Romeo Y Julieta 1875 (Habana)

Size: 5.5 x 52 Torpedo (Campana)

Body: Mild

Price: ??

Country of Origin: Habana, Cuba

Due to the mellifluent and kind gesture of my Face Book pal, Matt Speranza, I have a few Cuban cigars in which to review and enjoy.

I am going to do 3 of the reviews in one. And then I am going to finish the reviews with the filthiest rock n roll story you’ve ever heard.

The sniff presents mild graham cracker and ginger with a tad bit of vanilla.

Construction is excellent with an almost vein free wrapper. The color is a tawny brown. The belicoso cap is very well done. Seams are a bit loose, but then, so are mine.

Now the RYJ is a mild tasting, yet flavorful, cigar. So I light it up to see what we shall see.

Initially, I get a very mild tobacco flavor with just the hint of spice. That is followed by the graham cracker and vanilla. The stick begins to quickly pick up some character and dashing away from the slight blandness at the beginning.

The burn is a bit erratic..like the hair on my forehead. And as it hits the 1” mark, the burn line seems like it’s going to need my help…but lo and behold, it corrects itself.

At the end of the first third, the flavors expand nicely are well balanced and earthy. Smoke pours from the foot. That little iota of spice makes the cigar a perfect balance for something so mild in strength.

At the halfway point, the flavors gain a complexity that I hadn’t expected. A sweet tobacco flavor, a mild cocoa component, some baking spices, and black pepper.

As the cigar enters the last third, a load of creaminess enters the flavor profile. It enhances the cocoa nicely.

The last third is just goddam delicious. I rarely smoke mild body cigars because most blenders don’t know how to combine power with flavor. This cigar is spot on..and even though considered mild in body, this last couple of inches ramps up the power to a nice medium as a flourish and good-bye.

Clearly, I can’t recommend this in the usual way as it was gifted to me by buddy, Matt. But I can say that poor Cuban torecedores and blenders did a wonderful job and it was a real pleasure to have smoked it. Thanks Matt.

Montecristo Petit Edmundo (Habana, Cuba)

Size: 4.125 x 52

Body: Full

Country of Origin: Habana, Cuba

Right off the bat, this cigar has a bona fide breeding cup. Cigar Aficionado gave it a 94 in 2007. And it was also called one of “Cuba’s Stars” in that same magazine.

Construction is near flawless save for a few veins. It has an absolutely flawless cap.

I sniff away and basically get strong tobacco aroma without any impediments.

I punch the cap but I get tremendous resistance and am afraid I will crack it so I go to my ice pick tool and twist it in about ½”. The cap is as hard as a rock. And in doing so, crack the wrapper around the hole.

As it turns out, the entire cigar is like a rock. The draw is terrible. I decide I must be cruel to be kind and force the ice pick in even further which distresses the wrapper even more. The plug seems to run the entire length of the cigar. I try using the pick on the ash but even the ash is like obsidian. Now I am really frustrated.

Success! But I have cracked the wrapper all the way down to the band.

My photos ain’t going to be pretty. But at least now, I can smoke it.

The sinking feeling that this cigar may be a total loss looms in front of me. There is still a plug between both holes I made with the ice pick. And the wrapper isn’t getting any better.

Fuck it. I push the pick in the entire way virtually destroying the cigar. No amount of cigar glue will fix this. Air streams from the wrapper making it impossible to draw on…it sounds like a whistle.

I give up and this was the cigar I was most looking forward to smoking.

Time to move on…

Cohiba Esplendido (Habana, Cuba)

Size: 7 x 47

Body: Medium

Price: $30

Country of Origin: Habana, Cuba

This is a beautiful cigar….a light tan with a few veins. An oily sheen. A flawless triple cap.

Sniffing around shows off graham cracker, honey, and strong earthiness.

With great trepidation, I punch and light. Perfect draw…what a relief!

Loads of woodiness enter and dance around my palate. The cigar starts off right at medium in body. The burn line is a bit erratic so my fingers are crossed. I would prefer not to touch up anything after what I went through on the Montecristo.

An inch in, I get some nice red pepper. It mixes with some lovely creaminess. I am forced to touch up the foot.

The first third is unremarkable. The flavors from early on continue to escalate and seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. The draw becomes a bit more difficult…but not untenable.

Then at the halfway point, a French vanilla enters the profile. It tames the woodiness by adding creaminess.

The cigar burns very slowly and I will come back to it.

As the second half melts away, the power moves up. Now we’re talking. The red pepper is the most prevalent flavor with the milder, earlier flavors following in lock step.

Like most smokers, we associate a dark maduro or an Ecuadorian wrapper for a strong cigar. So this caught me off guard with its cute Bambi-like appearance. Those wily Cubans.

The last third is running on all cylinders and is the surprise of the three cigars. The creaminess of the vanilla is gorgeous. The spiciness has my sinuses wide open.

Clearly, the torcedore did a wonderful job on this stick. But at the going rate of $20-$30 a stick, I expect the best. And I’m digging this cigar.

Well, there you have it. Three of the biggest, and oldest, names of Cuban cigars in a nutshell.

I would have loved to have the option of smoking a second cigar as the odds of the same problems occurring would be close to zilch. But this was fun and I want to thank Matteo Speranza once more for his kindness and generosity.

I think I will save the rock n roll story for another review.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS