Joya Silver

Joya Silver From Joya De Nicaragua: Joya Series Part 2 of 5
Joya Silver

I will have to say that the Joya Silver is definitely the second best cigar I enjoy smoking within the JDN line of cigars. When JDN released Joya Silver back in 2018 at the IPCPR Trade Show; I was working at another cigar shop (different than the one I am currently working at now) there was certainly a buzz going around about Joya Silver. There was a sense of anticipation; a build up; ready for it to come in and hit the shelves so all who had heard about it can give it a try. I was already a huge JDN fan and after hearing that the launch of Joya Siler was part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebration the excitement grew more. Side note; I do find it rather amusing that “WE” as cigar smokers will get totally excited, enthused, like a child waiting to open up presents on Christmas day for a particular cigar to come out. Well, with a box press shape and a dark Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper, who wouldn’t get excited. 

I must say I have enjoyed this cigar EVERY time I have sparked one up since its release date. I do recall asking myself “why don’t I have this cigar more often?” after every time I’ve ended a Joya Silver. I have certainly not smoked this cigar as often as I would like to (which might change after today) because sometimes all it takes is “lighting” the flame to start a cigar to bring back the memories, and realizing what you’ve been missing. In my opinion it truly is an affordable cigar with all the right profiles I enjoy with complexity, medium to full body strength and an exceptional flavor. It’s not a question of why, but why not enjoy this cigar on a regular basis. Speaking of exceptional flavor, let’s get into the review. 

Joya Silver has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a San Andres Mexican Binder, along with Nicaraguan fillers the taste really shines through during the pre-light/cold draw experience. The cold draw delivered some earth, floral, cedar, dark chocolate covered cherries, and almost a hint of molasses crossed with some black currant (cassis). It has a real Nicaraguan richness to the cigar that gets your palate salivating for the light up. 

Upon lighting up; there is a burst of black cherry and black pepper that hits you, woke me up in a sense, to embark on the journey of this great cigar. As I continued on the first 1/3rd of this cigar that smack of black pepper and black cherry intensity calmed down and settled into some nice dark chocolate, little cedar, cassis, while that black pepper and cherry was still hanging around. the burn was very consistent, had a smooth draw, burrows of smoke, and the profiles continue to impress. As I continued, there is a creaminess that settles things down a bit, not to say the profiles get diminished in anyway, it’s almost like comparing a peanut butter and sandwich separately; both are good on their own yet when combined together there is that smooth richness/creaminess of flavor that happens while you enjoy. So, that’s kind of what’s going on for me. As I continued smoking into the second third, all the flavors were great yet mixed together there was a “creaminess” that helped tie it all together. 

It’s interesting (in some ways) that each time I’ve enjoyed a Joya Silver there’s always something new I pick up OR a profile that REALLY shines through above the others. In this case a bakers spice really stands out during this second third. Nutmeg, allspice, ginger, clove and toasted cinnamon come to my palate with of course some dark chocolate churning to a semi sweet bakers chocolate while that black cherry is still dancing in the background. The black pepper asked white pepper to join the party. As I transitioned into the last third of Joya Silver some rich earthy notes came through along with some molasses. 

Burning up the last third of Joya Silver most of the profiles stay the same and swirl around from the front to the back of the palate. It was hard to put down because the taste is so good you want to keep puffing yet you want to enjoy it FULLY without getting the cigar to hot. From start to finish the burn was smooth and no issues whatsoever. Black pepper seemed to have dropped the white pepper (must of not been a good dancer) because there was a rich molasses, black pepper, and dark almost a caramelized cherry that came through within the last third. Not over powering or over baring, just real rich aaaaand delicious! 

Now, was I getting all of these profiles from when I smoked Joya Silver for the very first time? Honestly probably not; but I know I enjoyed every puff and certainly enjoyed it all of the other times I had moments with Joya Silver. This session in particular deepened my appreciation for Joya Silver, like most of the cigars I get a chance to review, but for the Joya Silver it has filled the spot of the “everyday” kind of cigar I have been looking for. When you work in a cigar shop I guess ANY cigar can be your “everyday” smoke yet Joya Silver hit’s ALL of the right notes for me and it’s not that I’m not going to smoke anything else during the day BUT I can certainly incorporate the Joya Silver as one that I WILL enjoy more often than just once in awhile. 

