2012 Joya de Nicaragua Antaño (CM)

[djrey]

This is a cigar I have had in the humi since 2013. I don’t smoke them much nor do I really care for them anymore. However, it is a cigar that holds some great memories for me.

My interest in cigars began around 2009 when I was graduating high school. My interest really took off when I entered college. I went to school in North Carolina. Some of you may be familiar with JR Cigars. They are a large cigar retailer in the US.

I quickly made many friends who smoked cigars and we would all go to the JR lounge and smoke once a week. We met some really great people during these outings.

Back then I really enjoyed big and fat nicotine laden sticks. College kids like their buzz I guess. The Joya fit the bill. Big Nicaraguan spice bomb. I smoked this cigar through many great conversations and experiences.

I graduated in 2014 and JR closed its retail stores around 2015. The lounge is long gone and I no longer have contact with anyone I smoked with. The memories are still vivid and when I pull out one of these sticks it makes me sit a think for a bit.

As for the cigar.. it’s lost almost all of its bite. Incredibly smooth now with chocolate and nuts. It’s honestly pretty simple now. Still has tons of nicotine though... I’ll give her a 90. Extra points for memories.

[Habana Mike]

Those definitely had some bite and oomph back in the day!

[nKostyan]

Thanks for review!

Smoked recently with friends Antano and Antano Gran Reserva, bought this year. It was an empty boring cigar, 80- points ?. I suspect that some manufacturers of NC after getting into the CA rating, make the blend becomes cheaper ?

 

[djrey]

9 hours ago, nKostyan said:

Thanks for review!

Smoked recently with friends Antano and Antano Gran Reserva, bought this year. It was an empty boring cigar, 80- points ?. I suspect that some manufacturers of NC after getting into the CA rating, make the blend becomes cheaper ?

 

Interesting but I can’t say I’m surprised. Those things used to be pretty potent. I could see them knocking down the blend to make it more approachable to more smokers.
 

Tatuaje is also a preferred NC brand of mine and I have seen many people say they have lost their oomph and the older cigars were of higher quality with better leaf. Not sure if this is true or not, but interesting.. 

[Kayslay]

Love seeing aged NC reviews because I often wonder how they would turn out. I have some NCs that I had from before starting CCs that I will let age for a few years to test it out.

[djrey]

6 hours ago, Kayslay said:

Love seeing aged NC reviews because I often wonder how they would turn out. I have some NCs that I had from before starting CCs that I will let age for a few years to test it out.

More to come. I have many going back to around 2012

[Smokecigareveryday]

JDN came out with a new line called Antano dark corojo which they advertised as the strongest and boldest cigar in the market.  But I find it to be muted and tasteless. 

[djrey]

36 minutes ago, Smokecigareveryday said:

JDN came out with a new line called Antano dark corojo which they advertised as the strongest and boldest cigar in the market.  But I find it to be muted and tasteless. 

That’s unfortunate it didn’t live up to its name. It was mentioned above that a regular and reserva were smoked recently and were dull and empty. 

[Smokecigareveryday]

11 hours ago, djrey said:

That’s unfortunate it didn’t live up to its name. It was mentioned above that a regular and reserva were smoked recently and were dull and empty. 

I find that really dark wrappers like oscuros can be dull and empty.   They may have full mouthfeel but in terms taste there is nothing . 

 

On 4/27/2020 at 3:34 AM, djrey said:

Interesting but I can’t say I’m surprised. Those things used to be pretty potent. I could see them knocking down the blend to make it more approachable to more smokers.
 

Tatuaje is also a preferred NC brand of mine and I have seen many people say they have lost their oomph and the older cigars were of higher quality with better leaf. Not sure if this is true or not, but interesting.. 

A lot of NC potent smokes have lost their oomph.  For instance- Liga Privada is a lot milder than it once was.