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Hey guys, hope everyone’s well! Recently just purchased a box of RyJ Churchill Añejados and wanted some opinions on if it’s genuine or fake. Everything seems to check out honestly but what got to me thinking was that the date on the box (SCO E000) I know this line is supposed to be aged at least 10 years but if I’m not mistaken does the code mean these would be around 20 years aged? And from there you know I started to overthink everything lol thank you very much and cheers?

Preliminaries: Romeo y Juliete Wide Churchill Montesco 5.1" x 55 Scored a quarter box during a 24:24. Believe it was a PSP/HQ listing. Straight off, this thing is gorgeous, with an oily and streaky rosado-colorado wrapper. Feels great, and very substantial in the hand. Feels a lot less great in the mouth. They call these Montescos, which sounds like the name of a lefty specialist relief pitcher from Venezuela or something. It's a fat 55, too. Probably the equivalent of a 56 or 58 RG non-Cuban. This is not my favorite size to say the least, but I have really enjoyed the first two cigars that I previously smoked from this 6 pack. I would offer them as examples of why I don't believe in blanket condemnation of the fat boys. The draw is a bit snug, but will be fine. The other two were pretty open. Takes a lot of work to get it lit, but right off the bat, it's toasted tobacco and dark fruit. I have to run my Perfect Draw tool through it a few times, and pull out a few gnarly leaf ribs. As the cigar gets to the halfway point, some notes of leather and coffee bean are coming through, replacing some of the sweetness from the beginning. This cigar is not as good as the first two I sampled. Less flavor, worse construction. The burn is very nice, even and slow. God, the wrapper on this cigar is superb. Gleaming with oils. I suspect it might have benefited from 24-72 hours of dry box time, though I can't remember if the other two samples received it. I'm having a hell of a time deciding the body and strength levels of this cigar. Maybe a tick over medium. Flavor intensity is medium. In the home stretch now, and the cigar is getting a bit tannic. The last few puffs are quite gutsy, and a little bitter. Time to put it down. The main issue I have with this cigar, even at its best, is that the value isn't great. For roughly the same price as the regular churchills, this is a cigar that will end up lasting me about 70 minutes. The first two examples carved out a niche for themselves, and were in 92-94 range. I'm going to say this is 88/89. Decent smoke, but nothing spectacular. I was eager to buy a full box after the others, but now I'm going to smoke my remaining 3 to make up my mind.

Vitola: Romeo Y Julieta Cedros De Luxe No. 1 Code: ORA JUN 14 Size: Cervantes / 165 mm / 6.4 inches x 42 Smoke Date: 09/25/2016 The CdL No. 1 is an attractive Lonsdale with a light nearly blonde Connecticut claro wrapper. It feels somewhat soft and a bit light, giving the impression it may be slightly under-filled. There are a couple of medium sized veins, but none too prominent. I scalped it shallow, just enough to remove the cap. The wrapper feels thin, but looks well applied with barely visible seams. Cold draw is almost like sucking through a straw, no resistance at all, confirming the cigar may be under-filled. Pre-light taste is straw and cedar, no doubt influenced by the cedar wrapper. For libation I selected a 2009 Cathar Crianza. A delicious firm but smooth, balanced red Spanish wine with superb cherry and blackberry notes. Torch-fire was quick to jump-start the cigar and get the show rolling. Big volumes of white dense smoke filled the air with a cedar and hay aroma. Flavor is very light and mild, slightly sweet. The cedar is present, but barely discernible, with a slightly creamy finish and faint floral notes. But beyond that there is very little flavor present. Shortly after starting the second third I had to re-light and purge. The second third started out pretty much the same as the first, but as I smoked past the first half the flavor started to come on. Hints of sweet creamy fruit emerged with a hint of cappuccino. Body strengthened a tad, making it a mild-medium profile. The cedar aroma faded out giving way to an earthy and roasted chestnuts aroma. I have to slow down my draws because the cigar is heating up due to the apparent under-fill. The last third brought a touch of Cuban twang, and the flavors continued to intensify, kicking body up to medium. Hints of mild spices accompanied the taste, with a slight sprinkling of cinnamon. Up until now the cigar burned straight. The cigar is continuing to get hot, again a symptom of being under-filled. Approaching the end the No. 1 continued to build in strength. Nuts and dry wood now dominate the flavor, with more spices coming out including a slight white pepper tingle on the tongue. The cigar is now exhibiting some youth, not rough or harsh, but a slight bitterness that was not there earlier. I decided to leave well enough alone and laid the nub to rest among the ashes. An interesting cigar experience, it started out so mild and light I thought it would be underwhelming. But it did get very much more enjoyable in the second half. I think these need a little more time, but I do love a Lonsdale. I rate it a 7.5 out of 10 on my personal scale.

