Agile Cigar Review: Joya de Nicaragua Antaño CT Lonsdale

Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño CT Lonsdale. This is a cigar blend previously assessed back in April 2020 in the Robusto size.Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua, S.A.
Lonsdale: 6 5/8 x 44

The Antaño is perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the Joya de Nicaragua portfolio. Joya de Nicaragua’s Antaño 1970 line is considered a game changer by many when it comes to delivering a full-strength, full-bodied cigar. Over the years the Antaño brand has expanded. In 2019, Joya de Nicaragua introduced a new blend under the Antaño brand known as the Antaño CT. This blend is a cigar that was intended to deliver a bolder, Connecticut Shade offering. Fast-forward to 2022, and a fifth size was introduced to Antaño CT in the form of a 6 5/8 x 44 Lonsdale. Today we take a closer look a the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño CT Lonsdale.

In addition to the Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper, the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño CT features all Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and fillers. One thing Joya de Nicaragua did with the Lonsdale offering in this line is to limit it to its retailers who are a part of Club Amigos of JDN.

The Joya de Nicaraguan Antaño CT Lonsdale opened with notes of cream, bread, cedar, and wood. As the cigar moved through the first third, pepper emerged on the tongue and on the retro-hale. By the second third, the cedar became the primary note. The cream started to subside and dissipate while some tannin notes emerged in the background. There was a significant increase in the pepper as the cigar entered the second half. The final third saw the cedar notes primary, the pepper, wood, and tannins as secondary notes, and the bread notes were a little more distant. As the cigar came to a close, it finished with a cool, soft nub.

The flavors delivered were medium-bodied countered by medium strength. The body held a slight edge over the strength throughout the smoking experience. Overall the burn performed excellently requiring only a few touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The draw was slightly more open than I prefer.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Joya de Nicaragua billed the Antaño CT Lonsdale as “Creaminess alongside plenty of spice.” I would say this was true from about the 15% to 45% range of the smoking experience. There was definitely more creaminess early on, and definitely more spice later on. The Joya de Nicaragua Antaño CT Lonsdale comes in at a respectable 88-point score. This is the same score as the Robusto size, but I still would give a slight edge to this Lonsdale cigar. This isn’t a Connecticut Shade cigar for everybody, so I’d be more inclined to recommend trying a sample first and seeing what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Cedar, Tannins, Wood, Bread, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good