Joya de Nicaragua Brings Revamped Clásico To U.S. Market
Nicaragua’s oldest premium cigar brand is back in the U.S.A. Half a century after Joya de Nicaragua debuted its first cigar, the company has released a repackaged version of Clásico, its core brand that dates back to 1968.
The original Joya de Nicaragua was renamed Clásico in 2001 when the company released Antaño 1970, its first major brand extension since Dr. Alejandro Martínez-Cuenca purchased Joya de Nicaragua in 1998. The Nicaraguan cigar company, which is still owned by Martínez-Cuenca, is re-releasing Clásico in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
The cigars began shipping this month and are sold exclusively through Casa de Montecristo and JR Cigars. According to Juan Martínez, executive president of Joya de Nicaragua, Clásico is the company’s best-selling cigar in Europe and South America.
Clásico is rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, at Fabrica Joya de Nicaragua S.A. It wears a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador over Nicaraguan binder and filler. The blend will be offered on the U.S. market in six sizes: Churchill, measuring 6 7/8 inches by 48 ring gauge; Toro, 6 by 50; Consul, 4 1/2 by 52; Torpedo, 6 by 52; Número 6, 6 by 41; and Señorita, 5 1/2 by 42. Clásico retails between $7.00 and $9.50 per cigar.
The redesigned packaging pays tribute to the history of the storied brand. The cigars are affixed with bands sporting a retro Joya de Nicaragua logo and are packed into traditional wooden boxes of 25. On the inside lid, a print depicting Nicaraguan tobacco farmers closely resembles the images that have appeared on previous iterations of the Clásico brand.
Clásico, like all Joya de Nicaragua cigars, is distributed in the United States by Drew Estate.
Read more about the history of Joya de Nicaragua in the August issue of Cigar Aficionado, on newsstands July 10.
