RyJ Lineup discussion: Favorites & Comparables

[MrVoyondon69]

So yesterday I had my first RyJ churchill...fantastic cigar. I mean, the rosewater/cherry sweetness is present from the start and only intensifies as the cigar progresses. 

The thing that surprised me the most is how different and more complex it was then the Mille Fleurs. To me, the Mille Fleurs is good, but no where near as pronounced as the Churchill in terms of flavor. Actually, it's not even close in terms of flavor profile imo (for comparison, the Partagas short still delivers the "oomph" factor that you get in a partagas D series, but obviously the D series is more complex and refined). Compared to the Churchill, I would even dare say that the Mille Fleur is almost tasteless (I'm obviously exagerating here but I do find a huge contrast). But somehow, some way, you can still tell they're both RyJ when smoking them.

I am now intrigued with the whole RyJ lineup and want to try the Petit Royales, En Cedros lineup, and the #1-3 (cheap ones that people seem to avoid for some reason).

With that said, I wanted to get y'alls opinions on the RyJ lineup.

1. Which ones have you tried?
2. Which one is your favorite?
3. Which ones compare to one another (in terms of flavor profiles)
4. If you've tried the Petit Royales, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar?
5. If you've tried the En Cedros, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar?
6. If you've tried the #1-3, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar?

Cheers!

[JohnS]

1. Which ones have you tried? In regard to regular production: Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Churchills, Club Kings, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Mille Fleur, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Julietas, Petit Royales, Romeo No.1, Romeo No.2, Romeo No.3, Short Churchills, Sports Largos, Wide Churchills. In regard to special releases: 109 and Aguilas from the 130 Aniversario Humidor,  Capuletos 2016 LE, Dukes 2009 LE, Tacos 2018 LE.
2. Which one is your favorite? This is difficult to answer. I suppose by looking at what I have most smoked within this marca in recent times I would surmise that it would have to be the Romeo y Julieta Churchills, Exhibicion No.4 and Petit Royales.
3. Which ones compare to one another (in terms of flavor profiles) Romeo y Julieta is a global marca and the easiest way to categorise the global marcas is to recognise the regular production cigars within these marcas that are premium quality offerings and the other cigars that are lower quality, perhaps traditionally aimed at the tourist or casual cigar smoker market. So, within the Romeo y Julieta family of cigars I would say that the Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Cedros de Luxe No.2, Cedros de Luxe No.3, Churchills, Dianas, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Royales, Short Churchills and Wide Churchills are more your premium offerings within this marca. If you were to generalise that Romeo y Julieta carries some form of a combination of toasted tobacco, cocoa, berry fruit, rosewater, licorice, turkish delight et al. flavours then these cigars would carry more of one or more of these flavours, and indeed be more flavoursome overall, then the other cheaper, less quality offerings within this marca.
4. If you've tried the Petit Royales, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? They both have a core cocoa type flavour but the Petit Royales has much more and would be less fruity than the Churchills cigars.
5. If you've tried the En Cedros, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? I think you mean the Cedros de Luxe group of cigars, including the No.2 and No.3. Honestly, I've not tried enough of these to comment other than to say that, in my opinion, the other aforementioned Romeo y Julieta cigars above would be much more popular within the marca amongst our members. Or perhaps you are referring to the Coronitas en Cedro, which I would categorise from tradition as belonging to the group of Romeo y Julieta Petit Coronas cigars (of which there are many) which I wouldn't necessarily include in the group of quality offerings within this marca.
6. If you've tried the #1-3, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? The Romeos 1 to 3 are the type of cigars you start on when you begin your journey into this hobby and of which you quickly move onto other more quality options.

[RDB]

Great insight from @JohnS there. For me, the Ex.4 is the best of the line up, then the Churchill. I have not smoked the new linea d’oro though.

It’s a great but inconsistent marca. At their best there’s a simply magic character and complexity to them. Rose water, red berry, middle eastern spice, Turkish delight, harissa… but it’s not reliable. They can be stronger than advertised! 

[Chibearsv]

When you’ve got a Churchill that’s performing well, they are tough to beat and simply the top tier of the RyJ collection. I hate the size of the petite royales but they are delicious. Cazzadores are punchier and very good. I’ve had a few of the Cedros lineup but they are a softer RyJ. 

