If you’ve been reading my stuff here you may not know that for some time I’ve been doing cigar reviews.
Why have I not posted any of them here?
Yeah great question. But today that changes.
While I do have my favorites, I also like to experiment on occasion and try a cigar I haven’t smoked before. I plan to bring you reviews of both going forward.
To start I’m going to review a new one for me – the Romeo Y Julieta Reserve Toro.
I’ve been smoking cigars since I was in grad school in 1991, and so I’m very familiar with the Romeo Y Julieta brand. From my experience they’ve been great quality cigars, flavorful smokes, and reasonably priced. They never made it into my regular rotation however, because I never felt that they really stood out from the crowd.
Their Reserve line has changed that.
The company describes the line like this:
Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve premium cigars are the most full-flavored Romeo y Julieta cigars ever! Handmade in the Flor de Copan factory in Honduras, the Habana Reserve combines Romeo y Julieta’s legendary smoothness with the rich, hearty flavor of only the most choice Nicaraguan & Honduran long-filler tobaccos, seamlessly rolled in dark, oily Nicaraguan wrapper leaves. A marvelously robust cigar brimming with earthy-spicy tobacco flavors on a long finish with a sweet and spicy aroma, too.
After smoking three of them this week, I agree. This is a GREAT cigar. Let me run down my evaluation of the four categories:
Taste
This cigar had a great taste – I give it a 91/100. It’s billed as a full bodied cigar, but I didn’t find it to be all that strong. It had a smooth earthy/woody taste that was light on my palate and didn’t hang around all evening. I do think though that they might get overpowered by my Macallan 12, but it would be an excellent complement to perhaps a port or a lighter scotch. It’s a great all-around smoke.
Construction and Draw
This is a hot button for me because I can’t stand cigars that have wrapper flaws and unwind or that won’t draw because they were rolled too tightly.
These did not disappoint. Their construction was excellent – I didn’t find a single flaw in any of them. Nor did I have any issues at all with the draw, even though I favor a relatively shallow cut. I give them a 100/100 in this category.
Consistency and Appearance
This is another hot button for me, because I have seen some glaring inconsistencies in cigars from the same box over the past few months. Talk about frustrating.
I’m happy to say that in typical Romeo y Julieta fashion these cigars had a high degree of consistency. They were beautifully made and they all smoked exactly the same. Mine lasted between 35 – 40 minutes each. I give them a 95/100.
Burn
I added this category to my reviews a while back because I started to get some really inconsistent burns on some cigars – to the extent that with several of them I had to relight them constantly. And if you enjoy cigars as much as I do, you understand how a re-light can impact the flavor of a good cigar.
I’m happy to tell you that while this cigar didn’t burn perfectly straight across, it didn’t go out, and it didn’t need a re-light to even it up. If you’re some sort of a purest this might impact you. I’m not – I’ll take a great taste over a perfect burn every time. I give them an 85/100.
Overall my rating on this cigar is a 92.75. That’s excellent in my book, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
If you’re looking for an all-around great smoke, then you should definitely give the Romeo Y Julieta Reserve Toro a try!
Pick-up Romeo y Julieta smokes along with other Premium Cigars from Famous here
The Details:
ROMEO Y JULIETA RESERVE TORO
Strength: Full
Shape: Toro
Size: 6 x 56
Country: Honduras
Wrapper Color: Natural
Wrapper Origin: Nicaraguan
Wrapper Leaf: Habano
Pick-up Romeo y Julieta smokes along with other Premium Cigars from Famous here.
