Last year, Romeo y Julieta was selected as one of the three brands chosen to receive an Edición Limitada. It’s the seventh time the brand has received that role since the program started in 2000 and this year featured a vitola never before seen, not just for Romeo y Julieta, but for all of Habanos S.A. itself.

The Edición Limitada program selects three brands annually and creates cigars that are not part of each brand’s regular portfolio. In addition, the wrapper is aged for two years and oftentimes is specific as coming from higher priming wrappers.

In the case of the Romeo y Julieta Romeo de Luxe, the vitola is known as capuleto measuring 162 mm long, roughly 6 6/16 inches, by 52. In the case of the de Luxe, the cigar was offered in 10-count boxes, which began shipping in October of last year.

Romeo y Julieta Romeo De Luxe Box 1.png

Romeo y Julieta Romeo De Luxe Box 2.png

(via Habanos S.A.)

The Romeo y Julieta is joined by two other Edición Limitadas for 2013.

Romeo y Julieta de Luxe  EL 2013 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Romeo y Julieta de Luxe Edición Limitada 2013
  • Country of Origin: Cuba
  • Factory: n/a
  • Wrapper: Cuba
  • Binder: Cuba
  • Filler: Cuba
  • Size: 5 6/16
  • Ring Gauge: 52
  • Vitola: Capuleto
  • Est. Price: $27.00 (Box of 10 Cigars, $270.00)
  • Date Released: October 2013
  • Number of Cigars Released: n/a
  • Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

This is by no means the darkest wrapper I’ve seen on an Edición Limitada, barely darker than a typical Romeo y Julieta. It’s also not the greatest roll I’ve seen on a recent Cuban cigar, just a bit sloppy. Aroma-wise there’s a sweet graham cracker, wet leather and a bit of sourness—all and all, very interesting. I pick up leather and cocoa on the front of the tongue while a touch of floral and lemon on the finish.

There’s a mouthwatering cedar that begins the Romeo de Luxe. It makes sense given how much woodsiness appears in the air as soon as the cigar is lit. There are other notes of coffee and sweet leather, but no pepper. The smooth profile morphs into a cedar core with graham racker and walnut notes accompanying. It’s a very homogenous profile in that there is little dynamic nature: no acidic notes, no pepper, no spice; nothing out of the ordinary.

Romeo y Julieta de Luxe  EL 2013 2

Both samples are slightly tight, something that gets some relief in the second third of the cigar, but there is a slight warming of the smoke itself, which is not normally a favorite sign of mine. At the two inch mark a gigantic lemon zest note emerges along with some toasted vegetal notes, which admittedly read as pleasant as they sound. Fortunately, some aged tobacco notes, cedar and sweet coffee are also part of the cigar, offering a pretty complex, full flavor.

Romeo y Julieta de Luxe  EL 2013 3

Sharper woody notes emerge in the final third along with some coffee and grassy touches. It’s not a logical progression, but it somehow works. Construction-wise the cigar burned with nearly zero need for touch-ups through the first, something that unfortunately changes towards the nub. That being said, the wonderful smoke production from the second this keeps at it, which makes the cigar more enjoyable.

Romeo y Julieta de Luxe  EL 2013 4

Final Notes

  • The name would be a lot less confusing if cigars like Cedros de Luxe, Romeo No.1 de Luxe and others did not exist.
  • Strength was medium plus.
  • I love photographing the Romeo y Julieta bands.
  • The name of this cigar comes from Capuletos y Montescos, an Italian tragedy that many associate with Romeo and Juliet. The vitola name for the Hoyo de Monterrey Edición Limitada 2013 release is montescos.
  • Habanos S.A. isn’t disclosing the production numbers for recent ELs, but as their name implies, they are limited.
  • Cigars for this review were given to halfwheel by two different readers.
  • Final smoking time was one hour and 40 minutes on average.
89 Overall Score

If cigars had a calling, this is one that is made for sitting around without thinking. As a review, it’s not the grandiose play of flavors you’d expect from a Michelin starred restaurant, rather, it’s like a glass of cold sweet tea on a summer tea. It’s not that the flavors are simple or light, they are neither, but rather, the cigar removes the need for you to think. It’s a good, not great, cigar. However, as far as ease of enjoyment, this is probably at the top of the charts of anything I’ve reviewed in the last year.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.