[MrVoyondon69]

6 hours ago, JohnS said:

1. Which ones have you tried? In regard to regular production: Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Churchills, Club Kings, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Mille Fleur, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Julietas, Petit Royales, Romeo No.1, Romeo No.2, Romeo No.3, Short Churchills, Sports Largos, Wide Churchills. In regard to special releases: 109 and Aguilas from the 130 Aniversario Humidor,  Capuletos 2016 LE, Dukes 2009 LE, Tacos 2018 LE.
2. Which one is your favorite? This is difficult to answer. I suppose by looking at what I have most smoked within this marca in recent times I would surmise that it would have to be the Romeo y Julieta Churchills, Exhibicion No.4 and Petit Royales.
3. Which ones compare to one another (in terms of flavor profiles) Romeo y Julieta is a global marca and the easiest way to categorise the global marcas is to recognise the regular production cigars within these marcas that are premium quality offerings and the other cigars that are lower quality, perhaps traditionally aimed at the tourist or casual cigar smoker market. So, within the Romeo y Julieta family of cigars I would say that the Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Cedros de Luxe No.2, Cedros de Luxe No.3, Churchills, Dianas, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Royales, Short Churchills and Wide Churchills are more your premium offerings within this marca. If you were to generalise that Romeo y Julieta carries some form of a combination of toasted tobacco, cocoa, berry fruit, rosewater, licorice, turkish delight et al. flavours then these cigars would carry more of one or more of these flavours, and indeed be more flavoursome overall, then the other cheaper, less quality offerings within this marca.
4. If you've tried the Petit Royales, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? They both have a core cocoa type flavour but the Petit Royales has much more and would be less fruity than the Churchills cigars.
5. If you've tried the En Cedros, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? I think you mean the Cedros de Luxe group of cigars, including the No.2 and No.3. Honestly, I've not tried enough of these to comment other than to say that, in my opinion, the other aforementioned Romeo y Julieta cigars above would be much more popular within the marca amongst our members. Or perhaps you are referring to the Coronitas en Cedro, which I would categorise from tradition as belonging to the group of Romeo y Julieta Petit Coronas cigars (of which there are many) which I wouldn't necessarily include in the group of quality offerings within this marca.
6. If you've tried the #1-3, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? The Romeos 1 to 3 are the type of cigars you start on when you begin your journey into this hobby and of which you quickly move onto other more quality options.

 

Thanks for the detailed answer! This is really eye opening on the marca.

Indeed, I meant the Cedros de Luxe and not the coronitas en cedro.

I will definitely add the Ex.No4 and Petit Royales to the list of « must try » then.

As for the #1-3 I’m just surprised as to why they’re so unpopular compared to other marcas small coronas. Heck even the RG perlas, quinteros and Vegueros seem to be more popular even though they’re all fairly within the same price range (granted maybe a few exceptions depending on ring gauge). Maybe it’s because they’re just lacking flavor…I’ll still have to try them…but I’ll prob try them in singles instead of a box. Not for price concern, but because I don’t want to be stuck with a box of cheap sticks I don’t like

 

 

6 hours ago, RDB said:

Great insight from [mention=23478]JohnS[/mention] there. For me, the Ex.4 is the best of the line up, then the Churchill. I have not smoked the new linea d’oro though.
It’s a great but inconsistent marca. At their best there’s a simply magic character and complexity to them. Rose water, red berry, middle eastern spice, Turkish delight, harissa… but it’s not reliable. They can be stronger than advertised! 

Would you say that the Churchills/Ex.4 are inconsistent as well? Is there more « lemons » in a box compared to other marcas even when grabbing PSP/HQ boxes in you experience?

Can be stronger then advertised indeed, a friend of mine got sick on a Short Churchill and he’s no rookie

1 hour ago, Chibearsv said:

When you’ve got a Churchill that’s performing well, they are tough to beat and simply the top tier of the RyJ collection. I hate the size of the petite royales but they are delicious. Cazzadores are punchier and very good. I’ve had a few of the Cedros lineup but they are a softer RyJ. 

Thanks for the feedback! Just added the Cazzadores to the list!

Might try the Cedros in singles before buying a box. I tend to like creamy cigars such as the HUHC and Hoyo PR for lighter cigars. I found the Mille Fleur was light but lacking flavor/texture (still good though).


