Review: Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill

Today we will be taking a look at a young Cuban cigar. One thing Brooks and myself wanted to start doing in 2011 is reviewing more young Habanos to accommodate the people that don’t necessarily age their cigars. It’s nice to know how a particular cigar or box code is smoking right off the truck. It is also a good tool for those people that do age their cigars because it will give you an idea as to how well a cigar might age.

The Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill is a very popular cigar. It was released in 2006 and ever since has been a huge seller. One of the reasons is up until this release Romeo y Julieta has never had a regular production Robusto. The only cigar coming close to that size was the Exhibición No.4 which is technically a Corona Extra. In 2001 Romeo y Julieta had an Edición Limitada Robusto which wasn’t commercially available till 2002. There was also a Robusto available in 2003 in the Selection Robusto series sampler. In 2009 Romeo y Julieta Released another Robusto called the Wide Churchill, a much larger format but still technically a Robusto coming in at 55 x 5.1 inches.

The Boxes look like this:

In the present cigar world you really can’t find a size more popular than the Robusto. It offers bold flavors and cool smoke and a relatively long smoking time for its size. Lines like Cohiba, Partagás, Bolívar, Trinidad, Hoyo De Monterrey, and Montecristo all have Robusto sized cigars and are all major sellers. Today we will be looking at a relatively new comer for Romeo y Julieta, the Short Churchill.

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 Lets get to it shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory; Briones Montoto
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 4 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $8.00 (Boxes of 25, $200.00)
• Date Released: 2006
• Box Code: AST MAR 10
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3
  

Visually, I love this cigar. It has your typical RyJ band but sports a unique gold colored second band that reads “Short Churchill”. The cigar has a nice Colorado Shade to it and is nicely packed, just a little soft but still nice and firm at the same time; one of those cigars you know is going to draw well. It has very few veins and an invisible seam with a perfectly applied triple cap with a flat head.

Pre-light aroma is chocolate with a nice amount of that Cuban barnyard, a nice combo of sweetness and dry earthiness. The pre-light draw is very clean and crisp with a touch of hay and some wood.

Starting off in the first third the cigar lights up perfectly, there is a nice chocolate flavor right away and a distinct hay note of the finish. It has a very toasty profile with hints of coffee and burnt caramel. The finish is long the draw is perfect.

Coming into the second third the cigar turns very buttery and creamy, and I can feel the rich oils on my lips after each puff. The profile is still predominately chocolate with lots of toasty notes and there’s coffee and a touch of pepper on the finish. The cigar is on the weaker side of medium body at this point; great burn and overall perfect construction.

Finishing up in the final third the cigar transitions a bit into a more mellow profile. I am getting some floral notes as well as a little bit of mushroom. The chocolate has turned into a darker chocolate and start to get a nice cedar note as well. The cigar gets a bit hot and turns a little bitter towards the end, the creaminess has faded but I am able to nub it fairly easily.

Final Notes:

• Excellent Construction, the cigar burned very well for such a young cigar. I also was very impressed with the shade of the wrapper and the overall look of all the cigars. It was definitely a good box and I would keep a look out for this box code.
• The profile was solid with lots of wonderful toasty flavors, wood notes and creaminess in the second third that really kept things interesting. This cigar is nowhere near where it should be but I think it’s a hell of a start and it’s a box I would love to age.
• These cigars come in wonderful 10 count boxes and you can find them at a variety of sources for around $80-$100. I think it’s a hell of a bargain for a cigar that looks great and performs great. If you haven’t tried the short Churchill I suggest you do.
• Final Smoking time was 1 hour 17 minutes.

 

The Bottom Line: This is a solid cigar and is priced very reasonably, if you are looking for a mild/medium body cigar with lots of flavor than this is your cigar. I would recommend the 10 count box if you haven’t tried one. Romeo y Julieta has a pretty standard profile but for whatever reason, this cigar strays a little from that typical profile and has its own make up. It’s nice when a cigar can stand on its own and I think this cigar does that very well.

 

 

Final Score: 87