Cigar Review: Romeo y Julieta Escudos LE 2007 (Cuban)
19 May 2011
I’ve had mixed results with Cuban limited editions over the years. On one hand, despite being a bit young (by Cuban standards), the Montecristo 2008 LE Sublime was one of the finest cigars I’ve smoked. Others, like the Cohiba Pirámides Edición Limitada 2006 (while not bad) were underwhelming given the high price.
With those mixed results in the background, I lit up a pair of these Romeo y Julieta Escudos Edición Limitada 2007 cigars. The gordito-sized smoke sells for around $450 for a box of 25 or around $18 each.
It’s a dark, rustic cigar (5.5 x 50) with a veiny wrapper. The Cuban puro’s exterior leaf is notably darker than other popular Romeo y Julietas like the Short Churchill or Churchill.
Like many Cubans, while not technically a box press, it picked up a slight press in the box while aging. Perhaps that’s because it’s slightly spongy to the touch.
Once lit, I found a powdery smoke that leaves layers flavor on the mouth. Earth, cinnamon, cocoa, tannins, warm oak, and coffee are all apparent. A green pepper flavor develops in the final third.
It’s a complex smoke that is firmly in the medium- to full-bodied range. While not the most balanced smoke, it is plenty interesting despite not changing in flavor much from start to finish.
Like many Cubans, construction was far from superb. One sample needed a few relights. The other didn’t, but had a chronically uneven burn and an unstable gray ash.
In the end, the Romeo y Julieta Escudos LE 2007 is fairly characteristic of the limited edition Cuban cigars I’ve smoked before. It’s very good, but held back by inconsistent construction and a high price. That’s why it earns a rating of four stogies out of five.
[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
That second band looks a lot like the ones CI has been using for their "limited editions." It always made me a bit suspicious how cigars from different companies would all use the same Edicion Limitada band (and that there was typically no mention of them on their websites), and seeing this leaves me even more so.
As far as I can tell, they all use the same LE bands because they all copied the Cubans which were the first to embrace the limited edition concept. Then, either to capitalize on the Cuban LE success or just because it was recognizable (and apparently not trademarked), non-Cuban makers started using the LE concept and band.
You don't need to be suspicious just because it has the LE band, but you should keep in mind that sometimes the it's more of a marketing ploy than a true indication that the cigar is actually limited.
Hi Ashburn Dave,
I really felt the need to reply to your post on the subject of the
"Edición Limitada" band . The Edición Limitada bands have been in use in Cuba since
the year 2000, but the real thing here is that a lot of American smokers don't know that.
However, in the last few years, many NC brands have copied this band from the Cubans and above all, copying the same EXACT band showing no imagination.
The real problem is that today with a lot of new and younger smokers in the USA, they are
lead to believe, like you, that it's the Cubans who are copying.This is because in the USA,
cigar smokers have always been misinformed and miseducated.
Here is a perfect example of what I mean. end of part one
A few years ago I was in a well known tobacco shop in Paris and while I was checking out some Habanos in the shop's walk-in Humidor, two young Americans step inside and start looking at all the Habanos and I heard one of them say to the other that he was surprised that there wasn't much of a choise in NC cigars, when the other said, "look, they even have copies of the Dominican RyJ cigars".
When the retailer told them that RyJ was originally cuban and that it was the other way around, the two young men were shocked to find out. I then told them that they would have a hard time trying to find all of their loved NC brands here in France or elsewhere in the world because Nc's are mostly smoked only in the USA, elsewhere they are considered a curiousity or a change of pace cigar but not anything serious. If looks could kill, I would be dead now. end of part two
I have no intention of offending anyone. smoke the cigar you want, whatever the cigar or wherever it comes from , the important thing is to enjoy your smoke. I keep smoking once in a while, NC's that are sent to me by a friend in the states when I get curious about one or many of the brands but until now,I don't enjoy NC's. However I do keep myself well informed about the NC cigar world in the USA. Do the same, Inform yourself don't take one side of the story as if it's the only valid side, keep an open mind and you'll learn a lot.
Amicalement,
Guy,
France
Your description of the smoke as "powdery" got my attention. I think you mean that the smoke feels like it is dropping a very fine substance. Interesting.
It has been a while for me, the last box of Cuban cigars I purchased was in late 2009. The quality of construction was good, but the flavor profile was remarkably bland. I think it was a Ramon Allones Specially Selected. After a year or so of aging, the flavors were more pronounced, but still far short of some of the Nicaraguans I prefer, such as Padilla 1932 or Padilla Miami. I have heard that in the last year or so things have improved on the Cuban side. Do you agree?