I believe I have sampled each vitola of this line, several times over.  For the purposes of this review (and to facilitate comparison to my earlier review of the Celebración) I smoked the Churchill, a 6-7/8 x 48 stick which cost me $6.59 in Michigan's tax-inflated market.  I do not believe the Churchill vitola was included in the original release in 2002, which (if memory serves me) was limited to very large ring-gauge cigars.

My Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 Churchill was a beautiful stick to behold.  It was topped by a neat, pretty cap and its dark, oily, rosy-brown wrapper seemed good enough to eat.  The unlit cigar exuded an attractive, earthy aroma.  The stick felt firm, solid and heavy in my hand.

Upon lighting the cigar I was struck by that familiar Joya kick-in-the-pants strength.  But it immediately provided excellent flavor and had a nice, smooth draw.  Wow -- I was immersed in incredible strength but with refinement and flavor.

After five minutes the smoke had settled down, but was still extremely full-bodied.  The intense flavor profile was full and complex, dominated perhaps by Spanish cedar.  At fifteen minutes the cedar was joined by ... was it vanilla?  Its full-bodied character did not overpower.  However, this Antaño certainly did get my adrenaline pumping.

At 20 minutes I removed an inch of ash.  The smoke was thick, viscous, flavorful and almost chewy in texture.  At thirty minutes I noted that it had been quite consistent for some time: rich, intense and commanding.  The finish was now developing, providing some pleasant cedar notes.  The flavor could at this point have been described as existing in a tension between refined strength and balanced complexity.

At 45 minutes I ashed another inch.  My wife commented on the paradoxical mildness of the aroma.  This was definitely a smoker's cigar.  The finish was now building, and the flavor was delightfully tasty, perhaps somewhat sweeter now.  I was in cigar nirvana.

Demanding and rewarding after 55 minutes, half the stick had turned to ash.  This smoke was undeniably relaxing despite its overwhelming fullness.  Delighted and invigorated, I was enveloped in a thick cocoon of strength and flavor.  At an hour and five minutes the cigar was becoming even fuller, if that were possible.  The finish was now incredibly cedary and lingering.

At an hour and 15 minutes I ashed again, slightly longer (c. 1-3/8"), and noted that I was starting to feel a little nicotine.  The Antaño was beginning to develop a pleasant minty character within the flavor profile, which was becoming even fuller yet.  I smiled and receded further into my leather easy chair, enveloped in dense, flavorful smoke as if it were a thick, warm blanket.

Strong and demanding at an hour and a half, the cigar had become so strong that the nicotine was definitely noticeable.  Nevertheless I was still savoring the now-two-inch-long stick.  But alas! at an hour and 45 minutes I had no choice but to abandon the cigar.  It was still smokable but just too strong -- yes, even for me.  I consoled myself by concentrating on the incredibly long, satisfying finish.

Needless to say, the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 line is one of my very favorites.  The Churchill is fairly representative of the line, and is an incredible smoke -- another must-try.  I heartily declare it to be highly recommended.