No. 7 Toro, 6" x 50 ring gauge, MSRP $6
Dave said:
Joya de Nicaragua was one of two companies to debut a flashy new dual-wrappered cigar in 2010, the other being La Gloria Cubana. This "dos capas" concept is not exactly new but does see to be going through a trendy resurgence at the moment. I could not find the information on the company's website or in their press release, but I am going to assume Nicaraguan filler and binder for this cigar; the filler is described as "milder" and "creamy" by JdN. The wrapper leaves employed are an Ecuadorian Shade and a Nicaraguan Habano-seed Criollo. The thinking here was to provide a creamy, smooth cigar in the mild-to-medium range along with a spicy flavor from the Criollo head.
This was a good-looking cigar; both wrapper leaves were smooth and well-applied with a little oily sheen and a slightly more oily touch. The shade wrapper is not something that would normally pass visual muster from a higher-end company (I'm thinking Davidoff)-there was lots of mottling-but it didn't detract much. The aroma from the body is hay from the shade portion and leather and barnyard from the Criollo; from the foot I got more barnyard and a bit of cocoa and coffee. Prelight draw was very easy; flavors were mostly what I would associate with milder sticks-like hay and cream-but with just a spicy edge. Pretty much exactly as described so far.
Initial light up did provide a spicy little kick-much more so than expected since the shade wrapper was the one burning at the time. There was some nuttiness in the mouth, but massive amounts of pepper spice in the nose. In the rest of the first third, I found the Cabinetta to be a very nice medium-bodied stick with quite a bit of spice. I got some natural tobacco and coffee under the pepper, but mostly lots of pepper-much less of the milder flavors that this stick was supposed to be aiming for.
Shortly into the 2nd third I started to get more flavors that I would typically associate with a Criollo wrapper-earth mostly, along with the pepper that had never stopped-even though I had gotten nowhere near burning that leaf yet. The construction was near perfect with a fantastic draw that produced large clouds of smoke and an even burn line producing inch-long chunks of ash before they tapped off. The body was still in the strictly medium range and I was enjoying the flavor while not being really blown away by it.
As the last third started the perfect construction was destroyed by a large canoe. I touched it up and hoped for the best. Again before the wrapper change, there was another flavor change as the cigar got a bit sweeter and the spice mellowed considerably. As the burn finally did ease into the Criollo wrapper the spice suddenly became very pronounced again, although more chili pepper than black pepper at this point. Overall the Cabinetta was a very good smoke, although not really what the marketing had led me to expect. It started as medium-bodied and stayed there, with no real hint of the milder Shade wrapper. The flavors changed almost constantly which was a big surprise-it seems like the filler probably had much more to do with the overall flavor than the wrappers on this stick. I like this one quite a bit; it is now my favorite Joya de Nicaragua (after trying 4 lines in the past few months) and I will probably add it to my humidor as an occasional smoke when I am in the mood for something spicy.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
Joya de Nicaragua was one of two companies to debut a flashy new dual-wrappered cigar in 2010, the other being La Gloria Cubana. This "dos capas" concept is not exactly new but does see to be going through a trendy resurgence at the moment. I could not find the information on the company's website or in their press release, but I am going to assume Nicaraguan filler and binder for this cigar; the filler is described as "milder" and "creamy" by JdN. The wrapper leaves employed are an Ecuadorian Shade and a Nicaraguan Habano-seed Criollo. The thinking here was to provide a creamy, smooth cigar in the mild-to-medium range along with a spicy flavor from the Criollo head.
This was a good-looking cigar; both wrapper leaves were smooth and well-applied with a little oily sheen and a slightly more oily touch. The shade wrapper is not something that would normally pass visual muster from a higher-end company (I'm thinking Davidoff)-there was lots of mottling-but it didn't detract much. The aroma from the body is hay from the shade portion and leather and barnyard from the Criollo; from the foot I got more barnyard and a bit of cocoa and coffee. Prelight draw was very easy; flavors were mostly what I would associate with milder sticks-like hay and cream-but with just a spicy edge. Pretty much exactly as described so far.
Initial light up did provide a spicy little kick-much more so than expected since the shade wrapper was the one burning at the time. There was some nuttiness in the mouth, but massive amounts of pepper spice in the nose. In the rest of the first third, I found the Cabinetta to be a very nice medium-bodied stick with quite a bit of spice. I got some natural tobacco and coffee under the pepper, but mostly lots of pepper-much less of the milder flavors that this stick was supposed to be aiming for.
Shortly into the 2nd third I started to get more flavors that I would typically associate with a Criollo wrapper-earth mostly, along with the pepper that had never stopped-even though I had gotten nowhere near burning that leaf yet. The construction was near perfect with a fantastic draw that produced large clouds of smoke and an even burn line producing inch-long chunks of ash before they tapped off. The body was still in the strictly medium range and I was enjoying the flavor while not being really blown away by it.
As the last third started the perfect construction was destroyed by a large canoe. I touched it up and hoped for the best. Again before the wrapper change, there was another flavor change as the cigar got a bit sweeter and the spice mellowed considerably. As the burn finally did ease into the Criollo wrapper the spice suddenly became very pronounced again, although more chili pepper than black pepper at this point. Overall the Cabinetta was a very good smoke, although not really what the marketing had led me to expect. It started as medium-bodied and stayed there, with no real hint of the milder Shade wrapper. The flavors changed almost constantly which was a big surprise-it seems like the filler probably had much more to do with the overall flavor than the wrappers on this stick. I like this one quite a bit; it is now my favorite Joya de Nicaragua (after trying 4 lines in the past few months) and I will probably add it to my humidor as an occasional smoke when I am in the mood for something spicy.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
Keith said:
The first time I saw this cigar in the cigar shop I was intrigued by its two wrappers and the muted band. I think this is one darn good looking cigar. Let's see if the taste can live up to the looks.
My pre-light experience pretty much mirrored Dave's. I did notice that the cigar felt a little spongy with it being more so at the foot. I also noticed there were a couple green spots on the shade wrapper. I got scents of hay off the shade, and leather off the criollo wrappers, and barnyard off the foot. It cut easily and the draw was free with hints of chocolate and spice.
On lighting I was greeted to the heavy spice on the tongue and retrohale that Dave experienced. Again I experienced the same flavors that Dave did through the first third. The draw was free and I got lots of smoke. The ash needed to be tapped off after about an inch. I noticed the burn line was slightly wavy, but that could have been due to the wind.
In the second third the spice toned down noticeably with some flavors of leather and a salty taste coming through. I also noticed a slight sweetness coming starting. The cigar also felt like it was coating my throat. The cigar continued to burn like a champ in spite of the wind. The ash was a mottled white and black.
As I took off the band I noticed that the line where the two wrappers came together was straight and looked well constructed. As the burn hit the criollo wrapper the spice ramped up a lot. The sweetness was still there along with some chocolate and leather.
At the end of the cigar I can say that I really enjoyed it. It burned great and had very good flavors. I think that this cigar would be great to have in the morning with a cup of coffee. While this isn't my favorite Joya de Nicaragua, that goes to the Dark Corojo, I can say that this is my second favorite. I plan on keeping some of these around so I can enjoy them in the morning or to pass out to a newer cigar smoker.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
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