My Weekend Cigar Review: Merciless by Joya de Nicaragua

A Real Charmer (with Fangs)

Continuing my look at the three selections that comprise Famous Smoke Shop’s exclusive Raza Rara (“Rare Breed”) cigar series made by Joya de Nicaragua, this review spotlights the Merciless Habano Toro. Like the Carnage San Andrés Toro review I posted last week, Merciless has also undergone a slight tweak to its blend. For this line, the Merciless mascot is represented by a Cobra on the band, which may or may not symbolize the strength of this Habano-capped blend.

Why tweak? According to Famous’s Private Labels Purchasing Agent, Michael Klingerman, “We felt that the Raza Rara blends could use a little more refinement.” The other goal was to “capture the essence” of Joya-crafted cigars. In this regard, it was a nod to JDN’s talented blending team who were able to combine “refined smoothness with bold richness” for all three Raza Rara lines.

Cigar Details:

Factory: Joya de Nicaragua – Estelí, Nicaragua
Size: 6x50
Body & Strength: Full
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

Presented in bundles of 10

Merciless by Joya de Nicaragua Cigar Review

The color of the Habano wrapper was even throughout with an impressive oily texture and a slightly bumpy cap. The length of the cigar was evenly firm, and aroma-wise, the wrapper offered a slight grassiness, with a sweeter aroma at the base. After cutting, the cigar had an excellent draw with an earthy and herbal prelight flavor.

The cigar lit well and fairly quickly issued a peppery opening chord. As my Toro began to settle in, the smoke acquired an earthiness with some underlying spice. Burn-wise, the ash was chalky gray in color and pretty flaky.

By the first inch, the cigar began to develop a nice smoothness, more flavor, and medium strength. Some natural sweetness came through along with a nutmeg aroma arose. A few random retrohales were smooth through the nose but offered no specific flavors.

Somewhere between inches two and three, the cigar got a little sweeter, and in an unusual turn of events, I picked up a floral taste.

At the midpoint, the smoke was medium-plus in body, more full in strength, and continued to smoke smoothly. The flavors tended to be more on the subtle side; subtle earth, subtle sweetness, and subtle spice, but no pepper. However, that floral note was still standing, including nutmeg and a hint of saltiness.

The last two inches were mostly a continuation of the middle section but with much more intensity, while the smoothness encouraged me to hang on a little longer.

Was Merciless Weekend Worthy?

Compared to the Carnage San Andrés, the Merciless Habano Toro was a little grittier and a bit stronger. The cigar smoked smoothly throughout and burned well, but at times it seemed like there was more aroma to latch onto than flavor. To put it another way, the cigar had some of flavors I enjoy, but I was hoping for a little more. With its earthy layer driving most of the flavor profile, the accompanying flavors seemed to get lost in the sauce. As for the overall performance of the cigar, there was no question about that.

On a blend comparison basis, the Habano-capped Joya Red, which happens to be a personal favorite, might come closest, but the Red is much sweeter. Otherwise, the Merciless Habano is tailor-made for bargain hunters who want a full-flavored, Nicaraguan-forward blend at a sweet price.

Please Note: Gary’s review was based on his experience and that your mileage may vary.