Joya de Nicaragua Cigars: The Complete Guide — A Day with Nicaragua's First Cigar House

By Michel Besson, Fine Cigars Club — written after a full day with Joya de Nicaragua in Estelí, January 2026

Some cigar companies have history. Joya de Nicaragua is history — the country's first premium cigar brand, born in 1968, and a company whose story is so entangled with Nicaragua's own that you cannot tell one without the other: the White House, a dictator, a revolution, a factory burned and bombed and then rebuilt by its own workers. In January 2026 I was hosted for a full day by Joya de Nicaragua in Estelí — by Juan Martínez, the company's president; Mario Pérez, the factory manager; and Rudy Ruiz, the master roller — a day that began with coffee and a cigar in the boardroom and ended, remarkably, at dinner with Steve Saka. This guide is written from that day, and from the extraordinary history I was told over it.

The History of Joya de Nicaragua: The Jewel of Nicaragua

First, the name. Joya is often mistaken for the English "joy," but it means "jewel" — so Joya de Nicaragua is the Jewel of Nicaragua. It is a fitting name for the cigar that put the country on the map.

1968: the first Nicaraguan cigar

After Castro's revolution and the subsequent US embargo on Cuban cigars in the early 1960s, the world's finest tobacco men scattered — and some looked to Nicaragua, whose soil and climate held Cuban promise. In 1968, Cuban émigrés founded the country's first premium cigar factory in Estelí, originally as the Nicaragua Cigar Co., and created its flagship brand: Joya de Nicaragua. It was the first premium handmade cigar ever to come out of Nicaragua — the beginning of an entire industry that today rivals Cuba itself. Every Nicaraguan cigar brand you know came after Joya.

The White House, and a dictator

Joya's rise was meteoric. As American smokers, cut off from Cuba, searched for an alternative, Nicaraguan cigars filled the gap — and Joya de Nicaragua became the official cigar of the White House under Presidents Nixon and Ford. The most famous story of all — one I heard retold in the boardroom — is of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle visiting Nixon at the White House, being offered a cigar, and discovering to his astonishment that the box was full of cigars from his own country.

Somoza saw the opportunity. Using political pressure — the company had outstanding loans — he manoeuvred his way into owning some 75% of the company, turning the Jewel of Nicaragua into an instrument of his own diplomacy, its cigars handed out at his events.

Revolution: the factory burned and bombed

That association with Somoza nearly destroyed the company. As the Sandinista revolution against the Somoza dictatorship reached its climax in the late 1970s, Nicaragua descended into civil war — and the Joya factory, seen as a Somoza asset, became a target. During the uprising the factory was set on fire. On another occasion, in the chaos of the fighting, Somoza's own air force bombed the factory, believing it was harbouring Sandinista fighters. Cigar Aficionado's account of Estelí in those days — Sherman tanks in the streets, helicopters over a burning city — reads like a war film, because it was a war.

When the Somoza dynasty finally fell in 1979, the new Sandinista government nationalised the company along with the rest of the tobacco industry. Through all of it — fire, bombs, nationalisation — the remarkable thing is that Joya survived at all. It survived because its own workers rebuilt the factory and kept production going in temporary sites. That is not a marketing story; it is what actually happened.

Rebirth: Antaño, and the modern era

The company was eventually re-privatised, and came into the hands of Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, who spent three years negotiating to buy the Joya de Nicaragua trademark back (it had been sold off during the turmoil), and in 2005 renamed the company Joya de Nicaragua. To honour the brand's origins he created Antaño 1970 — a cigar built to capture "the good old days," and today one of the most respected full-bodied Nicaraguan cigars in the world.

Now led by Juan Martínez — my host for the day — Joya de Nicaragua carries its extraordinary legacy forward with two families of cigars: the traditional line (Antaño, Clásico, Cuatro Cinco — classic full-bodied Nicaraguan puros) and the modern JOYA line (Red, Black, Cabinetta — designed for a contemporary palate). Fifty-plus years on, the Jewel of Nicaragua is exported to more than fifty countries, still made in Estelí, still the standard-bearer of the industry it founded.

