Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto is medium brown and has a few raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being brown, gold and white and denoting the company name. The secondary is orange, gold, black and white and denotes the line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of wood, hay and earth while the foot brings bread and cedar. The pre-light draw brings a mix of cedar and hay, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto is a nice looking cigar. The wrapper has a nice Colorado coloring, and there are small to medium sized veins present throughout. There is a rich aroma of earth, spices, wood and tobacco, and there is some cocoa thrown in there as well. It has a nice old-school appearance, but you can tell it is a blend intended for a modern smoker.
John: The Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space to remain intact when opened. The cigar has two bands with the Joya de Nicaragua primary band and a Clásico Medio Siglo secondary band. I weighed the cigar at 13.7 grams and measured the humidity at 61.1% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet tobacco, faint earth and wood. Out of the foot, I could detect sweet tobacco.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto

First Third

Aaron: As the cigar begins, the profile is toasted cedar, bold black pepper and light earth. At a half inch in, the black pepper loses the boldness, but is still right behind the toasted oak. The retrohale is toasted cedar, zingy black pepper and some earth. At an inch in, the pepper and earth become even with each other and the pepper is experiencing a long and bold finish. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the black pepper and earth. The strength was slightly above medium.
Seth: Clásico Medio Siglo begins with nice earth, wood and leather qualities. There are some tobacco, spice and mineral notes present as well, but it is a balanced blend overall. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third begins with sweet bread, tobacco to follow and a combination of savory tobacco and wood through the finish. A dark roasted coffee is present on the retrohale. Some mildly dry wood moves into the center of the retrohale as the cigar progresses. The profile remains consistent for the remainder of the third.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, a light creaminess joins the profile. At a quarter inch in, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar up front. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with mild black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper is now in the back half of the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper a bit past the middle of the profile and some light creaminess in the background. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
Seth: The second third continues with those wood and leather notes. Nice earthy qualities present with some spice and mineral qualities on the finish. Medium-full in strength and body. Balanced cigar with a nice amount of smoke production.
John: Creamy, sweet espresso greets me in the second third with a dry wood finish. Some mild spices join the front of the retrohale as the second third settles in. After a few retrohales, the spices begin to carry into the finish. Earth begins to follow the spices and takes up the center of the retrohale as the cigar moves towards the halfway point.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit more. At a half inch in, the black pepper picks back up and is in the middle of the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with a bit more black pepper than before. At three quarters of an inch in, the toast level increases a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the heavily toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper in the middle and light creaminess in the background. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the second. Mineral notes are a little bit more present. Leather, wood, tobacco and earth. Oak notes present. Medium-full in strength and body. Nice finish of spice with mineral and tobacco.
John: Creamy earth and wood start the last third with wood finishing and taking on some tannic qualities in the post draw. Earth also joins the finish as the cigar continues, which serves to offset the tannins on the post draw somewhat. A burning paper note is present on the finish and lingers into the post draw approaching the halfway point.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the wrapper seemed a bit fragile as it cracked in some areas and caused the burn to get off kilter, requiring a single touch-up. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Burn was good from start to finish. Not as even as I was expecting.
John: The burn had a wavy start, eventually forming a canoe that required a touch-up. The burn continued to be uneven into the second third where it went out, requiring a re-light. The cigar went out again in the last third, requiring a second re-light.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: The draw was a little loose at one point. I think it was this specific cigar though, and not a line concern.
John: The draw was a minor amount into the resistant spectrum, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches, which gives it a very good rating for the draw.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, bold black pepper and light earth. The second third saw some light creaminess join in and the black pepper mellowed. The final third saw the toast level increase and the black pepper pick back up. The Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto had a nice start, with a bold and interesting flavor profile. It dropped down in the second third as the black pepper began to fade and maintained that level the rest of the way. This is an interesting cigar for the brand that carries a very nice price point. While I wouldn’t see coming back to this often, I would be interested in trying some of the other vitolas to see if there is one that shines a bit more. I would recommend fans of Joya de Nicaragua try this out, because if you like it, you’ve found a well priced offering.
Seth: I really want to come back to the Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto. I think it is a blend that I need to spend more time on for Joya. I loved my initial impression of the blend, but I was not completely blown away. It’s very price friendly, but it’s also appealing in terms of blend being offered. Joya can make great price friendly cigars, and I like that this one is a modern take/amped up version of a classic.
John: The Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto had a good first third, with the second and last thirds a pleasant smoking experience, but not quite at the same level of complexity for me. The draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum while the burn struggled with one touch-up and two re-lights. Construction issues aside, the price point on these is reasonable and I’d be inclined to smoke more of these in different sizes to see how they perform. It would be interesting to see if another Robusto without the burn issues had superior performance, as the burn issues are very out of character for the Joya de Nicaragua factory. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 47 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.52

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.45

Cost/Point

$1.61

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.55

Cost/Point

$1.58

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Medio Siglo Robusto