Romeo y Julieta Piramide Añejado - a gift from Zürich When visiting Cigar World with my friend Jan Pellegrom, we met with Urs Stephan Adler from Cigar.land and his wonderful girlfriend Jacqueline. Of course we shared a smoke and the conversation turned to the subject of special programs. We both have read very different opinions about the Añejado program and Urs kindly gifted me this stick to try and see what I could make of it. Of course I am happy to oblige and to add to the confusion The Ashes Size: Piramide (52 x 156) Smoking time: from 14:15 to - 15:45 - 1:30 hours of smoking pleasure Location: Kortenhoef, The Netherlands A cru Appearance The cigar is colorado maduro in color, slightly darker than medium, with a nice oily feel to it and no big noticeable veins. The smell is slightly cherry with some cacao and cedar. After lighting and cutting @ 14:10 Combustion and construction No harshness but it pays to purge, somewhat loose construction, very easy burn and a very easy draw. Ash is not firm and has a tendency to drop As I suspected some underfilling, I tested it's weight against the Montecristo No. 2 and found them to be almost equal, maybe slightly underfilled. Taste The cigar has a good but not overly strong taste- more mild/medium to medium. Most RyJ I have smoked have a stronger taste but similar profile. 1st third start 14:15 - A light/medium spicy cigar. It is quite enjoyable and different in taste from many others. Cacao, Pepper and Cherry are the baseline with Cedar and Black Coffee as noticeable accents. Confirms to the RyJ profile only lighter. Cacao - 2/5 White Pepper -2/5 Cherry - 2/5 Cedar - 1/5 Black coffee - 1/5 An enjoyable mix, albeit a little bit light, with a balanced taste. 2nd third start 14:45 - Similar, slightly stronger in general medium now. Shift in blend, increase in cherry, decrease in cacao. This part of the cigar gives fuller flavours. Cacao - 1/5 White Pepper -2/5 Cherry - 3/5 Cedar - 1/5 Black coffee - 1/5 An enjoyable mix, albeit still a little bit light, and less balanced taste, more towards cherry now. 3rd third start @ 15:15 - Strength picks up it's a medium/full flavor. Same blance as the 2nd part but more forceful. A very enjoyable balanced smoke. Cacao - 2/5 White Pepper -2/5 Cherry - 3/5 Cedar - 2/5 Black coffee - 2/5 An enjoyable mix, more medium/full flavor as one would expect. Fin @ 15:45 The finish is more forceful and strong, after some purging. Verdict A start that presented a typical RyJ profile but lighter, picking up strength as I smoked. For an RyJ slightly lacking in fullness of flavor, although not in nicotine. It has been a pleasure to smoke this cigar, a balanced but light smoke., to be enjoyed indoors and not outdoors where it's flavors might disappear. Verdict 8.75/10

Romeo y Julieta Piramides Anejados Size: 52x156 Box Code: GEA MAR 08 Pre-light: Good aroma at cold, loose is draw and quite soft feeling construction. Doesn't have a that particular 'aged' smell to it. 1st third: Ample amount of dry smoke, toasted tobacco with some wood flavors. Cedar. Medium body and quite smooth. Halfway: Sitting nicely at medium body, short finish, still lots of smoke. Good tobacco and cedar flavors. Definitely taste like a Romeo. A bit too shallow for me. No depth nor character... Final: increasingly strong and nicotine potent. Not as smooth anymore. Still flavors of toasted tobacco and woodiness. It still has room to mature but I don't know how well it will further age. Good to try for Romeo lovers, I won't be buying a box. Cheers

