Nicoya cigars made their debut at this years IPCPR with two introductory blends; Nicoya Robusto Medio and Nicoya Robusto Fuerte. The company is owned and operated by Gerard Hayes, a man from down under, complete with the Australian accent and a desire to produce a fine cigar. Gerard searched out the best in the business and settled on Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. to manufacture his blends and I have to say that was a good choice.
I sat down with my Stogie Press Colleague, Alton Otto, the other night and we fired up a couple of the Nicoya Robusto Fuerte cigars to see what Gerard has to offer. We decided to post the review live on Facebook and included the 4 Facebook videos at the end of this article for your viewing enjoyment.
The Nicoya Robusto Fuerte come in just one vitola,a 5 x 52 robusto. The blend is complex and consists of tobaccos throughout Nicaragua:
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
- Filler: Criollo Ligero, Ometepe and Jalapa Viso, Condega Seco
Cigar Review Notes
- Beautiful reddish-brown, smooth wrapper
- Band is simple look at with the letter “N” centered in a purple background
- Hay, cocoa, pepper, and sweet fermented leaf on the nose
- Chocolate on cold draw with a tinge of pepper on the lips
- Pepper blast upon lighting
- Nice burn with full smoke volume
- Pepper builds through the first inch ,opens the nasals well
- Medium grey ash
- Touch of sweet cocoa breaks in
- Nut shows up after inch
- Medium body
- Creamy smoke
- Red pepper on the tongue
- Ash dropped after first third
- Baking spice enters
- Spicy nut aroma
- Flavors are blending well around the halfway point
- Grapefruit citrus note appears much like a fine India Pale Ale
- Spice continues in the background
- The final third bring in a mix of sea salt, leather, and a hint of cocoa
- Medium to Full Strength
- Band is applied tightly so it is hard to remove (be careful)
- Just over an hour smoke
Review Videos
Overall this is a fine introduction by Nicoya Cigars. If you like pepper and spice this is a cigar you would want to try. Alton noted that at the price point of $12.00 each it is worthy of a box split for sure. We both enjoyed the complexity of flavors that it delivered and look forward to samping the Nicoya Robusto Medio. Nice work Gerard!!
Nicoya Robusto Fuerte