RyJ by Romeo y Julieta – A Review By Ken York

First a little background on myself and Romeo y Julieta Cigars. I used to smoke nothing – not cigars, cigarettes, or a pipe, then one of my sons in harm’s way over in the Mideast sent me two boxes of Cuban Romeo y Julieta cigars. Since he was still deployed over there I felt it would be wrong to give the cigars away, so I smoked them.  For the 40 years prior to this I had suffered with hellacious allergies. If it was green (other than money) I would go into a sneezing fit beyond compare.  I tried pills, shots, and homeopathic remedies – nothing worked. By the end of my second box of cigars all my allergies stopped. No joke. And the allergies still no longer bother me 14 years later because I have continued to smoke cigars.  So, Romeo y Julieta cigars have a special place in my heart. That’s the reason it kills me to give a less than stellar review to the RyJ.

I love the concept of the RyJ, a Nicaraguan Cigar through and through – filler, wrapper, and binder. For those who like a stronger cigar your choice is basically Cuban or Nicaraguan for great, strong flavor.  The taste and flavor of the RyJ is what I was hoping for. It was constructed well, the band design and name are excellent, and the first puff was what I was looking for.  However, the cigar went out on me five times and I’m a huffer. I don’t let a cigar go out with the way I smoke. Having to relight the cigar multiple times was detrimental to the cigar’s enjoyment.  I lit a second cigar to make sure that this was a problem and the second cigar went out three times. According to one friend the Nicaraguan tobacco is more oily than most tobaccos and requires longer drying times. I’m not sure if that is the case here, but something is not right. The flavor is still great, but unless they resolve the re-lighting problem, this cigar will not move up the rating scale.