El Martillo, 5.5" x 54 ring gauge, $8
Antano is the Spanish word for "yesteryear" and is meant to call to mind the birth of the Joya de Nicaragua cigar company back in the 1970s. This particular entry into JdN's Antano line is name for the "dark corojo" wrapper that adorns it. It is reputed to be very strong (thus the "Doble Fuerte"--or "Double Strength"--band on the foot) and it is composed of all Nicaraguan tobaccos.
Staring off, this is not what I would describe as a beautiful cigar. The wrapper is fairly lumpy and bumpy because of whatever is underneath. That being said the leaf itself is a very dark, reddish brown with a lot of oil and a minimum of veins. The bands, in black and gold leaf, are classy-looking and give the first impression of a more expensive stick. The aroma from the body was mostly barnyard and compost; the foot had a strong earthy smell like it was ripe with rotting vegetation--but in good way! The cold draw was excellent and the prelight flavors were great--a mix of leather, chocolate, coffee, salt and spice.
Initial puffs held a mix of flavors including leather, coffee, sweet tobacco, and licorice. There was a little spice on the lips after a few puffs, too. My initial reaction when I smoked my first one of these was that I had never encountered a flavor mix quite like this--very unique. The first third was full-bodied with rich, oily smoke. It was almost like eating a steak: beefy, chewy and filling. I got flavors of dark coffee and leather up front along with licorice and semi-sweet chocolate underneath. The smoke was a little harsh, but not so much as to affect enjoyment. The burn line was anything but straight, but it was burning pretty evenly crooked and the draw was great.
The Dark Corojo smoothed out appreciably in the second third, no longer leaving a raspy feel at the back of my throat. The flavor of dark-roast coffee was still predominant, but there was more sweetness, too--a smooth chocolate undertone that was really nice. I did have to touch up the burn line once to keep it even.
After a dazzling start and a strong second third, the last third of the Dark Corojo turned out to be quite a let-down. The main flavor tended to be earth--so much so that soon all other flavor had pretty much left the building. I had to touch it up 2 or 3 more times to keep it burning right and the strength of the stick started to show up. This is a seriously strong cigar, especially as the effect of the nicotine creeps up on you throughout. After finishing, my hands were shaking for nearly half an hour. Strength without flavor, though, is just rather pointless, and the last third of this cigar was stuck in that category. After showing a huge amount of promise, the JdN Dark Corojo is merely a very good cigar and far from being in the "great" category...at least for this vitola. My first experience with this stick was a smaller vitola (5 x 44, Peligroso) and the flavor stood up a lot better; I would assume that the flavor of the wrapper comes through better there. Also, I have to remark that after I got done, I stunk. Not just a normal "I've been smoking a cigar" stink (that I usually find rather nice), but a "I've been stuck in a small room with 4 other guys chain smoking cigars and then had to sleep in these cloths until the odor got stale" stink. This is possibly the worst smelling smoking residue of any cigar I've ever experienced so it definitely would suffice if you wanted to royally piss off a non-smoker or keep your significant other far away from you for a while. Anyway, I would like to try the smaller vitola again, but I can't say that I would ever care for this one or anything of a larger ring gauge.
Body: 8/10
Strength: 9/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 7/10
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