Romeo Y Julieta 150th Anniversary is a cigar that actually released on-time which is almost unheard of in this industry.
The company turned to its partners to contribute tobacco for this cigar which they are calling a hall of fame blend. “According to Rafael Nodal VP of product capability for Altadis USA, “We sourced tobaccos from our close partners specifically for this project. The wrapper is an Ecuadoran Sumatra grown and fermented by A.J. Fernandez. The San Andres binder comes from our partners, the Turrent family. For the fillers we used Peruvian and Honduran tobacco grown by our partners, the Plasencia family. And of course the Dominican fillers come from our long-term partners José Mendez & Co.
Available in three sizes; Prologue (5 x 50 / $25 MSRP), Cresecendo (7 x 50 / $28 MSRP) and todays review, Balconet (6 x 54 / $27 MSRP)
Cigar Review: Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary
Size: 6 x 54 (Balconet / Toro)
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Mexico San Andres
Fillers: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Peru
Factory: Tabacalera de Garcia
Release Date: April 2025
Production: Regular
Box Size: 16
The Cigar: The familiar red band is replaced with a beautiful ivory, gold and white band with gold text featuring the brand name Romeo y Julieta while a secondary band denotes 150th Anniversary. The Sumara wrapper has some significant veins present and there is a slight imperfection the roll with a piece of folded tobacco sticking from the cap. Additionally there is a vein.stem near the cap creating a void where it is also dying to break through the wrapper. This cigar will have to be perfectly cut to not unravel on me. In the hand the cigar is light in weight and the foot looks a tad underfilled.
The Taste: The cold draw has a subtle dry cookie component with hints of lemon zest and apricots. The aroma sees a touch of cinnamon added to the cookie dough and apricots. Once the cigar is toasted and lit on a beautiful 68 degree morning in New Hampshire there are notes of charred wood similar to cedar plank wood you would put on the grill.
As we settle into the first third the burn line is razor thin revealing notes of mocha, brown sugar and touch of lemon zest. The cigar is tasty, but only medium in body and maybe less in terms of perceived strength. Thankfully for me the Sumatra wrapper isn’t overpowering as if you read this sight I am not normally a fan. The retrohale sees some mesquite notes added for good measure.
Moving into the second third of the Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary notes of coffee and leather begin to emerge over a base note of wood notes that remind me of the aroma of pine. As we cross the halfway point the cigar develops a salty component that bordered on being a bit overpowering detracting from the subtleties of the other notes. As the second third comes to a close the smoke production ramps up considerably and the retrohale sees some black pepper and added salt.
The final third sees the Sumatra wrapper show itself with a subtle sourness that I have always associated with the seed. The fact it didn’t really show until I had the remove the band was great. The cigar continues to be salty with notes of pine, lemongrass and earth. There is some subtle coffee notes but the saltiness is a bit over the top as we put the cigar down. The retrohale sees a sourness and and brown sugar with a touch of white pepper.
Conclusion: I rarely write about construction on a cigar because it’s a man made product and there will be some variation from time to time. This cigar I had to point out some of the appearance issues because at $27 a cigar I expected better. The stem we noted did poke through the wrapper but it was in a place I was able to place the cigar in a way that it did not affect the draw. However, it was annoying enough to note given the price. Also while price doesn’t affect our final score I expected more at $27. Now don’t get me wrong it was a good cigar ,but it just didn’t do enough to stand out and make me want to spend $27 again. Do I have buyers remorse? Absolutely not. Will I buy more, highly unlikely. If I ever see them discounted under $20 then I reserve the right to change my mind.
Score: 88
Price: $27.00 (Before any local or state taxes)
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