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I just love the feel of a well-wrapped cigar, especially when it comes with such an awesome price tag. Is it Christmas yet? As a fan of the Joya de Nicaragua brand's stronger cigar offerings, and a fancier of the flighty feeling that comes with enjoying a full-bodied cigar, I immediately recognized the Red Robusto addition to be something that breaks that mold. A bit of a rebel myself, I thought we two should finally meet and have lunch. So from henceforth I will refer to the Joya de Nicaragua Red Robusto as simply "Red," because we are friends now, and as a consequence enjoy a first-name basis.
Adding Red to the Joya line-up provides aficionados with a medium-bodied stogie that carries the same quality of an Joya Antano, but without the full blast of nicotine that makes a lot of other Nicaraguan wrapped puros inadvisable to those that are looking for more of an all day, every day smoke.
This year at the 2014 IPCPR trade show, Joya released their newest object of obsession, Red, to a great deal of fan-fare and positive reviews from all whom had the pleasure of drawing from one. Joya de Nicaragua has been responsible for many a delicious, choice cigar since their inception in 1968, and are particularly known for the full-bodied Antano 1970, which is a helluva cigar. Keeping this in mind, Red comes from a long lineage and history of hand-mades produced in Nicaragua with Nicaraguan wrappers, binders, and fillers, so it comes as no surprise that the newest Joya puro on the block would be similar in merit.
Did I mention how much I love the feel of a well-wrapped cigar? Red boasts a reddish-brown Rosado hue (courtesy of the Habano wrapper used) with a light tooth and a thinly veined, leafy wrapper. The slightly sandy wrapper holds the long filler tightly with just the right amount of give when lodged between the fingers on my preferred smoking hand. The scent of the wrapper is slightly nutty, vaguely spicy with a stale earthy/woody aroma. I won't go on and on about all this pre-light business because admittedly, I may be just a touch too anxious to fire this bad boy up and see what all the fuss is about.
As the foot warms and glows I think, oh yes, the draw is as predicted; perfect. Whoever wrapped this should have placed a "Wrapped by" label alongside it so that we would know who to publicly thank for this excellent result. The effortless draw brings with it a cool plume that fills my mouth with notes of peanuts, wood and moist earth. Even as I interrupt the enjoyment to have a photograph taken of Red fully lighted, I still taste the nuttiness provided and sneak in an additional quick pull — okay, two or three additional quick pulls, but who's counting? I begin to wonder to myself, what other complexities in flavor might Red provide?
Satisfying my anticipation by pulling from Red after we had a good shot provided much more complexity than the initial draw, without losing the overall composition of earthy taste and nutty notes by which we were initially introduced to what Red has to offer. My palette begins to identify, along with the spreading tones of nuts and earth, a growing presence of pepper and spice. On a retrohale these peppery tones become more apparent. I'm really beginning to enjoy the warmth and subtle kicks of the new spicy notes. I contribute their introduction to the masterful use of the Habano wrapper, which begins to influence the smoke slowly as you grow accustomed to the initial tones and allow yourself to dive deeper into the story Red is telling.
One observation that can't go unmentioned is the way Red burns. Red dwindles down at a fair pace, but in fairness, I am pulling far more frequently than I would from another of Joya's full-bodied smokers. Red ashes nicely, as you can see from the photograph, and holds firm even with a light tapping. There is zero need to touch up or re-light even as I take pause to jot down some of the finer points I don't want to be missed, as I often do when reviewing a particularly good cigar.
I would recommend Red even to a newbie smoker, despite the use of the Habano wrapper which may in other circumstances prove to be too bold. And I definitely recommend Red to any aficionado who likes the idea, as I do, of having a continuous smoke without the risk of having to be picked up from the floor by one of your friends. One of your friends that isn't Red, of course.
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