Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona is dark tan and has some thin, raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the head is well finished. The band is red, gold and white and denotes the brand and line names. The aroma from the wrapper is a musty mix of cedar and earth, while the foot brings musty cedar with light amounts of stone fruit and earth. The pre-light draw brings aged cedar, stone fruit sweetness and mild earth, along with a very mild spiciness on my lips.

Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted, aged cedar with some black pepper and earth. At a quarter inch in, some creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth creaminess and some light black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper is showing a very long finish. At an inch and a quarter, some construction paper joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted, aged cedar is up front, with earth just ahead of the middle of the profile, black pepper just behind and some creaminess and construction paper in the back half. The strength was slightly below medium.

Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona

Second Third

As the second third begins, the black pepper increases a bit and the overall profile has become a bit dry. At a quarter inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth, creaminess and some light black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the earth is now right behind the toasted cedar up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and some creaminess and construction paper in the back half. The strength remained at slightly below medium.

Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona

Final Third

As the final third begins, the construction paper increases a bit. At a quarter inch in, a light wood bitterness joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. At three quarters of an inch in, the black pepper increases a bit more. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with the black pepper just in front of the middle of the profile. The construction paper is just behind the middle and some creaminess and wood bitterness is in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.

Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona

Burn

The burn was straight through the first half and then got a bit wavy through the second half.

Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar began with toasted, aged cedar with some black pepper and earth. Some creaminess joined in fairly quickly and then some construction paper a bit later. The second third saw the pepper and earth increase a bit. Later the earth bumped up to just behind the toasted cedar. The final third saw the construction paper increase a bit and then some light wood bitterness joined in. Later, the pepper increased some more. The Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around toasted cedar, earth and black pepper. It’s a pretty traditional Connecticut shade flavor profile that carries some dryness. It was able to dodge too much bitterness and overwhelming paper notes. While it’s not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to frequently, for those that really enjoy the traditional style of the cigar, it is one to check out.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$1.72

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Corona