Over the years there have been several different cigars marketed under the name Vega Fina, mainly because the companies owning the brand name have merged or been acquired or simply changed hands: the brand name appears to have first been owned by Havatampa, an old manufacturer around since the early 1900’s. When Tabalera S.A. de España bought Havatampa in 1997, Vega Fina passed to them and was produced by Benji Menendez in Honduras with an Indonesian wrapper. Two years later, Tabacalera S.A. merged with the French tobacco giant SEITA to form Altadis, S.A. Soon after this, production moved to the Dominican Republic and Vega Fina was produced primarily for the Spanish and Western European market as an affordable Dominican premium (but also as a mass market machine mini cigar very popular in Spain.)

Vega Fina continues to be Spain’s most popular Dominican cigar, so Altadis decided to introduce it to the much larger American market early this year. Today they’re made in La Romana’s Tabacalera de Garcia under the supervision of José Séijas.

The VF robusto is graced by a creamy claro-colored Ecuadorian grown Connecticut Shade wrapper that looks good enough to eat. Beneath this, however, is a binder which causes me a little concern: Indonesian TBN. (I have to remind myself that the wrapper on the Dominican Romeo y Julieta 1875 is also TBN, and it’s not bad stuff.) The VF employs filler from Columbia, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.

I tend to think of Indonesian TBN as the carpetbagger of cigar tobacco — it seems to turn up only when the “real thing” is no longer available. When Consolidated couldn’t get quality Cameroon in the late 80’s, they turned to TBN. When wrapper leaf of any quality was scarce during the “boom” years, TBN was there. And this is at least partly why it has a such a sullied reputation — it’s often been the alternative, not the prime choice. And unfortunately the alternative, especially during the boom years, was actually bottom-of-barrel tobacco billed as TBN when it may have been something else entirely. So what we were taking in general as “Indonesian” was actually the worst tobacco the region had to offer.

TBN stands for tobaco bawah naungan, which means “tobacco under sheet,” or shade-grown tobacco. Top quality TBN is a cross between native besuki tobacco and Connecticut Shade. It’s a nice looking leaf, so in addition to its blending qualities it can also serve well as a wrapper. Strangely it is also prized for its lack of aroma. I can’t think why this would be appreciated in a wrapper, but used as a binder here perhaps it makes more sense.

The VegaFina robusto is a suave looking cigar. The wrapper is smooth and supple with very few veins. The construction is very good from the start, with a cool even draw and a nearly straight-edge burn. There’s just a hint of pepper at first light. This quickly disappears and is replaced by a very mild bodied smoke with a creamy texture. Up until the half-way point the flavor is mildly woody with some herbal tea accents. The aroma is exceptional — it blends well with the flavor of the cigar and adds a spicy floral component. (Incidentally, there are none of the metallic overtones that I’ve noticed with Indonesian leaf in the past.)

The flavor picks up at the mid-point, not a lot, but enough to be noticed. Another dash of pepper is added to the mix and the finish goes from non-existent to moderately short at this point. The last third stays the course, and finally a discreet bitterness announces that the finish line has been crossed.

Overall the VegaFina robusto is an excellent mild blend: a fine mid-day smoke, great after breakfast. The price is right on these babies as well: I picked up a few for under 3 USD on the reservation, and it looks like boxes can be had for under 75 online. Factoring price into the equation, I think this is my new mild one. (Especially since it’s getting hard to find Nestor Reserve Connecticuts these days…)

–cigarfan

Cigar Stats
Brand Owner: Tobaccos Puros de Nicaragua, S.A.
Model/Vitola: Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 – Robusto Grande (box-pressed)
Size: 5.50 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano Criollo
Binder: Nicaragua Habana
Filler: Nicaragua Habana

Other sizes available

• Consul 4.50 x 52 (robusto)
• Machito 4.75 x 42 (petit corona)
• Gran Consul 4.75 x 60 (torpedo)
• Belicoso 6.00 x 54 (torpedo)
• Magnum 6.00 x 60 (toro)
• Perfecto 6.25 x 58
• Churchill 6.875 x 48
• Lancero 7.50 x 38 (long panatela)

Tobacco farm at Esteli, Nicaragua

Joya de Nicaragua (The Jewel of Nicaragua) was created in Nicaragua’s first cigar factory, which opened in 1964 in the city of Esteli. In the glory days of the 1970s, the brand was arguably the finest in the world, smoked in the White House and prized for its rich flavor. After war decimated Nicaragua and the original factory burned to the ground, Joya de Nicaragua struggled to regain its former glory. Prior to 2000, the brand had taken on a mild, easygoing flavor. Responding to the trend toward full-flavored cigars and looking at its own heritage as a producer of powerful smokes, the brand’s makers created a version called Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970. This was one of the first “high octane” powerful cigars to hit the market back in the early 2000’s. It was one of the hits of the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America trade show in 2002. This cigar features an extremely powerful, heavy, thick smoke highlighted by a rich, oily, almost wet-looking Maduro wrapper. This is the type of cigar that the old Cubans use to make for themselves after quitting time in the Cuban factories.

