Blind Cigar Review: Romeo by Romeo y Julieta | Aging Room Small Batch F25 Capriccio

Cigar Info

Something we were all looking forward to seeing at this year’s IPCPR trade show was the ROMEO by Aging Room. We have been fans of this new trend of Boutique brands collaborating with big established brands and seeing what they can do. The Romeo y Julieta and Aging Room from Altadis U.S.A. was released in May 2015.

“Immaculately constructed by Aging Room artisans under the guidance of Romeo y Julieta’s famed Grupo de Maestros, this Dominican puro exemplifies the best qualities of two storied brands,” said an Altadis U.S.A. spokesperson. “It is a rare smoke that will truly be treasured.”

ROMEO by Romeo y Julieta’s Aging Room is said to be rich, savory, medium- to full-bodied. It is handcrafted with 100% Habano Dominican tobaccos. These rare leaves are carefully grown in the Cibao valley — one of the most fertile tobacco growing regions on earth — and patiently aged.

Designated F-25, this limited – edition, single batch cigar was imagined on Friday, the 25th of the month. This cigar is available in three sizes: 54 x 6” Capriccio, 52 x 6” Cantaor and 48 x 5” Copla. These small batch cigars will retail between $11.50 and $12.50 per stick.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Habano Dominicano
Binder: Habano Dominicano
Filler: Habano Dominicano
Factory: Tabacalera Palma
Blender: Grupo de Maestros and Rafael Nodal
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Jeff (ExpendableYouth) Alan (Eulogy) Robert (NavyPiper) Eric (smalls29) Ryan (Youngryan216)
Price: $12.50
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: June 2015
Contributed by: Altadis U.S.A.

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 93

“I’ll start off with saying this is a beautiful looking stogie. I mean I’ve just been looking at it for like 5 minutes, and it’s just an amazing looking stogie. It’s a big one, measuring 6X54. Color is a medium dark brown with a gorgeous red hue to it. It also has a high sheen, so it really catches the light and shows off it’s colors. Sort of like when your wife or significant other puts on that special dress, and you just can’t take your gaze off her, that’s kinda what I mean. Anyway, back to the stogie… The shape is spot on. Head is flat, and the cap is well centered and covers perfectly. Seams are very good. A few prominent veins but none that detract from the beauty of this cigar. ” -Robert (NavyPiper)

Aroma: 91

“The initial aromas were nice and strong with hints of nuts and peppers with a hint of black licorice.” -Eric (smalls29)

First Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“My first impressions are of a light white pepper that coats my entire mouth, semi-sweet chocolate, and a bit of hay. The pepper and chocolate work off of each other surprisingly well. This profile remains throughout the entire first-third.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“The real highlight of the cigar so far is the smoke output. Every puff produces clouds of thick creamy smoke. The peppery finish is the only thing that keeps this from being a very mild cigar with the core flavors consisting of cedar and hay.” -Alan (Eulogy)

Second Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“All of the flavors have really picked up this third with the cedar and pepper notes becoming far bolder then the first third. Sunflower seeds have joined the mix and has added a pleasant new dimension. The retro-hale has picked up a strong pepper flavor but doesn’t add very much due to the very strong peppery finish on the draw.” -Alan (Eulogy)

“The flavors of hay and wood are still dominant in this portion of the cigar, while a nuttiness begins to form and battle for prominence. The flavors do not stand out as particularly defined or well balanced — only mild and constant.” -Ryan (Youngryan216)

Final Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Ah the final third. Actually never thought I’d get here. This has been a very slow burning stick, not that I’m complaining mind you. Until roughly the half way point, there were no changes from the 2nd third, but then it began a very gradual decrease in strength, oh about to where it was in the 1st third. No change in the flavors, and they are still blending well together and quite enjoyable. This has been a long running stogie, one of the longest I’ve ever smoked. Never got bored and enjoyed every minute. Still had the issue of it wanting to go out, so had to hit it with the torch a few more times, but no biggee. This was a dang fine stogie.” -Robert (NavyPiper)

“At this point the complexity has eased and the flavors evened out with nice hints of coffee and other nutty flavors. At times it was a sweet flavor but the mild tingling of peppers remained. The aroma was a reminder of a smoky campfire in the woods. Again the ash fell away on its own. I could not get a good chimney to form.” -Eric (smalls29)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 94

“There was the almost perfect amount of resistance to the draw and produced thick creamy smoke.” -Alan (Eulogy)

Burn: 95

“A nice even burn throughout with no need for a relight. The smoke was pleasant and not overbearing. The only downside was how easy the ash fell away every so often making it hard to form a good chimney. The nice thing was a chimney wasn’t needed as the cigar burned well.” -Eric (smalls29)

Construction: 94

“The cigar was well constructed with no soft spots but only a single cap applied at the head of the cigar.” -Alan (Eulogy)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 91

“A pretty nice middle of the road smoke to me. I would pick up any, but I am not really a fan of cigars with a lot of earth or mineral, so if that is a profile that you dig I say give it a shot.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“The highlight of the cigar was the outstanding smoke output and super creamy smoke. I’m a little confused by the evolution of the cigar because it started too mild for fans of full bodied cigars and too strong at the end for fans of mild cigars. Still the flavor profile was good throughout and I would smoke one again if offered.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“Geez, where do I begin? First off it was a joy to just look at it. The flavors were fantastic, even the one that I still can’t come up with the name too, and is flat out driving me nuts trying to get the name of it. My luck I’ll wake up at 3:30 in the morning after I submit the review with the name of it! All I can say is that I loved every minute I spent with this stogie. And it was a LOT of minutes! It was very slow burning, and lasted a long time. Don’t know what it is, or the price, but I’m figuring you’ll get your money’s worth.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“I enjoyed the complexity and the flavors it produced. Towards the end the flavors of chocolates and coffees were present. I would enjoy this cigar with a good cup of coffee in the morning while sitting by a campfire in the mountains. The nutty earthly flavors in the beginning were wonderful leading to the coffee and chocolate at the end. I would definitely enjoy this cigar again and again.” –Eric (smalls29)

“The size and bland flavor profile of this cigar made for a very unexciting experience. The blend was not particularly intriguing, and the vitola was definitely overkill. I would probably not smoke this again, and I certainly won’t sit through two hours with one of this size again.” –Ryan (Youngryan216)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 120

 

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall Experience
Jeff	ExpendableYouth)	90	90	90	88	88	90	93	90	88
Alan	Eulogy)	90	90	90	92	92	97	93	95	92
Robert	NavyPiper)	95	90	90	90	90	97	97	95	92
Eric	smalls29)	95	92	90	92	92	93	93	95	92
Ryan	Youngryan216)	95	92	90	90	88	93	97	93	85

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Romeo by Romeo y Julieta | Aging Room Small Batch F25 Capriccio