I rate this cigar 4.5 out of 5 pints and with a price tag like this YOU too could incorporate the Joya Silver into your wheel house of everyday smokes. Joya Silver comes in boxes of 20 with sizes that consist of Ultra (6 ¼ x 46) $6.30, Toro (6×52) $7.80, Corona (5 ¼ x42) $6.30, and Robusto (5×50) $7.10. If you’ve had one then you know, if you haven’t had one then I would strongly suggest you trying one; at those prices, again, not why but WHY NOT?? Cheers and enjoy!

Wrapper –  Ecuadorian Habano

Binder – Mexican San Andres

Filler – Nicaraguan

Website: www.Joyacigars.com

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 pints

  • William O’Connor, AKA Billy Kartwheels, is the Co-Captian of the Distinguished Ruffians NY Chapter. Billy has had an interesting life, going through college, being in the Navy and living on a submarine, he has visited 48 states (hitchhiking through 35) of them and even lived in a Hare Krishna monastery for some time. After having numerous brushes with death durring his travels he has decided it was best to take it easy and appreciate life to its fullest all while smoking a cigar at the same time. 

Joya Silver

Joya Silver ReviewI first heard about the Joya line (distributed by Drew Estate) in 2014 when a buddy of mine, at the smoke shop I frequented, tried to talk me into buying the Joya Red that had just been released. For some reason I was hesitant to try it, I don’t know what made me feel that way I just wasn’t interested so he gave me one and said “Just try it”. So it sat in my humidor staring at me for weeks every time I walked by asking me “Why don’t you want me?” Finally one day I knew I had a long drive so I grabbed because I knew I could give it some attention while smoking it. Half way into the cigar I called my friend to thank him for giving it to me because it was great and I don’t know why I took so long to smoke it. In 2016 when Black and Cabinetta were released they introduced two more great cigars to the line. Now here we are in 2018 and we have the release of the Joya Silver and when I was able to get my hands on one of each of the vitolas I was obviously excited to try it out.

Joya says “Silver is a box pressed cigar that delivers a dynamic complexity of fresh spice, chocolate and cherry notes. Its oscuro upper-priming wrapper showcases the perfect complement between the richness of the Nicaraguan fillers and the refined sweetness of the Ecuador grown wrapper and Mexican binder. The result is a medium to full body smoke that achieves an indulging

Joya Silver Review

This photo courtesy of @adw52pix

matching of flavors.”

 

Looking over the cigars it is an obvious box press, the wrapper is espresso in color and has a light oily sheen with some veining but is still fairly smooth to the touch. The seams are nice and tight and it feels firm between the fingers and does not yield much when pressure is applied.

The smell from body is very mild with light cedar notes and nuts. The smell from the foot has much greater odors including vanilla, hay, tobacco and dark chocolate. I’ve tried both cutting and punching the cap and found that for these a punch gives the best draw. With a punch the cold draw feels a bit snug but not so much so that it is unpleasant where as with a cut it felt a little too snug for my personal preference. The flavors are rich tobacco and sweet dried fruits.

The cigar lights with no issues and starts off burning evenly. It gives lots of smoke production that has a good weight on the tongue and the flavor is a mild earthy tone.

The first half of the cigar had a medium body flavor that reminded me of cured meats and white pepper. The burn remains even and the smoke production remains nice and heavy.

Joya Silver ReviewThe second half the cigar really begins to pick up it’s intensity and the flavors become fuller. There is a spicy sweet flavor mixed with leather that comes rushing to the front and finishes on black pepper. The flavor continues to grow throughout the remaining last half and finishes as a nice full bodied cigar. The smoke production is plentiful throughout the entire smoke and the burn is sharp and even without the need for re-lighting or touching up during smoking.

Considering all of the variety that Joya has offered since 2014 and the difference in their profiles I would have to say that this is the most complex and the most bold. Although it starts off a touch on the mild side by the time you reach the second half it really comes into its own and lets you know it’s there. With its full and intense flavor profile I wouldn’t recommend this to someone new to cigar smoking unless they started off liking a bold flavor. Because of it’s nature it can stand on it’s own with just a glass of sparkling water or could pair nicely with a scotch, bourbon or even coffee. Coming in at a very modest price point this could easily be added to your daily rotation without feeling a huge dent in your wallet. If you like a lot of flavor make sure you pick up a bunch of these Joya Silver you see them.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro

Binder: Mexican

Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitolas: Ultra 6 ¼ X 46, Toro 6 x52, Corona 5 ¼ x 42, Robusto 5 x50

Price: $6.30 – $7.80 per stick depending on size.

Website: http://joyacigars.com/

Rating: 4.7 out of 5 pints