Romeo y Julieta Churchill PLA JUL 15 (CRW)

[Shatner's Bassoon]

R y J Churchill’s were the cigars that changed me from ‘someone who occasionally smokes a cigar’ to ‘someone who smokes Cuban cigars’. That said, this box, while by no means terrible, has been pretty average so far.

The wrapper is an unspectacular colorado, construction is good, and the draw is on the snug side but certainly workable. There is little to no flavour on the cold draw.

The first half inch or so has a slightly harsh toasty flavour, with a slight fruity sweetness. There is a strong spice to the retrohale.

As the first third develops, the sweetness and the toast combine to form a lovely sweet cake flavour, while the retrohale loses the spice and accentuates the sweet cake character. The harshness has entirely disappeared. A great start.

Into the second third the sweet cake remains, while the fruity sweetness returns to join the party. There are clear notes of icing sugar on the finish. Notes of cream and citrus appear; the retrohale now has a pleasant sherbet tinge to it. The body ramps up towards the end of the second third from light medium to solid medium.

In the final third the cake notes are less sweet; the cake now tastes slightly burnt (though in a good way) while the sweet cake has moved to the finish. A slight bread flavour makes itself known, while the previous specimens returns to the retrohale, although the notes are now of sweet spice. Right at the nub the fruit notes crystallise into clear cherry notes, and the harshness of the first few draws are absent all the way down. The body remains a solid medium.

Overall, this was a great example, and gives me renewed hope for the rest of the box. A lovely end to the weekend. It gets a 93 rating from me.