Cigar Info
Joya de Nicaragua celebrated its 55th anniversary with a new cigar, Cinco de Cinco, the latest edition to their ultra-premium Obras Maestras line. “This cigar was made with the people, by the people and for the people,” says Juan Ignacio Martínez, Executive President of JDN. “Our past is all about tobacco. Our bright future is all about tobacco. We are here, stronger than ever thanks to our wonderful community of amigos.”
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Joya de Nicaragua was one of the first companies to hold private cigar blending sessions at its factory in Estelí. The company took the data from all those years of blending sessions, finding the most-often chosen tobaccos, and had their master blenders perfect a blend from those tobaccos.
Cinco de Cinco is produced with what the company calls “ultra-vintage” tobaccos, including a Mexican San Andres wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers and binders. All sizes come in a soft-pressed format. The cigar box is a bright emerald green. “An emerald symbolizes love, wisdom, growth and prosperity – values very much embodied in this blend,” says Martinez. “It is indeed a rare and mystical jewel.”
Cinco de Cinco was first shown off this past July at the PCA Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas. The company said at the time that it would hit U.S. shelves in September and the rest of the globe in October, but as of the publishing of this review, the cigars have not shipped. We reviewed pre-release samples given to us at the PCA trade show. Cinco de Cinco comes in boxes of 10 and in 5 vitolas, three of which will be available in the USA and two exclusive for international markets: Robusto Gordo 5 ½ x 54 $17.95 , Toro 6 x 52 $19.95 , Corona Extra 6 ¼ x 46 $15.95 , Robusto 5 x 50 $15.95 (International Exclusive), Corona Doble 7 x 54 $20.55 (International Exclusive).
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
Blender: Juan Martinez, Alejandro Martinez Cuenca
Number of reviewers: 5 – Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Quinn (quinnpins269) John A. (Bostoneo) Alan (Eulogy) Mickey T. (iratebass)
Price: $20.00
Age: 2 Months
Release Date: TBD
Contributed by: Joya de Nicaragua
Initial Impressions – Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Cinco Toro (Pre Release)
Appearance: 94
“A box-pressed toro sized cigar wrapped in a very toothy mocha brown wrapper. This sample looks absolutely wonderful with its straight lines, small veins, invisible seams and double cap.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Aroma: 90
“The main aroma at the wrapper is sweet and earthy barnyard. At the foot the scent is mildly sweet tobacco.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
First Third
Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Let's get lit! The initial puffs offer up a medium-bodied profile of charred wood with a slightly fruity finish. After the break-in period, the flavors stabilize into a pleasant floral, leather with a caramel popcorn and malty finish. Overall, this third ended deliciously with the burn being a little off at times with the rest of the line.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“For me we came out the gate as a very solid medium body. The cigar offered up a nice range of pepper and coco throughout the first third. Towards the end I began to get some nice oak notes on the retrohale. Very pleasant start!” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Into the middle portion the cigar is ramping up a bit in strength with the nougat fading and lightly charred oak coming to the front. The light oil that coated my palate in the initial portion has left and now the finish is short and clean.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Very tobacco and cedar heavy profile this third. There is still notes of baking spice, cherries, and red pepper this third but they're more on the finish. I'm really enjoying the draw and chewy smoke.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Final Third
Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The final portion of this cigar is really shining as it has continued to ramp up in power and flavor profile. The charred wood remains but I'm getting a slightly sweet burned molasses note that is really nice. I'm digging the finish!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“The final third approaches and spews forth medium bodied flavors of heavy caramel notes with a slightly black peppery finish on the tongue and lips. Halfway through this section, things get a little sour tasting with a strong grass & earthy taste however, it doesn't negatively impact the final few puffs as this cigar ends.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Joya de Nicaragua Cinco de Cinco Toro (Pre Release) – Blind Cigar Review
Draw: 95
“Great draw on this box press. It felt to of had a nice amount of restriction to keep from overheating and burning too quickly.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Burn: 88
“The burn was right on point for this cigar from beginning to end. No touch-ups were needed and the slow burn kept the smoke cool from beginning to end.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Construction: 92
“I felt this was a solidly constructed cigar given its excellent draw and decent burn.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 93
“This was a flavor adventure for me and hit my palate running with a profile that eased me in and built up with the right degree of intensity to keep me solidly enthralled. I liked this from the first puff until the nub and would have lit another immediately if I had one! Highly recommended!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“A very solid medium cigar. I do find that I enjoy box press blends, so I was looking forward to the cigar. The profile offered a nice amount of pepper and woody notes for me. This cigar hit the checkboxes for me to reach for it again. ” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“Overall, this was a pretty solid cigar that I would smoke if offered a stick. A perfect medium-bodied cigar with excellent construction, decent burn, perfect draw, and plenty of flavor to satisfy any seasoned cigar smoker, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one to try to a friend or acquaintance. Not bad… not bad at all.. I'd nab a five-pack if the price was right!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“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)
“When the cigar would perform I would get delightful bouts of floral and cream, there was just too much dirt and earth as well as draw issues for me to really say I would seek these out. I would smoke it again and give it another chance, I give almost all cigars a three strike your out chance. Now if this is what the cigar maker was going for with the floral/cream/dirt/earth rotation then kudos to them, but this cigar just didn't hit my palate.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 75
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Jason H. | 95 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 95 | 95 |
| Quinn | 93 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 93 | 88 | 88 | 90 |
| John A. | 95 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 88 | 90 | 90 |
| Alan | 93 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 95 | 97 | 90 | 95 | 95 |
| Mickey T. | 90 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 88 | 83 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.