Initial Thoughts
I’ve heard several good things about the Joya de Nicaragua / Cabinetta Serie and was thrilled to try it, dissect it and write a review about it! Again, the cigar is quite eye-catching with the dual wrapper. I gotta be honest, I wondered if this was just a gimmick to actually make it stand out more on the shelves or how much it would actually affect the flavor. We shall see!
Joya de Nicaragua cigars are known for their strong, Nicaraguan, tobaccos. Lots of flavor, spice and Ligero (which you know I love! Ok, maybe you don’t know that yet but you will!). I’ve been anxious to try out this Belicoso to see if it lives up to the reputation of the other cigars in the Joya de Nicaragua arsenal.
Looks
Gimmick, or not, this cigar is beautiful. The wrapper(s) looked very nice and were very smooth with no visible veins. If there was anything bad about the overall appearance, I’d say both wrappers looked a little dry and didn’t look oily at all. This cigar was also packed very even with no soft spots except right at the foot but not enough to write home about (just enough to write about it here, though).
I also really dug the band on this cigar. With a wine red and gold color scheme, it looks vintage. The colors of the band also really ‘pop’ against the darker, Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper. It’s a thin band and reminds me of an old watch my Grandfather used to wear.
Another thing to note is the beauty of the cap. This belicoso isn’t just a rounded torpedo; it actually comes to a point. The construction of this is really pretty.
Function
Smelling the lighter, Ecuadorian Shade Grown wrapper, I picked up a little barnyard and tobacco. It wasn’t strong, just pleasant. On the Nicaraguan Criollo, I didn’t pick up much smell at all. Taking to the foot of this cigar, I was met with a very nice
sweetness; maybe a cherry wood flavor. So far, I’ve detected no spice anywhere. Let’s see if this puppy is hiding some of that up its sleeve…er, wrapper!
I love collecting cigar cutters. Whenever I’m on a trip or in an antique store, I’m always on the lookout for something new or used. I feel like it makes the smoking experience more enjoyable, being accompanied by a cool cutter too. For this Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta, I’m choosing to cut it with a scissor clip I picked up when my wife and I were in Napa this past year. It came from the old Coppola vineyard and was the least expensive thing in the gift shop – by about $100! If you ever get the chance, definitely go to the old Coppola vineyard…lots of props from the movies, great wine, great cigars and a very expensive gift shop! What more could you want? Ok, I digress…
After snipping the head of this two-toned stick, I was blown away by the amount of sweetness and overall flavor I got from the cold draw. The evenness of the draw is fantastic. There’s a molasses and leathery flavor. Can’t wait to light this dude up!
Smoking
Lighting up the Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Serie was as easy as pie. I used my new Zippo lighter my bro-in-law gave me for Christmas (thanks, Thom!). I like to toast the foot just a little before actually putting in my mouth to light. You can get more of
an even light by priming it a bit. After takeoff, there was a medium amount of white/gray smoke.
As my buddy, Siz, has written in some of his reviews, the draw of a cigar can make or break the flavor, perception and overall experience of a stick. The Cabinetta Belicoso has an excellent draw which makes me think this is gonna be a great smoke.
Flavor
Speaking of flavor, there’s a lot of it in this Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta. After the initial light, I got a nice leathery and tobacco taste. Not much spice at all. I also thought there’d be some sweetness from the darker, Criollo wrapper but I suspect some of that will enhance itself the further down the barrel I get.
About halfway through the first third, there was a hint of sweetness…almost an orange spice that paired nicely with the Canadian Club whisky. The whisky is also helping to keep me warm on this late January afternoon! Onto to the backend of the final third, I got a little spice, especially in the retrohale. Very nicely balanced. The burn was also near-perfect at this point and at the end of
the first third, there was a creamy/chalky taste to accompany the sweetness and orange spice. This Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta paired with the Canadian Club made for a very enjoyable experience, like eating an orange creamsicle! At this point, I’d say the flavor is medium-medium full and the strength at medium.
Towards the halfway point of the second third, the sweetness is really coming through as well as more spice. Just as I’d suspected, at this point the sweetness from the Criollo wrapper also introduced itself; great flavor and extremely balanced. There’s a lot of sweetness when I put my tongue on the head (I know, I know, that’s what she said!).
Not much change into the final third but my anticipation grew as I took off the band and approached the line where the two wrappers met. Will the flavor change drastically once I get to the Criollo? I will keep puffing to find out. After getting about ¼ of an inch into the Criollo wrapper, I got a lot more spice and even more sweetness. There was a little kick in the retrohale and was a nice treat after all the flavors had gained strength thus far.
Would I Buy It Again?
I’d definitely buy this smoke. Excellent construction and the flavor just kept growing and growing, like watching a Chia Pet grow, sped up in fast motion!
Is It An Every Day Smoke?
It could be, however, I’d say you really wanna take the time to enjoy all of these flavors. Definitely a cigar to smoke when you have the time, can sit down and appreciate all the flavors as they build.
Would I Buy A Box?
I would for sure. I’d love to have a stock of these to enjoy when I have extra time to indulge.
Conclusion
Definitely want to take your time with this cigar so all the flavors come to light. Smoking too fast (as with most cigars) will not do the flavors justice. I took a ½ hour just to get through the first third and didn’t hurry the rest of it either. In its entirety it took about 1 ½ hours. The jury is out: the dual Ecuadorian and Criollo wrappers are NOT just a gimmick. I really feel that they married well together and gave this Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta a ton of sweetness, spice and cream.
