Tag Archives: joya de nicaragua

by | December 6, 2020 · 10:53 am

Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas, Antańo 1970 and Quatro Cinco Cigars

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

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by | July 5, 2020 · 9:23 am

Fourth of July Cigars: J.C. Newman American, a Firecracker and a Havana

The Fourth of July seemed like a great time to smoke the J.C. Newman American that was generously gifted to me by a friend of mine and reader Adam Stevens. Check out Adam’s Wife, Jamie’s cigar reviews over at Cigar Talk Radio, she does a nice job. I really need to figure out a way to get together with those two before they more out of PA soon. Anyway, this has been a tough cigar for me to get my hands on, so I was thrilled when Adam included it in a Secret Santa package last year (I think?, right?). This is a cool project that Drew Newman, the fourth generation Newman in the business, spearheaded. Another aside, I first encountered Drew in the 90’s on the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group when he was a 16 year old and caught all kinds of crap for being a kid posting on a cigar forum. Of course, he started the Cigar Family forum on their own website, which might have been the first major web forum dedicated to cigars shortly after. Anyway, the cigar is all US made components, made in the US. The wrapper is Florida Sungrown, the binder is Connecticut Broadleaf, and the fillers are “Pennsylvania Type 41, grown by Mennonite family farmers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Connecticut Havana, grown John Foster in South Windsor, Connecticut“. I used to live within ten miles from those Mennonite farms in Lancaster county, by the way. All of the packaging is made in the USA too, by the way. The cigar smoked perfectly, I lit it up late in the morning while relaxing on the porch. The wrapper has a dry, mottled appearance, it’s not pretty. It is, however, a tasty cigar. It has some sweetness and earthiness and is very unique. Certainly a cigar that should be tried, and most likely enjoyed, I know I enjoyed it. Thanks again to Adam for sharing this with me!

 

After lunch did something, which must have been an errand that wasn’t memorable because I can’t remember what it was, or I was waiting for something to happen, so I smoked a Mi Querida Firecracker. The Firecracker line of cigars by United Cigar Group, which is Dave Garofalo of  2 Guy’s Cigars distribution company, is a stroke of genius. Of course, this is why it’s so frequently plagiarized, but not only is the format cool, but it’s a sure sale every year, and the social media impact seems to be fairly high. I’m sucked in, I feel like I need to pick up at least few of the cigars to sample every year. It’s a little funny how the sales go through, isn’t it? You get super-cool, niche brands like CroMagnon and Mi Querida that sell out 500 boxes in a day and everyone is amazed, then Perdomo comes along, a seemingly, or at least comparatively, pedestrian, brand sells 1000 boxes in a few hours. I wonder if another brand could touch Perdomo’s numbers? Not that there’s a quality difference, the Perdomo Firecraker is great, I dig it, but I kinda like the Mi Querida more (and the CroMagnon, although my sample size is smaller). The Fratello Firecracker is amazing as well, as is the Kristoff (I’ve only had one LFD and enjoyed it). To my knowledge, the Mi Querida was the only Firecracker to spin off into it’s own sub-brand, the Triqi Traca, which is pretty cool. I love the Mi Querida blend anyway, so the Firecracker was a no-brainer and really quite good, and smoked for an hour, amazing for such a little cigar. 

 

It’s been an annual tradition of mine for a long time on the Fourth of July to smoke a Havana cigar. 20+ years ago it was a matter of smoking one of the best in my humidor, along with a bit of civil disobedience, which is kind of what the day represents, right? Anyway, it’s not longer that big a deal, I have lots of better cigars in my humidor, but it’s a tradition, right? It seems to have turned in to an exercise in how to have a bad cigar experience. Last night I decided to liberate a cigar from the depths of the humidor, one that had spent well over a decade resting. I don’t recall where this particular Cuaba Salomón came from, or when, I just know it’s been around a long time. I smoked a bunch of the little Cuaba Divinos (same size and shape as a Short Story basically) years ago and never really cared for them. they had a distinctly Winston cigarette flavor to them, and it wasn’t what I was looking for in a cigar. So I ignored this big cigar for a long time, wouldn’t 7″ of cigar taste worse than 4″? As one might guess, taste wasn’t a problem. Actually, the flavor wasn’t bad, when I could get some smoke through. Have you ever had those cigars that you pull though and get nothing, but blow through and smoke pours out? Infuriating, isn’t it? WTF causes this? I have to figure there’s a fold in the filler that acts like some kind of valve. I know, a poker should fix this, it’s never right. Fool that I am, ever the optimist, I thought maybe it would burn past the problem. Nope, messed around with it for an hour or so and got to about two inches left before it started kind of working like a cigar should. What I should have done what put it down and gotten something else, but I’m too stubborn. So I’m sitting here this morning enjoying the crap out of a Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta No. 4 Robusto with my coffee (one of the old ones before it was part of the Joya series). It’s a cigar that’s been a favorite for a decade, and never is a disappointment. 

