La Jugada Prieto robusto (5x50) by Moya Ruiz cigar co.

I was contacted by Nelson and Danny about trying their new line from Moya Ruiz Cigars called the La Jugada Prieto. Of course my answer was heck yeah I would love to try them. I unfortunately had a sinus infection when these arrived and had to let them sit in this humidor longer than I wanted to before lighting one up. It took a little over four weeks, 2 shots in my behind, and a round of antibiotics but finally I was able to breath and taste again. It was torture looking at these on the top shelf of my glass top humidor, knowing if I did light one up I would taste nothing. The Moya Ruiz line is being produced in Erik Espinosa's factory named La Zona in Esteli, Nicaragua. The name means "the play" or "the move" and refers to their love of dominoes. But on to what you came here for, the meat and taters of the cigar. This is one of the most attractive cigars I have ever seen. The bands color scheme looks awesome against the dark Maduro wrapper.

The dark, oily Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper house a Nicaraguan binder and filler. There were only very small veins and near invisible seams and the body was firm with very little give. The body offered notes of barnyard and light hints of manure and the foot offered notes of barnyard and hay with a touch of sweetness. I clipped the cap with my trusty Xikar Xi cutter and found the cold draw to be perfect. I used my single flame torch to toast the foot and get things going with no problems.

The initial third explodes with tons of dark flavorful goodness. Notes of dark chocolate jump out front, complimented by a nice black pepper and mild maduro sweetness. The finish is very long and has a nuttiness to it. There is a mild spicy tingle that lingers on the back of the tongue and the spice on the retrohale was perfect.

The dark chocolate and black pepper have developed nicely going into the second third. Shortly after starting the second third, notes of coffee and leather join the mix as the dark chocolate starts to fade. The mild spicy tingle is starting to spread to my throat as the sweetness kicks up just a notch to help balance the spice. The flavors have become more rich and the smoke has become more creamy.

The final third didn't see the addition of any new flavors, just the way the others presented themselves. Each puff brought a different flavor to the foreground and in a different intensity. The dark chocolate did move further into the background but was still present through the final third.

The La Jugada is a hit in my book. Excellent construction, full of great flavors, fair amount of complexity, and beautiful presentation. If you haven't had one of these yet, I recommend getting your hands on some. Brad over at cigarstix is now carrying these for around 8 bucks a stick, which is about right for this flavorful stick. I hate I had to wait so long to enjoy one of these but the wait was worth it. Thanks to Nelson Ruiz and Danny Moya for the samples smoked for this review. You guys have a high quality flavor bomb on your hands that is definitely box-worthy. I look forward to seeing what new blends will these guys will out out next. You can find Moya Ruiz cigars on twitter and on facebook.