Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Piloto from Navarrete and La Canela in the Cibao Valley
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $13.00
Released: June 2023
Quantities Released: Limited undisclosed numbers.

My cigars received 5 months of naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Blended by Raphael Nodal with the help of the Plasencia family.

Cigar Aficionado rated this cigar with a lofty 91 and said: “Well-made with a wrapper the golden color of toffee. This toro has a pronounced sweetness, showing notes of fruit and hibiscus that combine with marzipan and white raisin for a sweet Riesling effect. A precise note of agave syrup appears on the finish. Both the draw and combustion are even.”
White raisins are generally referred to as Golden or Muscat.

Non-Cuban Romeo y Julieta cigars lay in the category of catalog blends. Sophisticated smokers rarely venture into their direction. By coincidence, I was introduced to this blend.

Only found a few sparse reviews. All praised this cigar…which no one knows about.

This is one of the most perfume laden wrappers that a nose can hope for. The perfumery consists of floral honeysuckle, fennel, deep chocolate notes, charred red cedar, fresh peach, and coconut. Once the cap is exposed using the 11mm apple biter on my PerfecPunch, aromas grow exponentially into butterfly winds of black cocoa, black walnuts, black pepper, and blackberries.

The cold draw is rich with sweet assets of chocolate, almonds, sweet red peppers, dried apricot, and sweet tea with a dash of lemon.

The stick is built like a tank.

Good start is all we ask for. And I receive it: Spicy cloves, brown sugar laden oatmeal, dark cocoa, black pepper, aged oak, and loads of caramel.

Nice smoke output. I look like the Peanuts’ character, Pig Pen.

Silver tongued and velvety despite being billed as a man killer with loads of nicotine. Previous Book of Love smokes were very consistent in being smooth even with its strength taking off like a bat outta hell in the second half.

The perfumy quality is the outstanding character of this cigar. The sweet floral happens both in taste and aroma throughout. You can find this charming attribute in very expensive cigars but not so much in $13 sticks.

Chocolate and caramel are effervescent. A term I like. Bubbly and broad. Flavors are not contained in a narrow field. A sip of water and the richness flows with an imprecise nature. I let it roll.

I wish I could report on the retrohale. If you do this for half a century, you completely burn out your sinuses. I thought I was immune to self-destruction.

Cantaloupe. Sweet is 60% and Savory is 40%. Nothing is perfect.

What do you do if you are the only reviewer on the planet that doesn’t have a podcast? You travel back to the 70’s and appear on Johnny Carson.

While in Curved Air I struck up a friendship with guitarist extraordinaire Alan Holdsworth. Our guitarist, Mick Jacques, grew up with the man. We shared the bill for a few shows with Soft Machine. The three of us bandied about, smoking us some hash, and having us some lagers pretty much most of the time. Alan made it known to us he wasn’t happy in Soft Machine. One day during sound check, he confided in us that he was contacted by jazz drummer Tony Williams. He would replace John McLauglin. I have a perfect mental picture of this…with his hands on each cheek, Alan said, “What do I do…should I go to New York?” Both Mick and I simultaneously yelled, “YES!!” So off he went. Sadly, Alan passed in 2017 at 70. Mick died in 2019 at 70. 5 ex-members of Curved Air have passed…gulp.

I’m about to pass the first third. Reviewers love it when a cigar is 6” long. Simple arithmetic is preferrable when you’re in the throws.

This is such a pleasant cigar. I bought them with a year of box aging. If you find them, they will have close to two years. Still, let them rest before you go balls deep into them. My first Let’s See was a week after receipt and it was a dud. I sought out blender’s intent and got it, but not much else. Now with 5 months of rest in my crypto vault, much better.

Strength reaches medium/full, but it doesn’t scare me. Seeing myself naked scares me. Everything else is balmy unguent.

We think that our stress, our anxiety, our dark thoughts are unique. Welcome to the human condition. It requires no guessing why that after Covid behavioral therapists became busier than a woodchuck on Ritalin. I saw a couple counselors early in my caregiver experience and they told me to find the color orange in the room and mark it off my list. I was cured.

One review collateralized this as a 50-minute smoke. Yikes. No wonder he reported nicotine poisoning. Each pre-review stick took me well over two hours.

Green tea is at the top of the heap. Chocolate covered marzipan follows. In queue, are even keeled notes of mild black pepper, scoche of cinnamon, caramel, aged oak, orange zest, and sweet ricotta cheese.

As the first half sees it doom on the horizon, the balance becomes even steven. Very nice.

Nicely complex and fulfilling. Not a barn burner. How often do you see a catalog blend with these kind of leaf stats. And done well?

I worked part time at Wallich’s Music City in Lakewood, California for a bit. I ran the sheet music department. My girlfriend got me the job. She was also boning the assistant manager. It was never busy, but I got to help people find their favorites. I’d spend happy hours copying charts to take home.

My ashtray is filling up with ashes.

The senior class president was an all-right guy. Wasn’t allowed to associate with mortals like me except when we were both hanging at Bob’s Big Boy. He somehow knew I worked at Wallich’s. He approached, I curtsied, and he asked if we had “Fire and Rain?” I nodded respectfully. He threw a buck onto my table. I spent it on extra blue cheese dressing for my fries.

Yeah, strength is daunting if I pay close attention. Not something I do well. The rich smoothness carries the blend into a swell two-hour smoke. Transitions are easy going and never abrupt. Sometimes, you get a blend that jolts you with new flavors every inch. I like those cigars a lot. But a lot can be said for a cigar that sails into a sea of soft swarming simbas. It feels effortless

The Romeo y Julieta Book of Love is not the kindred spirit of the Cuban RyJ Wide Churchill. Not even a contender. But as a go to blend, it is johnny on the spot.

These cigars can be had for as little as $8.00. For that kind of dough, it’s a smart move to snag a very cool box of 10 like I did. I have no idea what to do with the thing, but it is artistic, and I like to hold on to imaginative things. Hunt them down. If you find them, let your brethren know with a comment below. Thanks.

RATING: 94

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

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