Joya de Nicaragua- Antano Dark Corojo- (Prerelease)

 I smoked this while in Puerto Rico on business, and I thought I would show my settings while smoking :)...

The Joya de Nicaragua- Antano Dark Corojo was one of the preproduction sticks I was given by Matt from the IPCPR Tradeshow, and it was one of the ones I was most hesitant about smoking (as you may or may not know, I am a pacificst, which translates loosely to "Wimp")... There have been many things said about this cigar, most notably that it is a ""nicotine I.V. drip," by Drew Estates president Steve Saka, due to the 75% Ligero leaf content. Brand owner Alejandro Martinez-Cuenca has said the cigar uses a thicker type of ligero that he calls "ligeron".

The Wrapper, Binder and Filler all originate in Nicaragua...The wrapper (which comes from Jalapa specifically) is one of the darkest I have EVER seen, perhaps even darker then the Coronado Maduro.... There is also quite a bit of oil on it, and the resulting look is extremely attractive. The final production stick will have a footband that will read "Fuerte Doble" which translates to "Double Strong", and it will come in 5 sizes (ranging in price from $5.75–$8.95) and should be available at retailers by the end of September: 

• Azrosa (4.5x52 Belicoso)
• El Martillo (5.5x54)
• La Pesadilla (4.75x60 Belicoso)
• Peligroso (5x44)
• Ponderoso (6x48 Torpedo)

As I said, the wrapper is DARK, and smells like tobacco and chocolate...and even more interesting, the wrapper is what I would call "Silky", i.e. it is very smooth and almost waxy to the touch...The stick is also extremely firm when squeezed and is very dense...

I tasted Caramel and Chocolate with a bit of pepper on my prelight draw...

The first third started with some great spice upon lighting, which quickly faded a bit (but definitely stuck around) and allowed some other flavors of leather and a great dark chocolate to emerge...

In the second third, the spice continued to be the main force, but other flavors came in and out at times, including the aforementioned leather, as well as some caramel and a bit of cedar...

The final third had mostly the same flavors as the first two, but by the end of the stick, they had melded together nicely into a wonderful melody that I truly enjoyed...Having said that, I started sweating profusely about halfway through the last third, and the strength of the cigar kicked in full force by the end...

The Bottom Line: The spice was a constant influence (but was never overwhelming) that blended with the rest of the flavors to produce a wonderful experience...This IS a strong cigar with quite a bit of nicotine, there is no doubt about that, and I had to sit for a while after finishing just to make sure I did not fall over when I stood up...I will be interested to see if these keep their strength after sitting for a while, but I truly think these have some wonderful aging potential...

Final Score: 91

 (and as an added bonus, here is a photograph of my smoking companion that night...I named him "Clawson"...don't say I never gave yall anything...)