Bottom line up front …..
“All Muscle, all the time,” is the slogan for the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 and this cigar certainly flexes its muscles. Antaño is the cigar directly responsible for reviving the struggling Joya line, and after smokng one there is no wonder as to why. It has received high ratings, a 91 in Cigar Insider and 92 in Cigar Afficianado, and was in the top 5 of Robb Report’s 2003 annual Best of the Best. Antaño, a Nicaraguan puro, is a powerhouse full of flavor; leathery and slightly earthy, this cigar is rich and spicy. The draw is excellent and the thick, dark wrapper burns well. A true treat for those who enjoy a complex and very full-bodied smoke at a very reasonable price.

Pre-light
A couple large veins on this dark rusty brown colored wrap but no ill effect on the burn. The head is finished with a rounded cap. No tooth is evident over the smooth oily wrap. Construction is solid with no soft spots to the light squeeze. It is well balanced in the hand and the pre-light draw is firm. Although this cigar is advertised as box-pressed, it is barely evident by looking at it. A very subtle aroma of earth and aged tobacco from the wrap. The band is good looking and took a little effort to remove but without effect on the cigar. I used my Xikar cutter for a clean clip.

The Smoking Experience
The foot toasted and lit but with some effort. The wrap is very thick and it took a couple torch blasts to get everything going but, once lit, no burn issues at all. Draw was firm but not too firm and eased just a little over the length of the cigar. Burn line got a little bumpy but always self-corrected. The ash was dark gray with small black striations and held on well to about two inches each time. This cigar puts out allot of smoke and stayed nice and cool all the way to the nub. The smoke seemed to increase in volume past the half way point.

Full bodied and full flavored this cigar leaves nothing to the imagination. Flavors hit the palate like a freight train. Starts with a surge of dark earth and pepper which quickly gives way to a core of sweet earthy flavors with subtle notes of cocoa and espresso. The nose has quite a “twang” to it. The last half ushers in more pepper and spice but not overpowering.

Definitely a strong full-bodied smoke but well balanced. I did not experience any harshness. Not the cigar for morning coffee IMO and should follow something to eat. I had both cigars for this review with McClannan 25 single malt scotch which really complimented the cigar. I’m thinking a nice cold Guiness Stout would work too.

My take …..
Being a fan of stronger cigars, I really enjoyed the Joya De Nicaragua Antaño 1970. I bet these are just fantastic with a year or more to age. I’m curious about the Gran Reserva as well. That’s on my list of cigars to try.

MSRP comes in at $5.00 per stick. I received mine in a trade so I’m not sure exactly what they cost originally but my local B&M has them for $6.25 a stick. Online they run $3.50 per stick if you buy a box (20) and $3.70 if you get a 5ver. Very good price point for a such a flavorful well-made cigar.

Like it … Yes
Buy it again … Absolutely, maybe stock some boxes
Recommend it … Yes, to those who like potent cigars

What others are saying about the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 …..

25 March 2006
Cigarfan of Keepers of the Flame
Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 Robusto Grande

28 August 2006
Patrick A of The Stogie Guys
Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Consul

30 May 2007
Dickie Dingleheimer
Review of Joya de Nicaragua Antano Cigars
Rated 4.60/5

As of 10 August 2007
Top 25 Cigar Ratings (26 reviews)
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970 Robusto Grande
Average Rating 8.35 out of 10

Publications

18 May 2007 – Cigar Aficionado
An Interview with Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, Owner of Joya de Nicaragua

… lucky7

“It has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep,
and never to refrain when awake.” (Mark Twain)

There was a time when an American cigar smoker didn’t experiment with new brands and blends. He chose a brand that he liked and he pretty much stuck with that for as long as he chose to smoke cigars. This was a time when the cigar factories of Ybor City flourished and produced thousands of “clear havana” cigars made with tobacco imported from Cuba. The “premium” market of that day was for authentic Havana rolled cigars, but the average American working stiff was quite content with “two for a nickel” King Edward cigars or the like.

