Origin : Dominican Republic Format : Robusto Size : 5 x 52 Wrapper : Ecuador (Connecticut Shade) Binder : Nicaragua Filler : Dominican Republic, Nicaragua Hand-Made Price : ~$6 each
The Romeo y Julieta non-Cuban brand is produced by the giant company Altadis. The Reserva Real is a very popular blend, along with the 1875. Featuring an Ecuador-grown Connecticut shade wrapper and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, this is an affordable cigar that retails in the $6 area.
Appearance : [rating:3.5/5]
The cigar has a pale brown sheen to it with some visible veining but the seams are tight and compact. As you can see in the photos, the sample I smoked wasn’t all that beautiful with some visible distortion around the cap area.
Construction : [rating:3.5/5]
I found the wrapper to be very delicate. There was some cracking when I cut the cap off and there was cracking while I smoked it. The Ecuadorian grown Connecticut wrapper is as fragile as it looks. I didn’t want to squeeze it too much for fear of damaging it but the cigar felt firm enough with no noticeable spongy spots. The draw was a tad loose for my liking and actually became looser as I smoked it making it difficult at times to get nice clouds of smoke. As you can see in the image of the foot, it was nicely packed, and appeared slightly box pressed. The burn was exceptional but required a small touch up and re-light near the band.
Flavor : [rating:3.5/5]
The pre-light aromas were pleasing. They consisted of mild cedar, citrus and natural tobacco. The pre-light draw provided hints of coffee, earth and a pleasant cedar and tobacco with a hint of spice.
The first third gave me some nice smoke output but overall it was inconsistent because of the loose draw. The flavors were somewhat subdued with hints of sweet cedar, earth and a mild coffee. There were hints of pepper at the back of the palate but this decreased significantly by the end of the first third.
As I approached the second third of the cigar most of the spice was gone leaving me some of the same flavors that I got out of the first third. Some additional sweetness entered the profile with
hints of honey, dried fruit and some pleasant saltiness on the lips to help balance the sweetness of the cigar. The Reserva Real was mild to medium bodied. Getting strong flavors out of this cigar was a challenge with many puffs revealing nothing but natural tobacco. There was some sweet oily residue on the palate provided by the smoke. This honey-like texture was present for approximately two thirds of the cigar.
The final third had hints of toasted nuts, coffee and caramel. There were occasional hints of orange peel and some pepper re-emerged. It had some distinct coffee notes with the presence of some leather and sweet wood. There were hints of earth and hay closer to the band that remained until the end. Some bitterness entered the profile as I approached the band and this continued until the end of the cigar. The bitterness was reminiscent of burnt espresso and dark bitter chocolate.
The rating doesn’t necessarily mean that the flavor was bad. What I found was that this cigar was quite mild and trying to get some flavors out of it was a chore. Many times it felt like I was smoking natural tobacco but when the flavors came to the fore, they were actually enjoyable.
Value : [rating:3.5/5]
The MSRP on the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real is $6.50. I was able to get mine for $6.00. I’ve seen them online for as little as $5.50. While the cigar wasn’t bad, it wasn’t overly exciting with the flavors being very muted at times. For this price, I want more body and strength to my cigar with some bolder flavors. It’s a good smoke for the novice, early/mid day or for the casual cigar smoker. I would definitely recommend it to someone in search of a mild cigar. Personally, I found it a tad too mild and for the price, there are cigars that offer a lot more body and flavor.
Overall Rating : [rating:3.5/5]
Not a bad cigar but not a fantastic one either. This cigar was very smooth albeit very mild. The flavors were just too muted at times and it seemed to always leave me wanting more. The primary flavors were of coffee, sweet wood and natural tobacco with secondary flavors of earth and hay coming in and out of the profile. There was occasional honey-like sweetness but there was also some bitterness that came into play near the end. For the most part the cigar was on the sweeter end with inconsistent smoke output and a draw that was a tad loose.
I consider the Reserva Real a very mild cigar that can be smoked mid-day and won’t upset your stomach. At no time did I experience any nicotine rush. However, as good as the flavors were, they were too muted and mild for my liking. Overall, the cigar was slightly above average.
