Cigar Aficionado

Joya de Nicaragua has changed the name of its new Cuenca y Blanco cigar to CyB by Joya de Nicaragua. The name change is intended to stop potential trademark conflicts with other cigar brands bearing similar names.

While the packaging, boxes and bands on the cigars will be changed, the cigars themselves will remain the same, made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Estelí from a blend of Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Dominican and Ecuadoran tobaccos.

"We did not realize there was any potential conflict over the name, otherwise we never would have used it to begin with,” said Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, owner and president of Joya de Nicaragua.

“It is never our intention to imitate others and rather than waste energy in a possibly long, drawn out legal dispute, simply changing it resolves any issue. I want our efforts focused solely on the working tobaccos, maintaining the quality of our cigars and satisfying our customers. Our industry is facing much more relevant challenges today that demand our united and collective efforts,” continued Cuenca.

José Blanco, the senior vice president of Joya de Nicaragua and the “B” in CyB, said, “All of us are extremely proud of CyB… We may have changed the name, but the jewel we have created continues to be exactly the same.”

Cigar Insider conducted a vertical brand tasting of the CyB brand (then called Cuenca y Blanco) in the September 25 issue. Two of the five cigars scored 90 points, and the brand scored an average of 88.8 points.

The first shipments of the cigars bearing the new bands and new packaging will leave Nicaragua this week, and should begin arriving in the United States sometime in mid-October.