Last week on Thursday, acigarsmoker.com was at Nat Sherman, hanging out with Dr. Alejandro Martinez-Cuenca – the president of Joya de Nicaragua (JDN) cigars. When I got to the Nat Sherman Flagship, Pat Felitti (the Master of Hospitality) greeted and escorted me to their exclusive Johnson Club – where I briefly met up with Michael Herklots (now in charge of Nat Sherman’s brand).

The Johnson Club had an awesome Latino flare that night. There were an eclectic collection of fashion(Bloginity), latino interest(Hombre magazine), and other bloggers.

Once there, Dr. Martinez-Cuenca talked briefly to me about his new line extension in their Cabinetta series. Set to be released at this summer’s IPCPR, JDN’s Cabinetta series will now feature an exciting lancero size.

More interestingly, Dr. Martinez-Cuenca talked about his collaboration with Drew Estates. About 45% of JDN cigars are sold in the U.S. 55% go to the worldwide market. And the JDN cigars in the United States are currently distributed through Drew Estates. However, just recently, JDN stepped up their game and got more involved with Drew Estates with their collaboration, My Uzi Weighs a Ton, which are now produced in the JDN factories.

Over the course of last year, Dr. Martinez-Cuenca set out to personally visit roughly 10% of all his cigar accounts to personally talk to his customers. After personally visiting over 157 of his accounts in the United States, Dr. Martinez-Cuenca gathered first-hand feedback from his customers, which he used to craft his most recent releases.

I was definitely excited for Dr. Martinez-Cuenca because of his new cigar releases and new collaboration with Drew Estates. I was also excited for Nat Sherman’s flagship store and brand because this event hints at the Brand’s direction and attitude towards different cigar brands.

Via Fernanda Zapata (thanks for a great evening)

Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970

As the winter approaches my smoking habits begin to change. I smoke a little less often and I tend to smoke cigars that are stronger then the ones I smoke in the summer. I am not really sure why I do this, but perhaps subconsciously I hope a stronger cigar will warm me up as I smoke. You see I never smoke in my house, and I shy away from doing reviews in a crowded smoke shop when other people smoking can contaminate what I am smoking.

Today’s cigar has a distinct history as it is the first cigar ever produced in Nicaragua. In 1964 when the first cigar factory opened in Nicaragua this cigar hit the market. In 1970 the cigar began to gain popularity in the United States and it was smoked by many politicians.

However as the region became unstable the production of the Joya De Nicaragua ground to a halt. It disappeared from the market until 2002 when the cigar was resurrected. Todays Joya De Nicaragua Anatno 1970 is a tribute to that original cigar which put Nicaragua on the cigar making map.

Cigar: Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 4.75 x 60 (Gran Consul)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full

Pre-Smoke: While the Joya comes in many sizes the cigar I smoked has a huge ring gauge but its tapered tip allows you to cut it to a ring gauge of your preference. With my idiot proof cutter back in hand I cut the cigar which had some sweet molasses notes on the foot. The cigar itself is a very oily sticky with some toothy characteristics. The pre-light draw offered a lot of spice.

Smoke: While I normally break down a cigar in thirds this cigar has two distinct regions. The first half of the cigar has a lot of leather and spice in the notes. The leather notes can be overpowering at first but as you smoke the cigar it smooths out some. In the second half while the notes of leather and spice remain it is offset by notes of nuts which help ease the strength some.

Overall: This is one knock you on your ass cigar. The flavor of the cigar though makes it an enjoyable full bodied smoke that I visit from time to time, especially in the winter months as stated above.However its leathery finish requires you keep water handy when smoking this stick.

Rating: 87
Price: $7.00

In my previous blog entry one of the readers asked me to show what the package I received from Smoke magazine looked like. Below is the package I received from smoke magazine. They want my reviews of the smokes (5 cigars, 3 of each to sample) by November 15th.

Cigars from Cigar Magazine to Review for Publication