DrFever
Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuador (Connecticut Shade)
Binder : Nicaragua
Filler : Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$6 each
The Romeo y Julieta non-Cuban brand is produced by the giant company Altadis. The Reserva Real is a very popular blend, along with the 1875. Featuring an Ecuador-grown Connecticut shade wrapper and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, this is an affordable cigar that retails in the $6 area.
Appearance : [rating:3.5/5]
The cigar has a pale brown sheen to it with some visible veining but the seams are tight and compact. As you can see in the photos, the sample I smoked wasn’t all that beautiful with some visible distortion around the cap area.
Construction : [rating:3.5/5]
I found the wrapper to be very delicate. There was some cracking when I cut the cap off and there was cracking while I smoked it. The Ecuadorian grown Connecticut wrapper is as fragile as it looks. I didn’t want to squeeze it too much for fear of damaging it but the cigar felt firm enough with no noticeable spongy spots. The draw was a tad loose for my liking and actually became looser as I smoked it making it difficult at times to get nice clouds of smoke. As you can see in the image of the foot, it was nicely packed, and appeared slightly box pressed. The burn was exceptional but required a small touch up and re-light near the band.
Flavor : [rating:3.5/5]
The pre-light aromas were pleasing. They consisted of mild cedar, citrus and natural tobacco. The pre-light draw provided hints of coffee, earth and a pleasant cedar and tobacco with a hint of spice.
The first third gave me some nice smoke output but overall it was inconsistent because of the loose draw. The flavors were somewhat subdued with hints of sweet cedar, earth and a mild coffee. There were hints of pepper at the back of the palate but this decreased significantly by the end of the first third.
As I approached the second third of the cigar most of the spice was gone leaving me some of the same flavors that I got out of the first third. Some additional sweetness entered the profile with
hints of honey, dried fruit and some pleasant saltiness on the lips to help balance the sweetness of the cigar. The Reserva Real was mild to medium bodied. Getting strong flavors out of this cigar was a challenge with many puffs revealing nothing but natural tobacco. There was some sweet oily residue on the palate provided by the smoke. This honey-like texture was present for approximately two thirds of the cigar.
The final third had hints of toasted nuts, coffee and caramel. There were occasional hints of orange peel and some pepper re-emerged. It had some distinct coffee notes with the presence of some leather and sweet wood. There were hints of earth and hay closer to the band that remained until the end. Some bitterness entered the profile as I approached the band and this continued until the end of the cigar. The bitterness was reminiscent of burnt espresso and dark bitter chocolate.
The rating doesn’t necessarily mean that the flavor was bad. What I found was that this cigar was quite mild and trying to get some flavors out of it was a chore. Many times it felt like I was smoking natural tobacco but when the flavors came to the fore, they were actually enjoyable.
Value : [rating:3.5/5]
The MSRP on the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real is $6.50. I was able to get mine for $6.00. I’ve seen them online for as little as $5.50. While the cigar wasn’t bad, it wasn’t overly exciting with the flavors being very muted at times. For this price, I want more body and strength to my cigar with some bolder flavors. It’s a good smoke for the novice, early/mid day or for the casual cigar smoker. I would definitely recommend it to someone in search of a mild cigar. Personally, I found it a tad too mild and for the price, there are cigars that offer a lot more body and flavor.
Overall Rating : [rating:3.5/5]
Not a bad cigar but not a fantastic one either. This cigar was very smooth albeit very mild. The flavors were just too muted at times and it seemed to always leave me wanting more. The primary flavors were of coffee, sweet wood and natural tobacco with secondary flavors of earth and hay coming in and out of the profile. There was occasional honey-like sweetness but there was also some bitterness that came into play near the end. For the most part the cigar was on the sweeter end with inconsistent smoke output and a draw that was a tad loose.
I consider the Reserva Real a very mild cigar that can be smoked mid-day and won’t upset your stomach. At no time did I experience any nicotine rush. However, as good as the flavors were, they were too muted and mild for my liking. Overall, the cigar was slightly above average.
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