Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, Chairman of Joya de Nicaragua, has been a fan of the game Shut the Box since 2012. He learned of the game at a cigar shop, Havana Mix Shop in Memphis, TN, and was challenged to a game. Cuenca has a PhD in Economics and has always been fascinated with numbers and games with numbers. With this in mind, Joya de Nicaragua is releasing a box of Antaño cigars, designed to play this game, Antaño Shut the Box Limited Edition.
Joya de Nicaragua is celebrating Central America’s Bicentennial with a new Limited Edition Cigar: Dos Cientos. This month is the 200th anniversary of Central American independence from the Spanish empire. Following independence in Latin America and throughout the Caribbean, the American Revolution and French Revolution, Central Americans won their right to self-government and began the process of creating the nations of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Numero Uno was originally a cigar given exclusively to world leaders by Nicaraguan ambassadors. It was first released to the public in 2018 as an event only cigar, then to the broader public in 2019. Now in 2021, the company is bringing back the original two sizes as an annual release.
Alejandro Martinez CuencaAllBlind Cigar ReviewsFeaturedJoya De NicaraguaJuan MartinezMexican San AndresNicaraguaToro
·"Such a fantastic experience in terms of flavor, construction, and smoke texture. I could easily see this becoming a mainstay in my smoking rotation. If you like bold cigars with a good hit of nicotine this is a home run." -Alan (Eulogy)
AlanAlejandro Martinez CuencaAllBlind Cigar ReviewsConnecticutFeaturedJames H.John I.Joya De NicaraguaJuan MartinezKevin J.Nate H.NaturalNicaraguaRobusto
·"If you are a fan of mild cigars this is a real winner. The depth of flavors were terrific, smoke output was phenomenal, and profile changes kept me engaged. I would certainly smoke this again and again. " -Alan (Eulogy)
"Really enjoyed this cigar. Fairly potent with a lot of sweetness. By the finale there were some rich coffee notes to go along with the world tour of sweets. I don't typically select belicosos as I find there is a tendency for the wrapper to unravel at inopportune moments, but this well crafted cigar never even hinted at such concerns. " -John I. (John I.)
Alejandro Martinez CuencaAllBlind Cigar ReviewsChurchillConnecticutFeaturedJoya De NicaraguaJuan MartinezNaturalNicaragua
·"This cigar is my gig. Nice mild-medium bodied profile flavors of oak, vanilla, cream, custard, sweet milk caramels and the slightest bit of pepper to give this cigar great character. With unmatched smoothness, this is a cigar I could enjoy time after time after time. If this cigar remains consistent across multiple samples, I would definitely recommend buying these buy the box as it was truly a fantastic smoking experience!" -John A. (Bostoneo)
Over the past few years, Nicaraguan cigars, including Joya de Nicaragua have broken in to the Asian market and gained popularity. Now, Joya de Nicaragua has partnered with Hong Kong based Cigraal, Joya de Nicaragua's exclusive distributor for China, Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam, to launch an exclusive cigar for the Asian market, Cuatro Cinco - Edición Asia.
The Joya de Nicaragua Número Uno was originally only given out to world leaders by Nicaraguan ambassadors on official missions. In 2018 it was turned into an even-only cigar, then in was released to the public as a limited edition in 2019. Finally, in 2021 it was released as an annual cigar with more sizes being added in the time following.
AJ FernandezAllArturo FuenteAtabeyBlack Label Trading CompanyBlk WksCarlos Fuente JrCasa FernandezCrowned HeadsDavidoffDieselDon Pepin GarciaDrew EstateDunbarton Tobacco & TrustEl ArtistaEladio DiazEmilio CigarsFeaturedFoundation CigarHendrik KelnerIPCPRJaime GarciaJames BrownJon HuberJonathan DrewJuan MartinezKyle GellisMax FernandezMBombayMel ShahMLB Cigar VenturesMy FatherNewsNicholas MelilloPete JohnsonRobert HoltSouthern DrawSteve SakaTatuajeTop 25Warped
·Each of our panelists were given 10 votes to towards our Top 25 Cigars of the Year - 2018. As with previous years, the order of their votes mattered as their #1 vote is worth twice as much as their #10. Our list is made up of cigars that had a wide release this year. The cigars that are eligible do not have to have been reviewed on Blind Man's Puff, but the reviewer must have smoke it at some point to vote for it.