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Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Gran Reserva Robusto Grande

Ginseng

Banned
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
8,802
Today's study smoke was a JdN Antaño Gran Reserva Robusto Grande generously gifted to me by tone-ny. This is one of his favored smokes and now I know why.

The wrapper was a silky, oily dark colorado maduro with prominent but fine veins. Prelight aroma was faint. The stick was solidly constructed like a dowel of African bubinga wood, heavy yet the slightest bit resilient.

Lightup was difficult as the foot was resistant to ignition. It took quite a few seconds of exposure to my Blazer before it toasted sufficiently for me to draw and fire it up. Once underway, however, the tightish draw delivered wisps of heavy, earthy smoke. I was familiar with the regular JdN line and have found it to be an unremarkable if inexpensive smoke. I've thus far avoided the Antaño blend due to its reputation for strength and harshness. So far, the Gran Reserva was turning out to be like neither of these cigars.

I gave this cigar a little time to warm up. The draw continued to be tighter than I liked and so I lopped off the entire shoulder with my Benchmade folder. As it warmed up, it also opened up and started delivering its payload. Smoke volume picked up and each draw brought forth mouthfuls of heavy, oily smoke rich in deep tobacco flavor.

The primary flavors were rich and heavy but not harsh in the least. It also gave indications of being a powerful cigar as I was starting to get the nic buzz already.

The strongest impression was of leather. Not just any leather mind you. This was the classy stuff, aniline-dyed Torino belt leather reminiscent of a Coach handbag. Chocolate and cocoa were also quite prominent. And not the wimpy Hershey milk chocolate. This was full out 65% cocoa solids Scharffenberger bitter. No nonsense stuff to say the least.

The ash was bright white and stiff behind the razor thin burn line. What a muscular and manly smoke this was turning out to be.

As I smoked further, nutty notes started to emerge that reminded me of batch roasted almonds and cashews dry roasted with just a touch of expeller pressed sunflower oil and a sprinkling of hand harvested Mediterranean sea salt. Wow. And there was a hint of sweetness as well. It struck me as quite a complex sweetness like the sundried residue of subtropical sugar cane left after the pressings to make Jamaican rum.

The aroma was tangy and frargant, laced with smatterings of Jasmine, smoldering mahogany, pinyon pine bark and Brazilian carnauba. Old school is how I'd characterize this scent...and manly too.

I smoked this one way down and as good as it was, I suspect that with further age, it would become a classic. Even now, it is among the best of the full-bodied, strong cigars made. Oh, and I should mention that it was a very manly smoke suitable for men as well as women executives and basketball coaches.

Wilkey
 
Wilkey I was wondering when you would light that bad boy up. Yes this is one of my favorites. How can you go wrong for the price?

I'm glad you enjoyed it, don't get me wrong this is not an every day smoke. This is a victory cigar or to mark a special day cigar. The cocoa is spot on not the milk chocalate type but the bitter sweet chocalate that my mother used to make hot chocolate from.

As always a great review! :thumbs:
 
A delicious review for a delicious cigar!
Damn Wilkey, now I'm hungry! :laugh:

-Rob
 
Anthony,
I can't thank you enough for sharing this one with me. As the semester draws to a close, I intend to trot out my celebratory smokes and enjoy them one by one. This one was the first. :D

BTW,
This review is dedicated to my good friend Elliot (Roy R. Frush) who inspired my dabbling with this style.

Rob,
;)

Wilkey
 
Thanks for the review Wilkey. Tony gifted me one of these a while ago but I haven't smoked it yet. I'm a wus when it comes to ultra strong cigars so I have to psych myself up first :p
 
I got a good chuckle out of that read. With your reputation for serious reviews, people are likely to miss the tongue-in-cheek aspect of it. You know it's not fair to post a review like this if you actually smoked the cigar... ;)
 
I got a good chuckle out of that read. With your reputation for serious reviews, people are likely to miss the tongue-in-cheek aspect of it. You know it's not fair to post a review like this if you actually smoked the cigar... ;)

:thumbs:

Thanks for checking in, Elliot. I guess the guys were too polite to call "bullshit" on me. :p

Or maybe my writing is already so florid that they thought this was a genuine review? ???

Oh well, I guess I should go back and edit the opening post to highlight the, ahem, elaboration. :D

Wilkey
 
Oh, just in case it's not clear, I did smoke this cigar with some freshly brewed coffee this afternoon and it was the perfect companion for a sunny-cloudy and breezy day. It was strong, rich and very manly.

Wilkey
 
Wilkey,

You completely got me on this one...
That'll learn me for skimming through a review!

:blush:

I completely misinterpreted the trickery as Wilkeyisms!
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

-Rob
 
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