulations would screw up the 50th? The Quatro Cinco to me shares more of the DNA of the Antaño Dark Corojo. It’s a full bodied cigar with espresso and spice, but more refined. Perhaps it has longer aged or vintage tobacco, and uses a Barrel aging process on some of the leaves. Perhaps today I’ll smoke a Cabinetta, it’s been a while!
What doe everyone think of doing a Secret Santa again? We did it once before, this time I’d use Elfster to run it I think. Is it too late? I don’t think it is. Let me know. That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