 

On with the day, I hope nobody lost any fingers yesterday. The fireworks around here were nuts, poor Macha spent the evening under her end table, she’s not a fan. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 10, 2020 · 8:08 am

News: Joya de Nicaragua Announces Cinco Décadas El Doctor

This is a news item from my friends at Joya de Nicaragua. I love the Cinco Décadas, although at $20 a pop I don’t smoke them often. They are really beautiful cigars, and I’m excited about this new size. 

JOYA DE NICARAGUA CINCO DÉCADAS EL DOCTOR

A LIMITED MASTERPIECE EXCLUSIVE FOR THE U.S. MARKET

 

Two years ago, when Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua reached its 50th anniversary, it released its most emblematic blend to date: Cinco Décadas, a commemorative cigar conceived as a tribute to all of those that have shaped the company and thus the Nicaraguan cigar industry.

 

Every Cinco Décadas vitola has been named after historic icons, Diadema as it was the first shape ever made at the factory, El Fundador is a tribute to founders of the company, and El General, reminds us of one of the pioneers of tobacco in Nicaragua. Today, Joya de Nicaragua introduces “El Doctor”, a 6×52 Torpedo honoring , Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, JDN’s visionary Chairman and Owner since the early 90s, and an impactful leader of our organization and industry.

 

 

“Giving identities to these special products is one of the most exciting things we do when we are about to release one of these gems that we have created at the factory. With Cinco Décadas it hasn’t been easy, as we want to recognize all the important icons or milestones that have shaped our history in the last five decades. For me it was very touching when our agency and marketing team proposed to me to name this vitola after my father, because it was a realization of how much he has been an influence to all of us,” said Juan Ignacio Martínez, Executive President.

 

This very special limited batch of just 600 boxes will be sold exclusively in the United States, and only by retailers that belong to the Drew Diplomat Retailer Program. Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas El Doctor will be shipping in August 2020, and will be available along with the 2020 annual batch of 600 boxes of each of the rest of the sizes in the Cinco Décadas series.

 

 

“Cinco Décadas is the cigar we are most proud of in Joya de Nicaragua. We are truly limited in the amount of cigars we can roll in this blend, because we use our most talented torcedores and because we use the best tobacco in our factory. Our plan is to release one new size every year until the next big anniversary, but this year we may have another surprise, so stay tuned,” said Daniel Barrios, Global Commercial Director of Joya de Nicaragua.

 

This limited edition cigar will be introduced to the public by Juan Ignacio Martínez and the Drew Estate sales team in digital events across the country next month. Priced in line with the rest of the vitolas in the brand, Cinco Décadas El Doctor will be sold at MSRP $20.00/stick or $200/box.

 

ABOUT JOYA DE NICARAGUA

Joya de Nicaragua is a family owned tobacco grower and cigar factory. Established in 1968, it is the first and most authentic premium handmade cigar manufacturer from Nicaragua. Based in Estelí, many regard JDN as the patriarch creator of the Nicaraguan cigar industry, and its cigars are sold in more than 55 countries around the world. The company’s commitment to quality, along with its skillful and resilient people, have been rewarded with the industry recognition of C​igar Factory of the Year 2018 & 2019.

For more information, please visit

www.joyacigars.com

.

 

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by | June 3, 2020 · 10:05 am

Some DE News and the Contest Winner Announcement!

I’m doing my best to try to maintain some semblance of normalcy in what’s turning into quite the shitshow of a 2020, quite frankly. I’m not sure how else to characterize it. I have my feelings on things, but I’m just going to try to stick to my “don’t be a dick” mantra, and keep on doing what I need to do to get through the day. I encourage everyone to live by that philosophy, the world would be a better place. One can dream. Anyway, before I announce a winner of the great Drew Estate goodies, here’s some news they sent my way.

