The next cigar I am going to try as part of my cigar challenge is from the Romeo y Julieta cigar brand. I will be smoking the Romeo y Julieta Piramide Anejados.
The stats:
Length: 6 1/8″
Ring Gauge: 52
Strength: Medium
Country of origin: Cuba
Cost: £29.70 @ The Backy Shop
Background:
The Romeo y Julieta is possibly one or the most well known Cuban cigar brands out there (after the Cohiba of course).
It all began in 1875 by Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia who took the name from Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of the same name, Romeo and Juliette.
In the early days, Romeo Y Julieta cigars won numerous tasting awards, their logo reflects this, displaying a number of gold medals that were awarded to the brand.
The brand gained significant importance after being acquired by Jose Pepin Rodriguez Fernandez, who was the former head of Cabanas factory in Havana.
Interestingly our British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill favoured Romeo y Julieta cigars. In recognition of this, the brand named one of their vitola’s the ‘Churchill’ in his honour.
Following the Cuban revolution and the nationalization of the cigar industry, the brand was moved to its current location in La Romana, Dominican Republic. But Cuba still maintains the rights to the Cuba version and it continues to manufacture them till date.
Romeo y Julieta produce over 40 different shapes and sizes, some are considered the very best of their class. Having so many different sizes and shapes and keeping up with a worldwide, high demand of these great cigars, it is extremely impressive that they still continue to produce some of the finest quality cigars to this day.
My experience:
I am a massive fan of a Romeo y Julietta cigar, even buying a couple of boxes of these cigars for my smoking pleasure. I am an absolute fan of the Wide Churchill, for me it is a quality cigar at the perfect size and strength.
That moment when I open a box of Romeo y Julieta feels very special. It sounds crazy when I think about it, but the amount of effort that a box of these excellent cigars has been through to get to where it is, absolutely fascinates me.
This cigar looks stunning, much larger than the Wide Churchill.
The cigar band looks absolute quality. The Piramide Anejados has two cigar bands, the first with traditional Cuban colours e.g. red, gold and white with the words Romeo y Julieta Desde 1875 followed by Habana, Cuba. The second band has the words Anejados which means ‘aged’ followed by Habana, Cuba.
According to CGars Ltd…
‘The Romeo y Julieta Anejados cigars have been box aged for between 5 to 8 years in the perfect humidity conditions of Cuba. This will afford the cigars a mellower, more refined taste as the blend of the leaves meld together over time realising their full potential.’
Upon cutting the cap and lighting this cigar I get cedar and leather flavour notes. This stays consistent throughout. A quality smoke with a beautiful aroma.
This cigar feels quite mellow with it’s medium strength.
My rating: 7.5 out of 10. A Wide Churchill beats this hands down as one of my favourite Cuban cigars still,
Next up… a Saint Luis Rey!
London Cigar Smoker 