Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulet Toro

In January 2021, Altadis U.S.A. began shipping a new blend under its Romeo y Julieta brand named Eternal, a 6 x 54 toro that had a wrapper that had undergone 26 months of aging. That cigar was made entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos from the Plasencia family and was produced at the Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

About two years later, Altadis released a follow-up to the Eternal named the Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulet. Like the Eternal, the 6 x 55 Envy is a Nicaraguan puro—albeit with a different blend—rolled at the Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory and is also sold in 11-count boxes. Beyond the blend and the color scheme differences, the Envy not only features a slightly thicker ring gauge compared to the Eternal but also has a price that is $2.50 higher.

“This blend was in the making for quite some time because we knew the aging process would bring out amazing notes from these Nicaraguan tobaccos,” said Rafael Nodal, head of product capability for Tabacalera USA, in a press release. “Once perfectly aged, the rest was a matter of finding the ideal size to capture and display them to the fullest! So here it is, this cigar is absolutely fantastic!”

The MSRP of the Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulet Toro is set at $17.50 per cigar and it is sold in boxes of 11. Production is limited to 100,00 cigars—or roughly 9,090 boxes—that started showing up on retailers’ shelves in February.

• Cigar Reviewed: Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulet Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Plasencia Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 55
• Vitola: Toro Grande
• MSRP: $17.50 (Box of 11, $192.50)
• Release Date: February 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 9,090 Boxes of 11 Cigars (100,000 Total Cigars)**
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*This math does not work perfectly.

Covered in a dark but noticeably pale brown wrapper, the Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulet Toros are firm when squeezed with a small amount of give, and while there are some fairly obvious veins, none are what I would classify as overly distracting. All three wrappers are supple-feeling and slick to the touch with virtually no tooth at all, thanks in large part to the abundance of oil that is present. In addition, aromas from the wrappers include barnyard, earth, nuttiness, cedar, milk chocolate sweetness and a touch of mint. Cocoa nibs and earth lead the scents from the foot, but there are also notes of leather tack, creamy nuts, black pepper and light paint. Finally, the cold draws bring flavors of paint, gritty earth, almonds, roasted coffee beans, toasted bread and sweet raisins.

Starting out, the Envy Amulet features immediate notes of red pepper, spice and espresso beans. Eventually, a combination of charred meat and earth takes over as the main flavors in the profile, followed by cashews, leather, espresso beans, dark chocolate and dry straw. There is a slight bitterness that shows up on the finish of two cigars, but it does not last long before it dissipates and does not return. There is plenty of black pepper on the retrohale, and while I can discern a light marshmallow sweetness as well, the latter is just not strong enough at this point to have any noticeable impact on the profile as a whole. Flavor ends the first third at a solid medium, while the body and strength lag a bit behind at a point just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, all three cigars feature excellent draws and there is no lack of thick smoke, and while the burn lines for each were a bit wonky at times, only one cigar needs a minor correction with my lighter to keep on track.

Charred meat and earth top the profile of the cigar during the second third. While the red pepper from the first third is still very much present, I can tell that the amount has started to fade as the burn line reaches the halfway point. Additional flavors of roasted coffee beans, leather tack, hay, generic nuts and very light cloves flit in and out at various points, while the amount of marshmallow sweetness and black pepper on the retrohale has changed very little. Flavor remains at a solid medium, but the body and strength have both increased to land at a solid medium and a point just over the medium mark, respectively. The overall construction is extremely consistent with the previous third: one cigar needs a minor burn correction, but all three cigars continue to exhibit excellent draws and plenty of smoke.

The final third of the Romeo y Julieta is very close to a carbon copy of the previous two-thirds: the same charred meat and earth flavors at the top of the profile, the same black pepper and too-light marshmallow sweetness on the retrohale. That also extends to the secondary flavors, which once again include leather tack, roasted coffee beans, hay, nuttiness and a slight clove note. Having said all of that, there is one major change to the profile: the red pepper that had been receding ever since the halfway point reaches a very manageable and much more balanced level, making the profile more balanced as a whole. Flavor bumps up slightly to a point just over medium by the end of the cigar, while the body and strength both end at medium-full. Finally, all aspects of the construction are finally on the same track, with the burn, draw and smoke production giving me no issues until I put the nubs down with about an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• The Envy Amulet was originally scheduled to ship in December 2022 but did not start showing up at retailers until early February 2023.
• The green secondary band features a depiction of the evil eye, which in many different cultures around the world is thought to ward off pain, suffering and misfortune brought on by another person’s envy.
• I have to admit that when I saw the logo on this cigar, the first thing I thought of was the Eye of Agamotto worn by Dr. Strange in the Marvel comic books and movies.
• My second thought about the logo was that could be something Illusione might make use of before that company began its branding makeover.
• Interestingly, the paint aroma was so noticeable from the foot did not emanate from the wrapper. Although the paint flavor that was noticeable on the cold draw, it was nowhere to be found in the actual profile of the cigar as I was smoking it.

• One cigar had a patch on the bottom of its foot, with an excessive amount of glue around it.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged two hours and 31 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Romeo y Julieta Envy Amulets, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar all have them for sale on their respective websites.