Vintage Review: Romeo y Julietta Fabulosos No 1 Vitals RG: 47 Length : 190 (7.5") Vitola: Double Corona Year: Early 1960's Pre Light Observations Slightly mottled wrapper. Foot has some interesting colored tobacco swirls. Slight pinch to the foot springs back nicely. A good sign. Aged earthy, tobacco aroma. Fruity spice aroma. Smooth cold draw after a punch. 1st Third Easy to light with match. First puff is musty but that goes away quick. Initial flavours are saltiness. The draw is very good. Toasty tobacco. Oily feel on the finish. I don't get that often. Nice white ash. Cocoa. Tannic notes. Slight bitterness on finish. Cocoa. Not a lot of smoke coming off this beauty. Dry nut. Toasty Tobacco. Oily. Tangy. Anise. Bitter finish. Dry nuts. Nutmeg. Toasty. Toasty. Cocoa. Nice oily leather hit. Same. Anise finish though. Tangy tobacco. 1 1/4" ash is solid white. Slight sweetness. Ash breaks and lands on my bare foot. More toasty tobacco 2nd Third Toasty tobacco. Meaty taste. Full, rich flavours developing. Slight sweetness again. Smooth nutmeg draw. Slight pepper on finish. Picking up in strength. Some bittersweet notes. Leather. Pepper. Tannic finish. A few more puffs of the same. Cocoa returns. Nutmeg follows. Nice rich leather draw. Same next few draws. Very enjoyable. More of that oily finish. Leather with a hint of salt. Long ash forms again. More saltiness. Nice hit of sweetness. More leather. Pepper returns. This cigar certainly has some life left! Tapped ash to avoid issues. Rich leather draws. Pepper finish. Nice complex, anise and leather draw. Very rich. Nutmeg. Floral hit. Peppery tobacco. Long finish. Getting stronger in flavour but no nicotine buzz. Strong anise flavour. Seriously rich tobacco. Meaty draw again. Pepper buildup in the back of the throat ends this third 3rd Third A quick swig of soda water to clean the palate. Rich,oily floral notes kick things off. A bit more nutmeg follows. Toasty tobacco. Leather. Smoke increases. Another floral draw. Same. Followed by leather. Palate cleanse. Anise. Feeling a slight buzz. Makes me wonder about the strength of the old tobacco crops. This cigar was born of the revolution and still has that same fight. A nice floral and sweet hit ensues. Nutmeg and pepper. Anise. More long white ash. Anise followed by a beany flavour. Toasty tobacco. Nutmeg. Tapped ash close to band. Toasty tobacco. Nutmeg. Anise. Beans again. More buzz. Slightly bitter draw. Toasty. Getting to the end. Tangy with pepper finish. Anise. Leather and anise trade off on the next few puffs. Bean. Rich tobacco. Nubbing this one for sure. Final puffs are hot and toasty. Done. Score: 93 Experience: 100 Final notes. I managed to pull out a bit of the filler at the end. The leaf is moist and pliable. This cigar was certainly stored well over the decades. I've been fortunate to smoke some great aged cigars in 2013. This was an excellent start to 2014. The Fabulosos No 1 wasn't as ethereal as the 1970's Sir Winston or as eye opening as the 1943 W M Penn Clear Havana in terms of unique flavours, but it certainly was no slouch. This was a lucky find. These cigars sat in a old cabinet humidor in the tobacconists walk in amongst some other vintage beauties such as Dunhill Monte 4's (sadly, not for sale: private collection). According to MRN's book. They are very hard to find. Fortunately, this particular B&M was owned by a serious cigar aficianado. He even owned a "Dinner of the Century" torpedo box and has the photo of himself with Fidel Castro to proved it on the wall. It's too bad the original RyJ box was nowhere to be found. This cigar was an excellent smoking experience overall. I'm glad it wasn't a dud.