Juan Martinez

Joya de Nicaragua has announced a new line extension of their Clásico brand, called Clásico Medio Siglo. They are also updating the look of the original Clásico line. The story of the Clásico goes that in 1970, President Somoza of Nicaragua met President Nixon of the United States for dinner at the White House. Somoza was unaware that his country was making handrolled cigars. After the customary official dinner, Nixon had invited Somoza to retire to the Green Room, where - also as was customary - he invited the Nicaraguan to enjoy brandy and cigars with him. Nixon offered a box - and Somoza was astounded to see it was emblazoned with the brand Nicaragua Cigar Company. He was even more astounded when a smiling Nixon told him it was the official cigar of the White House. He enjoyed them so much that by the time his plane landed back home at Managua Airport, he already had a plan to be part of Nicaragua’s burgeoning cigar industry.