RyJ Anejado Churchill ALPMAR 2007 (RJE4RW)

[SansSin]

Romeo y Julieta Anejado Churchill ALPMAR 2007 (RJE4RW)

Intro: I picked up a couple of these a while back and have been dying to try one. after seeing the negative FOHtv review of these my expectations have been tampered some but i'm still excited to try one for myself. i like the look of the tube for these and the construction seems excellent to me. i was kind of in the mood for a quicker smoke this morning, was thinking of a Monte 4. Since i am an unemployed disabled army vet, i have nothing better to do though, so lets get to it.

Cold Draw: has a easy draw and i am getting some spice and hay with a strong taste of something that is on the edge of my mind but i am having trouble identifying. i want to say it's a raisin bread flavor. 

First Third:  the draw and smoke output has been perfect for me so far with only minor burn issues that self corrected. it is very smooth and mellow which i would attribute to the age but a little overly so. i am mostly just getting flavors of cedar with a slight hint of some spice and coffee. a little disappointed so far with the flavor complexity and profile.

Second Third:  getting through that first third was a bit of a boring chore but the second third has begun to ramp it up a little. the strong cedar taste has faded to the background and replaced with more of a earthy/leather flavor with a slightly sweet creaminess. definitely an improvement from the first third but still not blowing me away.

Last Third:   the burn started getting a little wonky in the last third but only required a single touch up. the cedar flavors have started to make a comeback while maintaining the creaminess and giving me an occasional burst of coffee. i would say the last third is by far the best third and closer to what i was hoping for from this cigar.

Conclusion: i would rate this cigar a 84/100. if the whole cigar had been as good as the last third then i probably would have rated it a 90. it was very smooth and mellow but lacking to me in flavor complexity and transition. it could be someone with a more refined palate would have been able to detect more complexity and enjoyed it more then me. to the average smoker though, i think this cigar would be a disappointment. this cigar seems like maybe it was just a poor choice for long term aging and might have been better about 5 years ago.

[PrairieSmoke]

The anejados program takes another beating! Thanks for the review, its a major service to the community considering the entry price on these cigars.

[Guest Nekhyludov]

Cedar, spice, coffee, cream. At the risk of stirring up sh*t, that sounds exactly like a Monte Churchill Anejado to me. 

[encephalization]

Have only had one so far, my experience was not far from you. Doubt I'll pick up more than the one I have left.

I have to say though (in defense of the Anejados), the Upmann Robusto has been fantastic IMHO. Already on my second box.

 

1 hour ago, Nekhyludov said:

Cedar, spice, coffee, cream. At the risk of stirring up sh*t, that sounds exactly like a Monte Churchill Anejado to me. 

You forgot the "bubblegum"! ?

[CaptainQuintero]

1 hour ago, Nekhyludov said:

Cedar, spice, coffee, cream. At the risk of stirring up sh*t, that sounds exactly like a Monte Churchill Anejado to me. 

and no one knows what cigar they originally were either!

[Derboesekoenig]

19 minutes ago, CaptainQuintero said:

and no one knows what cigar they originally were either!

I'm convinced they just let these sit in the warehouse for 10 yrs, and at some point forgot about them and didn't even realize what they were supposed to be. They then threw the marcas in a hat, and picked one and that's how the Anejados program started 

[Guest Nekhyludov]

That's it. I'm starting the rumor - you heard it here first. The Montecristo Churchill Anejado and the Romeo y Julieta Churchill Anejado are the same cigars! 

[SansSin]

4 hours ago, Nekhyludov said:

Cedar, spice, coffee, cream. At the risk of stirring up sh*t, that sounds exactly like a Monte Churchill Anejado to me. 

to be fair to the cigar, i forgot to mention i smoked it shortly after drinking a coffee so that may have influenced it but i didn't really get any coffee until the last third. even then, i only got a couple random bursts of it and then nothing. the flavors were so muted too, i had some trouble getting anything other then the primary flavors of a creamy cedar and earth

[SansSin]

4 hours ago, encephalization said:

Have only had one so far, my experience was not far from you. Doubt I'll pick up more than the one I have left.

I have to say though (in defense of the Anejados), the Upmann Robusto has been fantastic IMHO. Already on my second box.

 

You forgot the "bubblegum"! ?

same, got one more then i'm good on the RyJ anejados, still interested in trying other marcas though. seems like this cigar was just a poor choice for long aging, i would hope the other marcas chose theirs better.