 

Drew Estate has been putting out more news than I can keep up with lately! I’m sure you’ve seen the news about the new Joya Numero Uno size and the Acid Samplers already, so I won’t revisit those, but these are from the last few days: 

 

Drew Estate Unveils Four New Gift Sets

 

 

Drew Estate announces today four new gift sets of their most popular brands including Undercrown Shade, Herrera Esteli Habano, Deadwood Fat Bottom Betty and Tabak Especial Dulce. This release will be showcased on the upcoming Freestyle Live: Special Edition hosted on facebook.com/drewestatecigar on June 11th from 7:00-9:00pm EST.

Each gift set features 5 toro sized cigars and a branded lighter exclusive to the gift set release. Deadwood Fat Bottom Betty toro kicks off the releases, wrapped in lush Maduro and blended with rich and exotic tobaccos.  Next, the Herrera Esteli Habano toro features a spicy Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Honduran Binder, and bold filler leaves from Nicaragua. The Undercrown Shade is highlighted by a smooth Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Sumatra binder with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler leaves. Finally, the Tabak Especial Dulce features a creamy Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves, perfect to pair with your cup of coffee.

From the Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew Founder and President of Drew Estate notes, “Gift Sets are cool as fuck.  I dig em.” 

The following gift sets featuring a branded lighter are shipping in August:

  • Deadwood Fat Bottom Betty Toro Gift Set MSRP $57.99
  • Herrera Esteli Habano Toro Gift Set MSRP $57.99
  • Tabak Especial Dulce Toro Gift Set MSRP $57.99
  • Undercrown Shade Toro Gift Set MSRP $57.99

For full coverage of Drew Estate Gift Sets and all of Drew Estate’s upcoming national releases check out our 2020 #DESummerTakeover promotion at www.drewestate.com/summertakeover and be sure to tune in to Freestyle Live: Special Edition hosted on facebook.com/drewestatecigar on June 11th from 7:00-9:00pm EST.

 

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

 

 

Not to be outdone, Joya de Nicaragua has been announcing new stuff too:

 

JOYA DE NICARAGUA DARES YOU TO “SHUT THE BOX”

A LIMITED AND PLAYFUL EDITION OF THE LEGENDARY ANTAÑO

Back in 2012, Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, Chairman of Joya de Nicaragua, won his first game of Shut the Box. He was on tour, visiting old friends in the cigar industry, and in one stop at Havana Mix Shop in Memphis, TN, he was challenged to a game.  As a numbers guy, backed by a PhD in Economics, he accepted the dare. You could argue that an exact science has nothing to do with rolling the dice, or you could simply try to shut the box!

Shut the Box is a traditional American game that Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca has become obsessed with and dares anybody to challenge him!  “I never thought that day I would discover one of my now favorite pastimes, and moreover, that 8 years after, my team would come up with the idea of making a cigar box that transforms into it.  The best of all is that now I’ll find it in cigar lounges across America when I visit,” explained Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, Chairman of the Board.Antaño is one of Joya de Nicaragua’s oldest and most successful blends of all time.  Launched in 2001, it is considered by many as the first real full body cigar in the market.   An innovative approach of the most traditional factory in Nicaragua, that became an iconic cigar for American smokers, now considered a true classic.  With a Nicaraguan Habano Wrapper and Nicaraguan Binder and Fillers, this cigar is an ultra robust, spicy smoke with an earthy finish, and unbridled body and aroma, which showcase the authentic Nicaraguan Puro.

Antaño Shut the Box Limited Edition is a special gift from Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua to those loyal consumers that have been supporting the brand for almost 20 years.  It has manufactured 500 Collector’s Edition boxes of each of the two most popular vitolas in this blend, JDN’s signature Gran Cónsul (4 ¾ x 60 – MSRP $ 182/box or $9.10/stick) and Robusto Grande (5 ½ x 52 – MSRP $169/box or $8.45/stick).  After the cigars have been enjoyed, the box is ready to play “Shut the Box”.

“For many years we have been thinking about ideas on how to make our empty boxes be useful after all cigars are smoked, and this is how we decided to let people have some fun.  At the moment, we didn’t know we were going to be bringing to smokers a special game so useful these days that we have to stay longer at home,” said Juan Ignacio Martínez, Executive President.

Antaño Shut the Box will be available to stores across the country as of June 2020, and will come in the traditional 20 count boxes, with cigars, instructions and two dice ready to be played with those closest to you.  The perfect kit for cigar smokers that want to add some fun to their smoke.

