Joya Silver Toro by Joya de Nicaragua

At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, Joya de Nicaragua Cigars unveiled the fourth installment of its Joya series with Joya Silver. The Joya series was first launched back in 2014 with the release of Joya Red and is intended to offer a more contemporary styled smoke in termed of packaging and blend at a reasonable price point. With Joya Silver, the distinguishing characteristic is that this is an all box-pressed line highlighted by a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Joya Silver was released as a part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebration. The launch of Joya Silver coincided with another release for the 50th anniversary, Joya de Nicaragua’s Cincó Décadas line. Today we take a closer look a the Joya Silver in the Toro size.

The following are the five releases that make up the Joya series – along what the distinguishing characteristic is for each of these releases.

Joya Red: Nicaraguan puro
Joya Black: San Andres Maduro
Joya Cabinetta: Ecuadorian Connecticut and Criollo wrapper
Joya Silver: Box-Pressed Ecuadorian Oscuro
Joya Copper: Full-strength Nicaraguan Puro for Cigars International

One note – the cigars used for this assessment had about 14 months aging in the Cigar Coop humidor.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Joya Silver Toro by Joya de Nicaragua and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend for the Joya Silver is a three-country multi-national blend with tobaccos from Ecuador, Mexico, and Nicaragua

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: San Andres Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua SA

Vitolas Offered

The Joya Silver is available in four sizes, each presented in 20-count boxes.

Corona: 5 1⁄4 x 42
Ultra: 6 1⁄4 x 46
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52

Packaging of the Joya Silver by Joya de Nicaragua

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper of the Joya Silver Toro had a roasted coffee bean color to it. Upon closer examination, there was some light mottling on the surface. There also was a light coating of oil on the surface. While there were some visible wrapper seams, and some thin visible veins, this was still a relatively smooth wrapper. The box-press of the cigar had a slight trunk-press to it.

The band of Joya Silver uses the design scheme consistent with the Joya Line, but with its own. unique color scheme. The band has a white background with a faux dimple pattern on the background. The band is surrounded by a chrome-colored trim. On the white background is the text “JOYA” in large silver font. Just below that is the text “Silver” in modern silver font surrounded a short, thin horizontal red-colored stripe on each side. Below that text is a red Joya de Nicaragua leaf logo. Across the top is the text “FABRICA JOYA DE NICARAGUA SA” in small gray font. Toward the bottom is the text “HECHO A MANO en ESTELI” – also in small gray font. On the far right side of the band is a group of red medallions and adornments in landscape mode with the gray font text “EST 1968.”

The back of the band has the text “SHARE YOUR #JOYA SILVER” in gray font. Just below that is the text” “EXPERIENCE WITH US!” – also in gray font. There are also social media icons and the Joya de Nicaragua URL – www.joyacigars.com on the back of the band in gray font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

The cigar experience of the Joya Silver Toro kicked off by using a straight-cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The cold draw delivered a mix of earth, cedar, floral, and dark cherry notes. I consider this a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point it was time to light up the Joya Silver Toro and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Joya Silver Toro started out with notes of earth, cedar, natural tobacco, black cherry, and mixed pepper note. Early on the natural tobacco and black cherry notes moved into the forefront with the black cherry notes having a slight edge. Some milk chocolate notes also mixed into the forefront. The earth, cedar, and pepper notes settled into the background. There was an underlying creamy texture to the flavor profile. Meanwhile there was an additional layer of pepper and black cherry on the retro-hale.

During the second third, the natural tobacco note remained grounded in the forefront. The presence of the black cherry and chocolate slowly diminished during this phase of the smoking experience. The notes of earth, cedar, and pepper remained present in the background. By the end of the second third, the black cherry had also fully receded into the background, and most of the chocolate and creaminess had dissipated.

The last third of the Joya Silver Toro saw the natural tobacco notes remain in control. There still were complementary notes of black cherry, cedar, earth, and pepper. The pepper notes increased in intensity during this stage of the smoke, but never overpowered the flavor profile. When the smoking experience of the Joya Silver Toro concluded, the resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While there was some occasional meandering, the Joya Silver Toro maintained a relatively straight burn path and had a relatively straight burn line. The resulting ash had a salt and pepper complexion to it. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it was neither loose nor flakey. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Joya Silver Toro

Draw

The draw to the Joya Silver Toro was quite impressive. This cigar maintained a nice balance of resistance and openness. I usually like a little resistance on the draw, and there was enough on the Joya Silver Toro to satisfy me. This was also a cigar that still managed a nice volume of smoke production.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Joya Silver Toro falls into the medium range. There was a slight increase in intensity of both attributes, but in the end, the Joya Silver Toro still stayed in the medium range of the spectrum. In terms of strength versus body, I found both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned up front, the cigars used for this assessment had about 14 months of age on them. While I found the Joya Silver Toto to be a nice cigar when I first smoked it, I also found this was a cigar that greatly improved over time and responded nicely to longer term aging. I found time to smooth out and better refine the flavor profile. At the same time, I didn’t find the Joya Silver Toro to lose much in the way of strength and body over time. In the end, the Joya Silver Toro is a fine cigar. At just under $8.00, it is a nice value as well. It’s the kind of cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s one that I would smoke again and it garners box worthy consideration.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Black Cherry, Chocolate, Earth, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good