Joya De Nicaragua-Antano Dark Corojo
Thursday, June 9th, 2011I picked up today’s review at Ed’s shop awhile ago. I don’t know if it was the dark chocolate looking oily wrapper or the nice looking dual bands that attracted me to this cigar. No matter… I smoked a few of these over the past few months, and thought it was time for a review.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder & Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Peligroso 5 x 44
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark chocolate looking wrapper had virtually no flaws. Maybe a bump here and there with a few small veins. The wrapper had an interesting, almost pipe tobacco odor, while the foot had a tinge of spice. The cigar had some tight and soft spots throughout, but nothing alarming. The pre-light draw had slight resistance, and had a dark woody flavor.
The burn required a few minor corrections, and the ash held for around an inch.
Flavor:
The first third didn’t mess around with a “Building up” phase. It got right into a dark coffee along with a dark chocolaty bitterness. The thick smoke feel really coated the mouth and left a woody aftertaste. Through the nose, a familiar spicy zing.
The second third switched up from flavor to flavor. Some draws were dark coffee with a slight bitterness. Some were mostly woody flavored. I picked up salty notes from time to time, along with a sweet dark chocolate with a tinge of bitterness. A lot of times, the draw had all of these flavors that mingled with each other nicely. When passing smoke through the sinus, the zing didn’t go anywhere.
The last third really took a sweet turn, literally. The dark chocolate dominated the flavor profile. Coffee was behind it, followed by wood and a slight earthy note. The thick smoke left a pleasant, heavy feeling on the palate. Through the nose, the spice had more of a peppery feel.
Conclusion:
This was a very good full bodied cigar. It had a great balance of strength, flavor, and body – well balanced. I’ve had the larger sizes, and this one seemed to deliver the best experience for me. This may be a good cigar to be reviewed with Ed. What do you guys think?