A Full Day with Joya de Nicaragua

To be hosted by a company's president, factory manager and master roller for an entire day is a rare privilege — and it made the history feel present, because it was told to me in the very place it happened.

Coffee, a cigar, and the story

We began in the boardroom over coffee and a cigar — a Número Uno L'Ambassadeur, Joya's elegant lonsdale, a fitting cigar to start with given its diplomatic name and the brand's White House history — while Juan and the team presented the story of the brand. To hear the tale of the fire, the bombing and the rebuilding from the people who now carry the company is something no amount of reading can replace.

The rolling floor, and the crafts around it

Then to the rolling floor and the facilities around it, where Joya's cigars are made the traditional Cuban way. Mario Pérez, the factory manager, walked me through the details — including deveining the binder, stripping the tough central vein from the leaf by hand so it rolls cleanly and burns evenly.

I saw the crafts that surround the roll and are so easily overlooked: the humidification of the wrappers before rolling, bringing the delicate leaf to exactly the right suppleness; the drying room for the fillers; and the quality control before rolling, where leaves are matched so that every cigar in a box shares the same shade and character.

I also met Rudy Ruiz, Joya's master roller (master torcedor), who later gave us a rolling masterclass — the chance to watch true mastery up close, hands that have made hundreds of thousands of cigars moving with an economy that only decades bring.

Lunch, and a blending masterclass

The family hosted us for lunch, and then came the part I had most looked forward to: an afternoon cigar-blending masterclass led by Juan Martínez himself. To sit with the president of the company and learn how the components of a blend — the volado, seco and ligero fillers, the binder, the wrapper — each contribute strength, combustion, aroma and flavour, and then to try building a blend yourself, is the finest education in cigars there is. You come away understanding that a great cigar is a piece of composition, not a formula.

A surprise on the volcano, and dinner with a legend

Then the surprise. We were taken to the Reserva Natural Tisey-La Estanzuela — a nature reserve with stunning views over Nicaragua's volcanoes — for late-afternoon rum tasting and snacks as the light went down. It is the kind of hospitality that tells you how a company sees its guests: not as buyers, but as friends.

The day ended over dinner with Steve Saka — the founder of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and one of the most respected figures in the modern cigar world — a fitting close to a day spent among the people who make Nicaraguan cigars great.

What Defines the Joya de Nicaragua Taste

Joya de Nicaragua makes two broad families, and it helps to know the difference.

The traditional line — Antaño, Clásico, Cuatro Cinco — is classic Nicaraguan puro: made entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco, and famously full-bodied, rich and powerful. The Antaño in particular is one of the strongest, most flavour-packed cigars in the country — deep espresso, black pepper, earth, cedar and dark spice, a cigar for the experienced smoker who wants intensity done with balance.

The modern JOYA line — Red, Black, Cabinetta — is designed for a broader, sometimes younger palate, and can bring in tobaccos from other origins: Cabinetta is the mildest and creamiest, Red a smooth medium-bodied everyday cigar, and Black a more complex, sophisticated medium-to-full smoke.

Across both, what unites Joya is the thing the whole visit made clear: this is a house that has been perfecting Nicaraguan tobacco longer than anyone else in the country, and it shows in the balance and refinement of the cigars.

The Joya de Nicaragua Range We Stock

We carry genuine Joya de Nicaragua cigars, including the elegant Número Uno line.

Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Torpedo

The gentlest way in, and a piece of history in its own right. The Clásico Torpedo pairs a silky Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler for a mild, woody, delicate profile. The Clásico's original blend was the very first Nicaraguan puro ever exported from the country — and Joya remains the only brand ever officially recognised as Nicaragua's national cigar. A European best-seller, and a refined introduction to Nicaraguan tobacco.

Joya de Nicaragua Número Uno L'Ambassadeur

The cigar I began my day with. The Número Uno L'Ambassadeur is an elegant, refined lonsdale — a European-styled Joya with a Rosado Colorado wrapper, medium-to-full, offering cedar, pepper, coffee and a polished complexity. A diplomatic cigar in every sense, and a beautiful expression of the house.

