Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com)
This year, many companies are introducing new cigars that are made to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of America.
Joya de Nicaragua’s entry will be the Joya Red White & Blue, a new 6 x 52 toro that uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over binders and fillers from Estelí and Jalapa, Nicaragua.
Each cigar will have an MSRP of $13.50 and production is limited to 500 boxes of 10 cigars. While the cigar will be shown off to retailers during the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, which takes place April 18-20 in New Orleans, it is not expected to ship until June.
“The packaging reflects the spirit of the celebration,” said Cristhian Lanzas, marketing director of SAG Imports, in a press release. SAG Imports is the joint American distribution company operated by Joya de Nicaragua and Quesada. “It gently references American aviation, a symbol of freedom, ambition, and the pursuit of new horizons. The cigar band is also complemented by fifty stars encircling the design, representing the 50 states that form a nation that has long inspired the world.”
The cigar is part of the company’s JOYA Series, which includes regular production lines like the JOYA Black and JOYA Red.
The cigar has an average feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were orange citrus, brown sugar, cinnamon, tanned leather, and light black coffee. The citrus notes remind me of a baby aspirin or the Pez orange candy. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. Nice start.
At the first third (19 minutes) the ash was still intact but rather precariously. By and large I had the same notes. The orange citrus is nice and it just sticks out enough from the other flavors to give you a nice sweet note. The leather and black coffee are closely behind and there's a little earthiness now. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a light citrus with good to very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is tasty. I rated the first third 94.
As I moved through the second third (49 minutes) I had the same notes but different percentages. The black coffee is up. It's up enough that it slightly surpasses those sweet citrus notes. The other notes are about where they were. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is a little of the citrus with black coffee and very good lingering black pepper. The elevated black coffee caused me to lower the score to 93.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 16 minutes. The sweet notes made a little surge while the black coffee pulled back. The cigar improved but it did not get back to the exact first third notes. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. The cigar improved enough to raise the score to 94. This is a good cigar and I could have it quite often.
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