Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the traditional and prestigious Romeo y Julieta brand, which was created in the 1870s and whose cigar line was launched in 1875 by Asturian entrepreneurs Inocencio Álvarez and Manin Garcia.
Years later, Romeo y Julieta Cigars passed into the hands of another Spanish businessman, José “Pepín” Rodríguez Fernández, a wealthy and cultured businessman who decided to introduce his new brand of cigars to some of the most respected and wealthy citizens of America and Europe.
This early 20th century entrepreneur was the one who really catapulted the brand to become one of the most famous in the world, as he turned his company into a huge distribution company, and it is said that he even designed a collection of 20,000 customized cigar rings so that the fashionable and privileged could use his cigars as a status brand.
Many celebrities have undoubtedly smoked the vitolas of this brand, but the one who became a passionate taster was Sir Winston Churchill, who after his trip to the Cuban island in 1946 always smoked a vitola to which he gave his own name, the Romeo y Julieta Churchill, which is 178 millimeters long and has a 47 gauge, and it is said that he smoked more than 300,000 Habanos during his lifetime.
Today, the Romeo y Julieta brand is integrated as one of the six global brands distributed worldwide, with the presence of more than twenty vitolas (or formats) in Spanish cigar cellars, one of the widest ranges in the Habanos vitolario.
Today’s celebrities like Matthew Mcconaughey 1969, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Priece Brosnan, Bill Murray, Dany de Vito and even ladies like Sigourney Weaver or singer Rihanna are ardent followers of this brand’s Cuban cigars.
Romeo y Julieta cigars are characterized by a medium to medium-strong taste, classified as three out of five, with a wide variety of formats ranging from the Coronitas (117 x 40) to the famous Churchills (178 x 47), and always use tobaccos from the fine meadows of the Vuelta Abajo area in the province of Pinar del Río for their construction and twisting.
With compact ash, good burn and draw, the vitolas of this brand have some leaves with a red outer layer, called “carmelita” in the Cuban tobacco world, recalling the color of the habits of the monastic order of the same name.
For this Spring of 2024, I have selected four Habanos from this brand that characterize the different lines of the brand, such as the Classic, the Churchills, the Gold and a novelty that has just appeared in the cigar cellars of Spanish tobacconists catalogued as Habanos Specialists, such as the Romeo y Julieta Cupidos.
From the Classic Line, I have chosen the Coronitas en Cedro, which come in a tube and are wrapped in cedar foil inside the tube, while from the Churchills Line I have chosen the Short, one of the most popular formats among aficionados.
And for the Gold Line, which will be launched at the end of 2021, I have chosen a figurado called Nobles, while the last of the vitolas in this spring quartet is the Romeo y Julieta Cupidos, a very special and novel format that has only been on the market for a few weeks.
ROMEO Y JULIETA CORONITAS
Format: Length: 129 mm. Diameter: 15.87 mm. Strain: 40. Weight: 6,78 gr.
Tobacco: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba).
Before lighting: Color: light. Aroma: herbaceous.
Combustion: First third: soft in the beginning with woody notes. Second third: slight spiciness, very faint with spicy notes. Third third: strong flavors, some earth and maintains the medium strength.
Shot: No problems.
Ash: Medium-toned gray.
Commercial presentation: Boxes of 25 cigars.
Comment: Vitola de galera called Petit Cedros with a good balance of flavors and aromas, some notes of wood and spices and, in general, with medium strength, light weight and very easy to smoke in a short time.
Smoking time: 20/25 minutes
ROMEO Y JULIETA SHORT CHURCHILLS
Format: Length: 124 mm. Diameter: 20 mm. Strain: 50. Weight: 12,40 gr.
Tobacco: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba).
Before lighting: Color: red. Aroma: woody.
Combustion: First third: soft to start with good spice notes. Second third: some traces of white pepper (nothing aggressive) mixed with woody notes. Third third: tobacco notes increase, in good balance with the aromas.
Shot: Excellent.
Ash: Medium-toned gray.
Commercial presentation: Boxes of 25, 10 and packs of 3 cigars in tubes.
Comment: This Robustos de vitola de galera offers a rich and varied range of tobacco nuances in the middle of a medium strength blend (three out of five), during the tasting of which we can find all the attractions of a rich and uncomplicated Havana cigar.
Smoking time: 40/45 minutes
ROMEO Y JULIETA LÍNEA DE ORO NOBLES
Format: Length: 135 mm. Diameter: 22,22 mm. Strain: 56. Weight: 13,97 gr.
Tobacco: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba).
Before lighting: Color: light carmelite. Aroma: good.
Combustion: First third: moderate start with good presence of spices. Second third: notes of white pepper mixed with hints of wood. Third third: powerful flavors with increasing strength and a simple finish.
Shot: Perfect.
Ash: Medium-toned gray.
Commercial presentation: Lacquered cases of 20 cigars.
Comment: From the Triangulares galley vitola, the good proportion between its length and width gives us in this figurado some aspirations with great smoke density and very pleasant sensations for its smoking.
Smoking time: 55/60 minutes
ROMEO Y JULIETA CUPIDOS
Format: Length: 148 mm. Diameter: 21.83 mm. Strain: 55. Weight: 14,55 gr.
Tobacco: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba).
Before lighting: Color: light carmelite. Aroma: spicy.
Combustion: First third: strong hints of well-matured tobacco. Second third: hints of pepper, not too strong, along with earthy notes. Third third: woody notes with stronger flavors.
Shot: Excellent.
Ash: Light gray.
Commercial presentation: Boxes of 20 cigars.
Comment: Novel cigar of vitola de galera called Veronas with a penetrating taste of well-aged tobaccos and an evolution characterized by its medium to full strength without any edge in the mouth.
Smoking time: 60/65 minutes
