Joya de Nicaragua Cuenca y Blanco

Torpedo Especial

I managed to get one of these from before the re-branding. These are now branded with a band that reads, “CyB”. Joya de Nicaragua decided to change the name due to a potential trademark infringement of the “Cuenca y Blanco” name. I have no idea who else would have that trademark, but whatever. Overall, I’m pretty excited about this one. It features a blend of tobaccos from at least four different countries. This is the antithesis of a puro. It takes the best from wherever it can be found and blends them together to create something unique.

Statistics

CotM: February 2013







Chosen by: SchwartzBR

SchwartzBR





Shape: Torpedo







Size: 6″1/4 x 52







Country of Origin: Nicaragua







Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habana 2000







Binder: Dominican Piloto Cubanao







Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican & Peruvian







Color: Colorado







Strength: Medium







Price Paid: $5.00







Smoke Date: 5/17/2013

5/17/2013





Age: 1 month

Accessories Used

Cuban Crafters Perfect Cutter (Silver & Carbon Fiber), Diamond Long Reach Match, Handmade English walnut ashtray made by wedgewoodrings.

Pairing

Starbucks French Roast served black in a Thermos “THERMOcafé” insulated mug. I’m not usually much of a coffee guy, but today I felt like a cup of Joe. I don’t know much about coffee in general, and just made what I my wife had in the cupboard. The roasted notes complimented the roasted nuttiness of the first third. The dark bitterness contrasted strongly against the sweet smoothness.

Appearance/Nose

Medium brown wrapper with a few spots and a couple large veins. The band gave off a very “Mexican” vibe to me, with the predominant colors being gold, red, and sky blue.The band’s shape was reminiscent of a Luchador championship belt. Very charming. This cigar boasted one of the nicest torpedo tips I’ve seen. Simply flawless. The nose was faint, but smelled of grass and tobacco.

Construction

The construction appeared to be very solid, with a perfect torpedo single cap. There were no soft spots. The burn wobbled a bit but never became a problem. The ash lasted about an inch at a time, leaving behind a beautiful cone behind after each ashing. The split that happened in the final third definitely alarmed me at first, but it didn’t end up hampering the smoking experience, aside from aesthetically.

Cold Draw

A smooth cold draw revealed sweet tobacco, earth, and brown sugar.

Smoking

First third

The initial light was smooth and without spice. The flavor began with a variety of roasted nut tones. There was some coffee and creamines, and a wine-like raisin taste. The retrohale was smooth and creamy with lots of caramel and some cinnamon, molasses, and brown sugar.

Plenty of sweetness, roasted notes, and nuts. To sum it up so far in one word: praline

As the first third came to a close, some oaky wood, cocoa, and leather flavors came out to play.

Second third

Somewhere, retrohale became absolutely stunning. There was so much going on in there: caramel, chocolate, pecans, peanuts, molasses, raisin, and cinnamon. The complexity was overwhelming.

The oak and leather grew bolder with each puff. Towards the end of the middle third, a new flavor emerged: fresh bread.

Final third

In the final third, the nuts and brown sugar came back, this time with a stronger presence of cinnamon and nutmeg.

After the band came off, the wrapper split a bit along a vein. Interestingly, the line of this split carried on as a dark line right through the ash as well. The wrapper began to unravel after ashing, but the what I thought was the binder stayed intact underneath, allowing me to finish the smoke. As the burn traveled under the hanging bit of wrapper, I took the extra off, and found not binder, but actually more wrapper underneath! Did this cigar have a double wrapper, or was I just fortunate enough to have my split occur over a section of overlap in the wrapping process? Either way, it added a bit of adventure to the smoke without causing any significant inconvenience.

Out of nowhere, at the end, the flavor grew extremely bold. The roasted nuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar were intense. Spicy! Way to end with a bang! Finally, in the nub, a curiously strong blast of pepper appeared.

Notes

Draw: Perfect

Perfect





Body: Mild to Medium to Full

Mild to Medium to Full





Primary Flavors: Roasted nuts, brown sugar, oak, leather.

Roasted nuts, brown sugar, oak, leather.





Smoke Output: Medium

Medium





Smoke Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Overall

This was an extremely complex and transformative cigar. Cuenca and Blanco should be immensely proud of this blend (even if they had to remove their names from it to avoid legal trouble). Though it started off a bit on the mild side, the body grew and grew as the stick burned on. I was going to rate this a bit lower until I got to the final third and my socks were knocked off. This stick is not a powerhouse, but when you want to take a relaxing journey that’s full of complexity and surprises, this is your ticket.

Rating