Initial Thoughts
This RyJ by Romeo y Julieta is a brand new All Nicaraguan puro that was released by the company late in 2013. What’s unique about is that it has a double binder from the Esteli & Jalapa valley growing regions in Nicaragua. Where as the filler tobaccos are from Jalapa, Esteli, & La Mia. The company said in their press statement that the wrapper leaf is grown exclusively for them in Nicaragua as well, but were hesitant to give out the information of where its grown.
Romeo y Julieta have been expanding their domestic line in the last couple of years. Some of you may remember the Romeo, which was released a couple of years ago, and now we have the RyJ by Romeo y Julieta. This cigar comes in the 3 sizes: Piramide (6 1/8″ x 54), Toro (6″ x 52), Bully Grande (5″ x 54). I picked up the Toro vitola although it’s a little larger than what I usually smoke. I didn’t see the Piramide available or else I probably would have chosen that figurado shape. Well that’s enough back story about this cigar lets hop into the review.
Looks
Looking at this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta its a gorgeous cigar. It has a beautiful double band to it. Sometimes I’m not a big fan of the band around the foot, particularly when it’s hard to take it off. Luckily this band just slides right off. Each band has a nice clean look to it. They both have a crisp white background color. The foot band has a big bold swirling “RyJ” in a gold script font. I like how it makes the footer band pop while also telling you the name of the stick.
The band that in the traditional placement closer to the head has the classic Romeo y Julieta logo imprinted on it. The oval shape outlined in dots. However below the main band there is a smaller band that looks like it’s a tertiary band, however on my particular cigar these didn’t come apart. Maybe it’s meant to have 3 bands? I’m not sure. This tertiary band also has the same RyJ gold script font, however it’s slightly smaller than the footer band. There is a lot of decor going on with this cigar, but I don’t mind. None of the decorations should affect the smoking of this cigar.
Taking note of the wrapper on this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta it’s a beautifully smooth, milk chocolate wrapper. Free of large veins and I can’t spot a single seam throughout the barrel. I’m very impressed thus far with the look and feel of this cigar and I’m ready to dive into it and see what all it has to offer.
Function
For this cigar I gave it a quick run through on the pinch test. When I picked it up at the store I spotted one that was already good to go and its been resting in my humidor for a couple of weeks so it should ready to smoke. I pulled out my fancy new punch cut for this stick. I’ve been using it a lot more lately and I’m not gonna lie, I’m a big fan. I’m such a big fan I even made a video on how to punch cut a cigar.
Once I pulled out the plug from the head of this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta I began testing the cold draw. I feel like testing this on a punch cut is always a bit deceiving. You don’t pull nearly as much air through the barrel as I would with guillotine cut, but it’s fine because I know once its lit it should be just fine.
Well this cigar has passed all the pre flight tests so I think it’s ready to put some fire to it!
Smoking
I’ve been on another kick lately and that’s using the 3 match lighting method. In fact I made a video of that as well, I guess you can say I’ve been on a lot of kicks lately. The three match method lets this cigar really take off. It’s burning in no time and just oozing smoke which I love!
The first third of this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta is going by very quickly. The burn line is consistent, not razor sharp but straight enough not to warrant any fixes. The only problem that I have with this cigar is the ash. For some reason I can’t get it to hold on past 1/2″. It seems to be fairly flaky which obviously leads to “ash crotch” but its fine I just sweep away the ashes to my garage floor to be dealt with at a later time and place.
The second and final thirds are more of the same. Great draw, great burn just a very pleasant overall smoking experience. I did finally get the ash to hold on to almost an inch and then luckily I got it to land in the ash tray instead of my crotch. So that was a huge win! Overall a very pleasant smoking experience and you can’t ask for more than that.
Flavor
Right out of the gate this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta showed some excitement. The first thing I noticed was a bit of sweetness coming off the wrapper. Then there were dominant notes of roasted nuts an incredibly savory flavor that just kept popping up. On the retrohale there was a good dose of earthy and wood that finished with a nice bit of spice. This cigar was very complex yet very balanced. Similar to the Headley Grange in terms of balance, not necessarily flavors though.
The second third changed it up just a bit. I got more of that sweetness, it was very akin to caramel notes. The earthy notes were still there in the background. The spice never really showed up except on the retrohale which is actually totally fine for me. I was also picking up a very nice aroma of hay and grass notes. Again, very complex range of flavors.
During the final third of this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta the retrohale changed up on me again. I got a huge dose of floral notes like I had just opened up a jar of potpurri. Lots of flavors floating around and very soft and easy to enjoy. Then the spice came through and finished it off.
This cigar had a heck of a roller coaster ride in terms of flavor. It’s something that I really enjoy experiencing. I also love when the complex flavors are balanced. Nothing was overwhelming with this cigar everything seemed to have a place and it hit you right where it needed to!
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Possibly, in a smaller vitola.
Would I Buy a Box?
Without a doubt!
Conclusion
I wasn’t too sure what to expect with this RyJ by Romeo y Julieta, but man did I enjoy it. So many good things going on with it. From the smoking experience to the flavors this cigar is incredible. I have no shame in giving it a 10/10. If you’ve been passing up on this cigar, do yourself a favor and go get one right now.
