Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No. 3

[mm12]

Smoked one of these today for the first time in about 8 months and I was really impressed with how they are coming along, so I thought I'd write up a quick review.

Appearance wise, these look very good. Silky smooth Colorado wrappers with a nice oily sheen. They are very heavy in hand, and I feel like they may be just a touch overfilled. Aroma at cold is peppery leather. Draw is a little tighter than optimal, but not to the point of presenting a problem. Flavor at cold is hay and dried fruit.

1/3: The cigar opens at medium with flavors of wood and cream. There's just a slight hint of white pepper spice through the nose. As I get into the first third, a rich stewed fruit flavor begins to develop behind the wood and cream. Near the end of the third, I get some very distinct spiced milk chocolate notes on a few draws.

2/3: Still medium. At the beginning of the second third, I get a few dark coffee notes, but the flavor quickly turns to a rich sweetness. It's not quite caramel, but it's more than sugar. The best I can describe it is burnt sugar cane with a candy aspect to it. Very similar to the kind of sweetness I get in the Trinidad line. Towards the end of third, the flavors become very nutty.

3/3: Still at medium. This third is all nuts and dried fruit. There is a core of very clean toasted tobacco, and just a slight hint of white pepper spice through the nose and on the palate. Unfortunately, I couldn't nub this one because I totally mangled the wrapper trying to get band off, but I could detect that the spice and flavor intensity were ratcheting up as I progressed through the final third.

I feel like these aren't too popular, and maybe for good reason, but this particular box stands up to any corona gorda I have in my humidor. They've come a long way in terms of developing some good complexity, and I only expect them to get better. Right now, I give them a 93.

[adic88]

Oooh. Another example of how 07 will soon be recognized as a vintage year for Cuba.

[ahbroody]

A friend of mine was smoking one of these at the b&m tonight. He gave it to me to try because it was a gift and he had concearns about authenticity. I will echo the burnt sugar aspect in the 2/3. This really took me by suprise. I have had some RyJ Beli recently that had some sweet aspects, but this was very noticeable. I am debating these now. After the holidays ofcourse shhheeeesh.

[shrink]

Exceptional review. Very detailed flavor analysis.

These are the only regular production RyJ, along with the Cazadores, that I stock in my humidor.

[cigaraholic]

Thanks for the review, really great when someone reviews a cigar with the same box code as one I have.

Haven't tried one of mine yet, but I'm hoping our boxes are sisters.

[mm12]

A friend of mine was smoking one of these at the b&m tonight. He gave it to me to try because it was a gift and he had concearns about authenticity. I will echo the burnt sugar aspect in the 2/3. This really took me by suprise. I have had some RyJ Beli recently that had some sweet aspects, but this was very noticeable. I am debating these now. After the holidays ofcourse shhheeeesh.

I smoked a Belicoso the other day, and the middle a cigar really had nice cake/powdered sugar flavor to it. The first and third thirds were really pretty mediocre, but I throughly enjoyed the second third. I'm probably going to let those rest for a while.