Today, most cigar enthusiasts cast a wary eye on King Edward and his drugstore brethren, but it’s worth remembering that Swisher International, the maker of King Edward, La Primadora, and of course Swisher Sweets, is the world’s second largest cigar company by revenue (trailing only Altadis.)

A Swisher executive once said, “There are two kinds of cigars in the world: those that sell and those that don’t.” While that explains Swisher’s business philosophy (and perhaps the secret to their success) it doesn’t explain why they entered the premium cigar market with Bering, a long filler hand-rolled that sells for around 2 dollars. A blue-collar two-dollar cigar.

Bering cigars were at first a long-filler machine-made cigar manufactured by Corral, Wodiska y Ca., starting in 1905. Their Ybor City factory no longer produces cigars (in fact this historic building has been converted to an office complex) but the Bering brand lives on, having been purchased by Swisher in 1985. Swisher eventually moved Bering production to Honduras and made it a 100% handmade cigar, a turning point for Swisher and the Bering line.

The Bering Corona Royale is a tubo, as pictured above. On the other side of the tube it reads “Very Mild Exquisite Cigar.” This is a long corona at 6 inches with a 41 ring gauge and comes equipped with a Connecticut seed wrapper shade grown in Honduras, a binder from Honduras, and filler from Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

This particular specimen has been lounging in my cheapodor for about four months, which I think is probably longer than necessary. I fired it up in the garage and roasted some coffee just to give the cigar some competition in the aroma arena. It starts up with a nice even burn and a straightforward tobacco flavor. I wouldn’t say it was either exquisite or excessively mild at this point, but it certainly wasn’t objectionable.

The aroma is probably the nicest thing about this cigar — a mildly sweet, slightly woody fragrance that blended very well with the Sumatra smoking in the I-Roast. The flavor is simple, everyday cigar tobacco. By the midway point the flavor intensifies somewhat and becomes a little tart. It’s still fairly mild in body, but stronger in flavor.

As it continues the flavor takes on a little cardboard, and then takes a shortcut to bitter paper bag. I wasn’t sure if this was an accurate description, so I cut up some Trader Joe’s paper bags and had a chew… I’m a professional, kids. Do not try this at home.

A cigar that reduces me to chewing on grocery sacks might not have much to recommend itself, but to be honest the cigar was actually better than the bags. Faint praise, I know. If you’re into that astringent flavor that Mexican and some Indonesian cigars have, this one might float your boat. Mine sank.

Bottom Line: This isn’t a half bad yard gar, but I can think of half a dozen yard gars for around the same price that I’d rather smoke.

Nestor Plasencia makes so many cigars for so many people it’s hard to keep straight, but this is one of them, made for Indianhead in Esteli, Nicaragua. Plasencia’s father Sixto was one of the pioneers of the cigar industry in Nicaragua. In the mid-60’s Sixto recognized the similarity of the valleys of northwestern Nicaragua to the Pinar del Rio area and decided it would be a good place to experiment. The test was a rousing success, and since then the Plasencia family has been huge in both the Esteli area and the Danli, Honduras tobacco zone. To date, Plasencia grows tobacco for Rocky Patel, Mayorga, OneOff, Evelio, Maria Mancini, other Indianhead cigars, and numerous other private customers. He also has his own line, which includes the Plasencia Organica, one of the first cigars rolled with certified organic tobacco.

This is the “Classic Cuban Corojo,” introduced in 2003 as a fuller bodied addition to the American Stogies line. It normally sells for under three dollars– like the Mayorga cigar it could very well be considered a “bargain cigar,” even though it could probably sell for more. It’s a Nicaraguan puro according to he venerable Cigarcyclopedia…but I must admit I did not know they were growing corojo in Nicaragua. Unless, of course, this is like the Punch rare corojo, and corojo in name only.

But judging by taste, I think this wrapper leaf is indeed corojo. It has the same aroma as the Puros Indios Corojo and the Camacho Corojo, but I can’t say the cigar as a whole is quite as good as either of those. It has a nutty, somewhat vegetal taste, with very little spice. It packs a good punch, however. Definitely not an empty-stomach smoke.

It burns well, evenly and not too quick, though the stick does get soft after a couple inches. I grew a bit tired of it at about the half-way point, where the power began to kick in without any added flavor dividends.

For the price, I’d say give this one a shot. Don’t expect too much, and you’ll get a little more than you had expected.