 

ABOUT JOYA DE NICARAGUA

Joya de Nicaragua is a family owned tobacco grower and cigar factory. Established in 1968, it is the first and most authentic premium handmade cigar manufacturer from Nicaragua. Based in Estelí, many regard JDN as the patriarch creator of the Nicaraguan cigar industry, and its cigars are sold in more than 55 countries around the world.  The company’s commitment to quality along with its skillful and resilient people, have rewarded it with the industry recognition of Cigar Factory of the Year 2018 & 2019.

 

Contest Winner!

I am still throwing cigars in a bag, but so far, along with a Year of the Rat as promised, I’ve included a Nica Rustica Belly from the launch event in Louisville KY in July of 2015 and one each of the new Undercrown Corona Pequeños. I’ll rummage around and find some more to add, I’m sure there will be some Joyas too. I’ve consulted the Random Number Generator, and, as Patrick H predicted, it got close to him, but missed him by this much!  Patrick G is the winner! Please send your address so I can get this stuff out to you. I just thought of two more great cigars to put in while I was typing this! Thanks so much to Drew Estate for sending me the Liga Privada Survival Kit and the other swag I’ve collected over the years! It brings me great joy to give stuff like this away! It’s a good thing they didn’t send one of those Benchmade knife/cutters or we wouldn’t have been having a contest, those things are wicked-cool! 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

CigarCraig

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by | April 5, 2020 · 9:14 am

A Providencia Shenanigans Cigar and a Fundraising Raffle

I’m back after a few days of smoking some favorites out of the humidors. I found a few old Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillos with the old bands, the first one I lit up just wasn’t drawing right, which irritated me. Usually I work my way through, but I wasn’t willing to aggravate myself on that particular day, so I set down the cigar after fighting with it for a third of the cigar, ran an errand, and came home and lit another one, and enjoyed the crap out of it. This has been a cigar I’ve been a fan of for a decade. I can remember smoking one of these when I first toured the Joy de Nicaragua factory in 2011, and with the heat and humidity there that day, I had to put it down or become overwhelmed.  It’s a powerful smoke. I love it. I still have a few of these with the old band, and a few with the new. I had a Numero Uno last week which was exceptional also. Love the Joya cigars (I can do without the Red and Black oddly enough). A four year old La Gloria Cubana Serie RF, a Famous Smoke Shop Exclusive, was also smokes this week, and was also very good. It was strange when I looked back through “memories” and saw I smoked the same cigar four years prior almost to the day. It’s funny how often that happens! 

 

My wife has been sewing masks lately and sent some to a hospital, and made me a couple out of the cigar fabric that I have. She made a couple extras, and is having a raffle on Facebook to raise money for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The raffle “tickets” are $1 each, and I’ll sweeten the deal by adding a few cigars to the winner. Click here (or on the picture) to make a donation and be entered. All the details are on the post. It’s only running until Saturday, so don’t delay. 

 

Of course, I try to introduce something new in my Sunday posts, r at least new to me. This time it’s from Providencia Cigars. Ray at Providencia sent me some of their new cigars, so look forward to more featured in the coming  days. One smells particularly boozy, not sure about that one…but anyway, this one caught my eye right off, and I had to smoke it. The cigar is called the Providencia Shenanigans, and it’s a barber pole style cigar. First off, it was a toro, 6″ x 50 or 52, I failed to measure it. Secondly, it’s a barber pole comprised of Candela and San Andrés Maduro, a striking contrast. The binder is Indonesian, and the fillers are Honduran with Nicaraguan Ligero. Naturally, this cigar seems to target a March 17 smoking date. I can’t help but draw comparisons to other cigars, not gonna lie. Since there’s no way I was going to wait almost a year to smoke it, I fired it up last night. Often barber pole cigars can have odd burns, not this one, it was perfect. Draw was perfect, combustion was perfect, all of the tobaccos burned at the same rate with a flat ember, no coning, no tunneling, absolute perfection. This is how every cigar should perform in a perfect world. The flavors were equally pleasing and entertaining. The interplay between the earthiness and espresso of the San Andrés and the refreshing chlorophyll of the candela was unique, and the spice from the ligero gave it some oomph. Overall, I very much enjoyed this cigar, it was really very good and entertained my for a good hour and a half. It was well worth missing the beginning of “The Ten Commandments”, which is only slightly longer than one of Coop’s podcasts! :-)_~.

 

That’s all for today. Don’t forget to keep up the social distancing, call your local tobacconist if you need cigars and try to keep them in business! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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