Stogie Reviews: Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Robusto
16 Jan 2008
If cigars won awards for beautiful wrappers, this Romeo y Julieta would be a big-time contender. The light brown, thin Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade tobacco is definitely ready for its close-up.
Unfortunately, the rest of this five inch by 52 ring gauge cigar isn’t on the same plane. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with it; it just isn’t particularly exciting or memorable.
The draw was fine, and the smoke was thick and white. The finish was almost non-existent. I did experience some burn trouble in the first third, but it righted itself without being touched up.
The line utilizes a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, creating some complexity as flavors shifted throughout the length of the stick. The cigar exhibited what I think of as a fairly typical Connecticut spice and some cedar.
Altadis describes the Reserva Real as “a rich and aromatic smoke that will arouse the desires of even the most demanding cigar connoisseur.” I don’t feel I’m all that demanding, and I managed quite easily to keep my desires in check.
Again, this is by no means a bad cigar. At about $5 a stick, though, I think there are many more enjoyable sticks available.
Our rating system describes a cigar achieving three out of five stogies as “pretty respectable.” That’s where I rank this one: three out of five stogies.
[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
I haven't had one of these in quite awhile, since I started moving on to stronger stuff. I may have to give these a try once again, if I recall I enjoyed them. Apparently not enough to keep them in the regular rotation though. Thanks for the review.
Loved it!
I agree…..respectable. Not real impressive, but respectable and for $5.00 a stick I can think of others that are more respectable. 😉
I respectfully disagree, although I smoked the No. 2 Belicoso. For theprice point, I found it to be an aromatic change of pace in a medium-bodied smoke. The Altadis marketing may be a little over the top, but what can you expect? If pushed, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stogies…Not an unparalleled experience, but surely better than respectable.
I just smoked the Churchill and, if I were to write a review, it would read exactly like yours. After reading some of the hype around this stick I sought out a review to see if I was the only crazy one that thought this was a very mediocre smoke. I agree with you 100% – way overpriced. I can get two cigars for the price of one of these that are FAR superior.
yeah, I thought this cigar wasn't as good as most of the other cigars I have had in this price range. Not very complex, a dark, marbly ash, and not a whole lot to enjoy, which is irritating since I was cigarless for the last three weeks and this was the one I chose for my nightly smoke. Wish I would've read this review before I picked it out of the humidor.
It is what it is. The nuances in a milder cigar are, by definition, much more subtle. The fact is that you can eliminate 75% of the negative comments about milder cigars being "bland, flavorless, boring, without complexity" since those are coming from people who have a great deal of trouble appreciating a good mild or mild-medium cigar because it isn't in the same wheelhouse with cigars fulfilling their full strength/full flavored expectations. That said, this was, at least, a fairly objective review, but not without obvious prejudices.
I agree with ROTHNH. This is meant as a very smooth mild offering, within that areana its a quite decent stick. I like the density of the Churchill which combined with the ease of draw makes a nice liesurely hour plus session. I didn't know until I read the review about the NIC binder and blended leaf. Not bad sweet genuine CONN wrapper combined with NIC and DOM leaf yet smooth as glass. If the Chu
I agree with ROTHNH. This is meant as a very smooth mild offering, within that areana its a quite decent stick. I like the density of the Churchill which combined with the ease of draw makes a nice liesurely hour plus session. I didn’t know until I read the review about the NIC binder and blended leaf. Not bad sweet genuine CONN wrapper combined with NIC and DOM leaf yet smooth as glass. If the Churchill was $5 instead of, now, almost $7 it would be easy to recomnend in the mild category. Altadis needs to consider a lower price and I think it would really fly.