Estelí, Nicaragua (May 21, 2012) — Today Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca and Sr. José Blanco officially announced the upcoming release of Joya de Nicaragua’s latest creation: “Cuenca y Blanco”. Medium in body, this full flavored blend is the first collaborative liga resulting from the exciting, new relationship between these two master cigar makers. Expertly crafted by hand, it reflects their joint efforts and symbolizes the embodiment of the marriage of their until now, separate cigar traditions.

Departing from Joya de Nicaragua’s traditional puros of all Nicaraguan tobaccos, the Cuenca y Blanco had been blended to be a cigar comprised of air-cured black tobaccos from four different countries of origin. This unique recipe is handmade with aged filler tobaccos including Habano Seed lead from Nicaragua’s Estelí Valley and the volcanic isle of Omtempe, Piloto Cubano from the La Canela region of the Dominican Republic and an aromatic visa from Peru’s famed Tarapoto region. The cigar is expertly finished in a beautiful Grade 1 Ecuador Habano wrapper. This complex blend is the fruit of nearly a year of ceaseless experimentation and has resulted in a very flavor smoke with a tantalizing aroma.

According to Sr. Blanco, Joya de Nicaragua’s Senior Vice President, “It is very exciting for me to make blends at a different factory and how accustomed to a new environment and their traditions. As many know, I have always been deeply fond of Nicaraguan tobaccos, but I am also very pleased to bring more origins, including my own Dominican heritage, to Joya de Nicaragua.” José adds, “The Cuenca y Blanco is a symphony of well balanced tobaccos creating a rich and complex smoke, with lots of flavor which I always find important and with a type of strength satisfying for most smokers.”

Joya de Nicaraga’s President and owner, Dr. Martínez Cuenca, says, “I see Cuenca y Blanco as the clear testimony of our vision of where we see ourselves in the future of premium cigar blending and manufacturing. The two of us, together with the rest of the Joya de Nicaragua family, put forth our best efforts to create this singular cigar blend that is balanced, flavorful, and intends to be judged not by its strength alone, but rather for the kind of pleasure it gives to every smoke that tries it.” He continues, “This cigar is the quintessential expression of how two minds, two experiences, and two origins worked together; each venturing off our traditional paths of only making Puro, to instead create what we feel is a masterpiece of a cigar of diverse tobaccos from many origins.”

Cuenca y Blanco will be available in 5 classic sizes: Corona Real 5 ½ x 46, Robusto Deluxe 5 ¼ x 50, Toro Supremo 6 x 54, Torpedo Especial 6 ¼ x 52 and Lonsdale Club 6 ½ x 44.

The initial production batch of Cuenca y Blanco will be released in the US market at the IPCPR 80th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Orlando in August 2012 and distributed by Drew Estate as part of its exclusive distribution agreement with Joya de Nicaragua. The brand will be introduced to the rest of the world beginning in January 2013 through Joya de Nicaragua’s International Marketing Division and distributors.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.