Romeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 1 ISOM Review
JonathanE
Posts: 401 ✭
Yesterday my wife and I would have celebrated our 5th Anniversary but she is in Texas and I am in Hell so that didnt work out. Since I am in a foreign country and we are not together, I decided to commemorate the day by smoking an illegal cigar named after a couple of fools who blew up their shot at living the ultimate love story. Hah! My wife and I are just like Romeo and Juliet in that we are completely in love with one another and all the more so after five years but we are also their opposites at the same time. When two independently happy people get married, the happiness compounds! When two lame people get into an obligate symbiotic relationship because the other person makes them happy, things work great! At least until the symbiotic equilibrium breaks down. Then they kill themselves! I chose to smoke the Remoeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 1 on our anniversary in mockery of Romeo and Juliets famously irrational decisions. {B-)
(BTW, if any of you go Shakespeare on me and tell me I missed the point of the story, dont expect a response fair warning!)
Anyway, the cigar. The history of the Romeo y Julieta brand begins in 1875 Cuba in care of Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia. As early as 1885, the young company had begun winning accolades at various tasting exhibitions and, by 1900, had won a number of gold medals which are still displayed on the production cigar band today.
In 1903 the brand was acquired by Rodríguez, Argüelles y Cia., the firm of Jose Pepin Rodriguez Fernandez and evolved to become the luxury cigar brand of the day. Sir Winston Churchill was one of the brands more notable champions and Rodriguez named his flagship vitola in Churchills honor.
Rodriguez death in 1954 signaled the decline of the brands worldwide dominance and, in 1960, Uncle Fidel delivered the coup de grâce by nationalizing the Cuban cigar industry, forcing the brand owners to relocate to La Romana of the Dominican Republic. The company that currently owns the transplanted Romeo y Julieta, Altadis SA, still manufactures a cigar under the original label.
I find it very interesting that the only legitimate claim against the true lineage of the Romeo y Julieta brand that the nationalized Cuban company has is that their cigars are grown in the same dirt as were the original Romeo y Julieta cigars between 1875 and 1960. The rest of the original brands DNA exfiltrated communist Cuba in search of greener tobacco. If you want to smoke a REAL Romeo y Julietta cigar, not a stolen fake, get it from the Dominican. I smoked a ***!
(Interestingly, as of 2000, Altadis SA owns a 50% share of the Cuban state tobacco monopoly, Habanos SA. I suppose this purchase equates to adoption and de-bastardizes the Cuban produced Romeo y Julietta line? You be the judge.)
The Romeo No. 1 is a pleasingly sized Cuban puro corona at 5.5 inches with a 40 ring gauge. I burned it for 63 minutes which was longer than I expected but that may have had something to do with its tight draw. It wasnt tight enough to cause a problem but it definitely slowed things down.
The flavor opened up with an earthy note and toasty creaminess. I didnt think I would ever put those three tastes together at once! but, dont get me wrong, it was a very good blend. I didnt notice any real changes or increased complexity before the flavor transitioned near the end to include a slight touch of cedary bitterness. Throughout the entire smoke there was a consistent spiced/herbal retro hale to enjoy as desired.
My final impression was what I typically get from a good, average cigar. I think this particular blend has a lot to gain from some aging as it didnt seem to be quite fully married with itself but it was a great smoke nonetheless. I scored it a 73. My current overall average cigar rating is a 78. JDE
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"Any cigar smoker is friend, because I know how he feels." Alfred de Musset
"A fine cigar is just like a woman. If you don't light it up just right and suck on it with a certain frequency, it will go out on you." Unknown
“A pipe is to the troubled soul what caresses of a mother are for her suffering child.” Indian Proverb
And now I have to admit to not looking at the box codes even though I easily could have. I was trying to be sensitive to the other people who were with me who did not appreciate the jackpot I had just found!
JDE
JDE
I will be reviewing all eight of the Cubans you see in the pic. I will be posting the second one later on today. The "Montecristo" brand has a great story behind it just like the RyJ does. Y'all should enjoy...
JDE