Joya de Nicaragua Cinco de Cinco Corona Extra

Made to mark the brand's 55th anniversary, and the fullest of the three. The Cinco de Cinco Corona Extra wears an ultra-vintage Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler, soft box-pressed for an easy draw. The blend was developed over hundreds of sessions with aficionados and experts, chasing five out of five for both profile and complexity: full flavour at medium strength, rich with earth, cocoa and dark chocolate.

You can browse the full range on our Joya de Nicaragua collection page.

Which Joya de Nicaragua Should You Choose?

If you're new to the brand — the Clásico Torpedo, mild and silky under Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade, and descended from the first Nicaraguan puro ever exported.

If you want elegance and refinement — the Número Uno L'Ambassadeur, the polished, European-styled lonsdale.

If you want the fullest we stock — the Cinco de Cinco Corona Extra, San Andrés-wrapped and blended for the brand's 55th anniversary.

If you want the powerhouse — seek out the Antaño line, one of the boldest, richest full-bodied Nicaraguan puros made anywhere.

If you want something smoother or milder — the modern JOYA Red (medium) or Cabinetta (mild and creamy) lines.

If you love Nicaraguan cigars at all — you owe it to yourself to smoke the brand that started it. Those who enjoy Joya should also read our first-hand guides to the other great Estelí houses — My Father, Padrón and Oliva — and our account of the wider Nicaragua TOR Tour 2026.

How to Spot Genuine Joya de Nicaragua Cigars

• Buy from a reputable source. We source our Joya de Nicaragua through official channels — genuine stock, correctly stored.
• Check bands and construction. Genuine Joya cigars are superbly made with crisp, well-printed bands. Suspiciously cheap examples are the commonest sign of a fake.
• Know the lines. Antaño/Clásico/Cuatro Cinco are the full-bodied traditional puros; JOYA Red/Black/Cabinetta are the modern range; Número Uno is the refined European-styled line.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Joya de Nicaragua" mean? It means "the Jewel of Nicaragua." Joya is Spanish for "jewel" — it is often mistaken for the English word "joy," but the correct translation is jewel. It is a fitting name for the cigar that founded the country's cigar industry.

Why is Joya de Nicaragua historically important? Joya de Nicaragua, founded in 1968 in Estelí, was the first premium handmade cigar brand ever made in Nicaragua — the beginning of the entire Nicaraguan cigar industry. Every other Nicaraguan brand came after it. It also became the official cigar of the Nixon and Ford White House, making Nicaraguan cigars famous as an alternative to Cuban.

Is it true the factory was bombed? Yes. During the Sandinista revolution against the Somoza dictatorship in the late 1970s, the Joya factory — associated with Somoza, who had taken a controlling stake — was set on fire, and on another occasion bombed by Somoza's own air force, which believed it was harbouring Sandinista fighters. The company survived because its workers rebuilt the factory. It was nationalised after 1979 and later re-privatised.

Are Joya de Nicaragua cigars strong? It depends on the line. The traditional line — especially Antaño — is very full-bodied, rich and powerful, one of the strongest Nicaraguan puros made. The modern JOYA line ranges from mild (Cabinetta) through medium (Red) to a more complex medium-to-full (Black). The Número Uno is a refined medium-to-full.

Who runs Joya de Nicaragua today, and where is it made? The company is led by Juan Martínez and is still based in Estelí, Nicaragua, where its cigars are made from Nicaraguan tobacco in the traditional Cuban style. It exports to more than fifty countries. I was hosted at the Estelí factory by Juan Martínez (president), Mario Pérez (factory manager) and Rudy Ruiz (master roller) in January 2026.

What is the Antaño line? Antaño (including Antaño 1970 and Antaño Dark Corojo) was created to capture the character of Joya's "good old days." It is a full-bodied Nicaraguan puro — rich, powerful and packed with flavour — and is regarded as one of the classic strong Nicaraguan cigars.

Explore our full range of Joya de Nicaragua cigars, read our first-hand guides to My Father, Padrón and Oliva, and our Nicaragua TOR Tour 2026 account, or browse our flagship Cuban guides to Cohiba, Montecristo and Partagás.