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[Bijan]

3 hours ago, MrVoyondon69 said:

As for the #1-3 I’m just surprised as to why they’re so unpopular compared to other marcas small coronas. Heck even the RG perlas, quinteros and Vegueros seem to be more popular even though they’re all fairly within the same price range (granted maybe a few exceptions depending on ring gauge). Maybe it’s because they’re just lacking flavor…I’ll still have to try them…but I’ll prob try them in singles instead of a box. Not for price concern, but because I don’t want to be stuck with a box of cheap sticks I don’t like

There are 4 Marcas that have quality cigars as @JohnS describes on one hand and also cheap and cheerful cigars as they are often called on the forum on the other hand:

Hoyo de Monterrey

H. Upmann

Partagas

Romeo y Julieta

Of these upmann has no premium small format besides the half corona.

Hoyo has 2 premiums the du depute and the du maire.

Partagas has only the partagas shorts.

And RyJ has a few (cedros 2, and cedros 3, petit julietas and RyJ PC). However I find all of those beside maybe the petit julietas lacking in flavours or at least lacking in RyJ flavours at present.

Back to the Romeo 1,2,3 tubos they are possibly even a step below even the cheap and cheerfuls from other manufacturers. And aren't even sought after by those looking for cheaper, simpler but reliable options.

 

3 hours ago, MrVoyondon69 said:

Would you say that the Churchills/Ex.4 are inconsistent as well? Is there more « lemons » in a box compared to other marcas even when grabbing PSP/HQ boxes in you experience?

I would say the Churchill's are especially inconsistent. And it is no surprise that they are the cheapest and most readily available 7+ inch Cuban cigar. Though they are very well received on the forum, you need to make sure you get good specimens.

[NSXCIGAR]

4 hours ago, MrVoyondon69 said:

As for the #1-3 I’m just surprised as to why they’re so unpopular compared to other marcas small coronas. Heck even the RG perlas, quinteros and Vegueros seem to be more popular even though they’re all fairly within the same price range

Romeo tubos are garbage as are almost all the global marca tubos. They're pretty much duty free sellers. Although I'd rather smoke a Romeo tubos than a HU Coronas Junior or Partagas de Luxe. Yuck. The smaller RyJ offerings like Belvederes, Coronitas en Cedros and Regalias de Londres are a notch above but still not using high quality leaf. I will say however once in a while you can come across a pretty good run of Sports Largos. 

Vegueros isn't particularly popular but Quintero does have a solid following particularly the Favoritos. I actually think the Tubulares aren't too bad either. 

RG Perlas don't belong with those others. They are a cigar of objectively high quality. 

As others have pointed out RyJ Churchills are usually the best model. It's certainly the one they put the most effort into. The Petit Royales I also find to be enjoyable. I would also say the Ex 4 is also a viable option although every other Hermosos No. 4 is better. And the Wide Churchills is quite popular but it is a very mild cigar. The rest of the lineup is nothing to celebrate IMO. 

RyJ has had the biggest fall from grace since 2000 and has still yet to recover. Murky blends and terrible inconsistency have plagued the brand for over 20 years. Punch had been going down the same path until it started to recover around 2016. 

[La_Tigre]

20 hours ago, JohnS said:

1. Which ones have you tried? In regard to regular production: Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Churchills, Club Kings, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Mille Fleur, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Julietas, Petit Royales, Romeo No.1, Romeo No.2, Romeo No.3, Short Churchills, Sports Largos, Wide Churchills. In regard to special releases: 109 and Aguilas from the 130 Aniversario Humidor,  Capuletos 2016 LE, Dukes 2009 LE, Tacos 2018 LE.
2. Which one is your favorite? This is difficult to answer. I suppose by looking at what I have most smoked within this marca in recent times I would surmise that it would have to be the Romeo y Julieta Churchills, Exhibicion No.4 and Petit Royales.
3. Which ones compare to one another (in terms of flavor profiles) Romeo y Julieta is a global marca and the easiest way to categorise the global marcas is to recognise the regular production cigars within these marcas that are premium quality offerings and the other cigars that are lower quality, perhaps traditionally aimed at the tourist or casual cigar smoker market. So, within the Romeo y Julieta family of cigars I would say that the Belicosos, Cazadores, Cedros de Luxe, Cedros de Luxe No.2, Cedros de Luxe No.3, Churchills, Dianas, Exhibicion No.4, Hidalgos, Nobles, Petit Churchills, Petit Coronas, Petit Royales, Short Churchills and Wide Churchills are more your premium offerings within this marca. If you were to generalise that Romeo y Julieta carries some form of a combination of toasted tobacco, cocoa, berry fruit, rosewater, licorice, turkish delight et al. flavours then these cigars would carry more of one or more of these flavours, and indeed be more flavoursome overall, then the other cheaper, less quality offerings within this marca.
4. If you've tried the Petit Royales, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? They both have a core cocoa type flavour but the Petit Royales has much more and would be less fruity than the Churchills cigars.
5. If you've tried the En Cedros, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? I think you mean the Cedros de Luxe group of cigars, including the No.2 and No.3. Honestly, I've not tried enough of these to comment other than to say that, in my opinion, the other aforementioned Romeo y Julieta cigars above would be much more popular within the marca amongst our members. Or perhaps you are referring to the Coronitas en Cedro, which I would categorise from tradition as belonging to the group of Romeo y Julieta Petit Coronas cigars (of which there are many) which I wouldn't necessarily include in the group of quality offerings within this marca.
6. If you've tried the #1-3, how close do they come to the churchill lineup? What makes them different/similar? The Romeos 1 to 3 are the type of cigars you start on when you begin your journey into this hobby and of which you quickly move onto other more quality options.

