The cigar: Joya de Nicaragua 1970 Antano Consul

Nutritional information:
Vitola: 4.5 x 52
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Humidor time: 8 mos

The marketing:
From CI: In the 1970s, this brand was considered the finest not only in Nicaragua, but in the entire world. It was actually created in Nicaragua’s first cigar factory founded in 1964, smoked by US Presidents and renowned for its rich and full flavor. But decades of war and Communist rule in Nicaragua destroyed the brand and decimated the factory - and most of the rest of the country for that matter. Well, the country has been on the rise again, and fittingly, so is the brand. This new Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 was created to celebrate the rich heritage and worldwide renown it enjoyed in 1970, and marks a return to those glorious days. It’s well on the way, earning a terrific 91 rating (Cigar Insider). A very, very full-bodied, robust "muscle cigar." This beauty is simply delicious.

Great news! The Antaño 1970 has been named one of Cigar Aficionado’s Top 50 Cigars. The magazine noted, "Dark and rich in appearance, with lovely texture to the wrapper. It has a superb draw. The smoke is strong and intense, very cedary and spicy on the palate. A complex smoke with medium to full body."

Prelight: I love the look of this cigar. The leathery Criollo wrapper is dark and a bit thick and veiny, but the color is beautiful, with rusty shades of red and orange. It's very solid in the hand, uniformly bunched, a sturdy little smoke.

Burn: Fantastic. It takes a decent bit of toasting to get a good light with that thick wrapper, but once it's lit, it's lit for good, and it burns beautifully -- razor straight to the nub, with strong medium gray ash. It burns relatively slowly: this fairly small cigar lasted over an hour.

Flavor: It's a strong cigar, but it's not strong in the sense that you get a blast of pepper spray. There's a lot of flavor and raw power in the smoke, but it's smooth and balanced. The smoke is thick, coating the palate, and leaving a long finish. There are notes of wood, and red pepper spice, and a tartness that sometimes seems fruity, like a sour cherry. The flavors are active and shifting, sometimes showing cedar, sometimes hinting at a creamy vanilla, sometimes like a hot paprika. In the second third I thought I caught a hint of licorice, and in the home stretch it turned creamier.

I've always been a fan of JdNs, so I'm a bit biased, but I really like this cigar. It lets me check off all the boxes on my list of what a great cigar should be: well-constructed, full-flavored, complex and interesting, good value for the money. It's not subtle by any means, and I have to be in the right state of mind, but when I want power and flavor, this is what I reach for. And when I want something with a similar flavor profile but a little bit tamer, there's the JdN Celebracion. Is this country great or what?
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I love this cigar too! I have a box and I wonder how they'll taste after a few years of age on them (if they make it that long:-)). I've tasted the tartness as well. Nice review!
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Nice review. One of my fav NCs
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Thanks for the good reivew.
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Smoked a few and still got a few in the humi, I have loved them since the first one.
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I love the Beli, Churchill, and Lancero.
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Nice review! Like these also. The consul is my favorite size. Thanks for the review.:-)
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nice review
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One of my favorites. :-) In fact, just got a box of consuls and a box of machitos in the mail just yesterday. And for those in the market, atlanticcigar and cigarplace.biz are having REAL good deals on them right now. My box of consuls was only a little over $50 and the machitos $107 for a box of 50. :-)
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This use to be my "go to" cigar years ago,,,I need to get another box now that I see this post.
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Wonderful smoke! Strong and smooth, a great combination!
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thanks for sharing Eddie..
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How does this rate in strength vs. the LFD (I guess the chisel specifically)? It's been awhile since I've tried one of these....I had a chisel recently and had to put it down.
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It's a short smoke but for like size its as strong as the LFD.

If you really want strength though, go for Lito Gomez's self named smokes. I smoke a lot of strong cigars but a Lito always seems to make me woozy. :-)
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Very nice review!!!

However, I am afraid of these!!! I'm a wimp!!!:-)
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Where's the pictures Eddie?:-) Nice review and a great cigar. You hit the prelight and flavor right on the head. I love the way this stick looks and smells prior to setting fire to it. You mentioned a hint of licorice which I think (and don't hold me to it) is the sweet tobacco smell and taste. I've been used to smoking the Robusto Grande size but really don't have all day to enjoy that one anymore. That's where the Consul now comes into play. Its just the right size for me:-)


Hey Darrell, if you have anymore Consuls in your humi thats giving you nightmares, you got my addy whimpy:-):-)
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Hey, those would be coming my way. :-)

Have you tried the Machito size? I think that one is quickly becoming my favorite. Perfect hour to hour fifteen smoke time. I have some of the Robusto Grande, Churchill, and Lanceros left, but many of them seem to have draw issues I never seem to get in the smaller sizes.
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No way Jose:-) No, haven't smoked the Machito, but hear its a little firecracker though...
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They come in a box of 50, same flavor as the consul, just the perfect size for the strength. I highly reccommend them, especially since they are only a little over $2 a stick by the box.
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Sorry Mark!!! All I have left is the Machito from Ratters!!! I'm saving that for a special occation where I eat too much and feel sleepy!!!:-)
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