Review: Romeo y Julieta 1875 Love Story
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Love Story
Size – 4.5 x 46 (Perfecto)
Age – 3 months
Cost – $5
Wrapper – Natural (Indonesia)
Construction – A nice lookinig, symmetrical cigar in an interesting shape. The cigar was slightly uneven in feel, having a few firm spots. The wrapper also cracked in one spot as I was squeezing the cigar.
Burn – With other love story vitolas I have had no problems getting the stick going thanks to the nipple end. I had the opposite experience with the RyJ 1875; it was quite difficult to light but once it hit the wider part of the perfecto, burn was much improved – even and slow.
Ash – Very light grey, almost white. Compact and held snug in 3/4″ pieces.
Draw & Smoke – Draw was very tight until the burn reached the widest part of the cigar. After that it was smooth sailing with a nice easy but not loose draw, producing a moderate amount of smoke per puff.
Flavor – The prelight flavors of earthy tobacco and grass led into a very smooth, mild blend of flavors after the light – a creamy blend of earth, wood and tobacco with just a bit of sweetness. The gentle flavor profile hides a surprising medium body; I was expecting a very mild cigar which this is not. The second half of the cigar had similar flavors, but a bit more intensity and some tingling spice. It also picked up a touch more sweetness on the finish.
Strength – Medium
Rating – 7/10
Value – 6/10
Drink – Ice water
Notes – Romeo y Julieta are a very well known brand in the cigar world and are probably the daily cigar of many many aficionados. For a younger and relatively new cigar smoker like me, they are often overlooked for blends by “superstars” like Pepin and Patel. I’m glad to have received the 1875 in a sampler because it is a pretty good smoke, but it had a few construction problems and more importantly it shares a price point (and vitola) with the much better Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story.