As always @JohnS with the 💣 drop of knowledge and detail… not much to add from us but a an upvote and a simple  +1.

[gustavehenne]

RyJ is one of the only marcas I really don't get. I've tried the Churchill, Ex4 and Wide Churchill and find them super bland and just not my thing (across multiple boxes and years). That being said I absolutely love the Cazadores but this isn't at all representative of the wider RyJ portfolio.

As Rob always says, 65% love em, 35% don't. I find myself in the 35% camp with this marca.

[Chas.Alpha]

1 minute ago, stevenhaugen said:

RyJ is one of the only marcas I really don't get. I've tried the Churchill, Ex4 and Wide Churchill and find them super bland and just not my thing (across multiple boxes and years). That being said I absolutely love the Cazadores but this isn't at all representative of the wider RyJ portfolio.

As Rob always says, 65% love em, 35% don't. I find myself in the 35% camp with this marca.

I told you we were brothers from a different mother!🙂

[Fugu]

15 hours ago, Bijan said:

Of these upmann has no premium small format besides the half corona.

But don’t forget the great Noellas! Not regprod, but a dozen years in production now, so there’s that.

As for RyJ, I by far prefer the Short over the Wide Churchills. 

Smoking quite a few Milfs. Apart from these, vitolas I smoke most (if that’s of any relevance 😂) are Cazzy, Short Church, Churchills and the CdL line. Had been more Ex 4 and Tres Petit Coronas in former times. Man, I am missing a decent Franciscanos, Perlas or Minutos in their current lineup. The Petit Royales is way overpriced and not my format.

[Bijan]

25 minutes ago, Fugu said:

Tres Petit Coronas in former times. Man, I am missing a decent Franciscanos, Perlas or Minutos in their current lineup. The Petit Royales is way overpriced and not my format.

Yeah... The RyJ Sports Largos (which @NSXCIGAR mentioned) are a unique vitola that can be pretty good, but a thinner ring gauge than those.

[BlueRidgeFly]

The few Petite Royales I’ve had have been excellent. If they were just a slightly larger vitola, would be a go-to.

[targa88]

Following @JohnS response.

I have tried a number of the RyJ marca.

The ones that I have enjoyed - with relative consistency: Ex#4, Churchill, Cazadores, Milles Fleurs.

I would have to say that the Cazadores was the big surprise - hidden gem in that lineup.

[MrVoyondon69]

17 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Romeo tubos are garbage as are almost all the global marca tubos. They're pretty much duty free sellers. Although I'd rather smoke a Romeo tubos than a HU Coronas Junior or Partagas de Luxe. Yuck. The smaller RyJ offerings like Belvederes, Coronitas en Cedros and Regalias de Londres are a notch above but still not using high quality leaf. I will say however once in a while you can come across a pretty good run of Sports Largos. 

Vegueros isn't particularly popular but Quintero does have a solid following particularly the Favoritos. I actually think the Tubulares aren't too bad either. 

RG Perlas don't belong with those others. They are a cigar of objectively high quality. 

As others have pointed out RyJ Churchills are usually the best model. It's certainly the one they put the most effort into. The Petit Royales I also find to be enjoyable. I would also say the Ex 4 is also a viable option although every other Hermosos No. 4 is better. And the Wide Churchills is quite popular but it is a very mild cigar. The rest of the lineup is nothing to celebrate IMO. 

RyJ has had the biggest fall from grace since 2000 and has still yet to recover. Murky blends and terrible inconsistency have plagued the brand for over 20 years. Punch had been going down the same path until it started to recover around 2016. 

Interesting fact regarding the "Duty Free" cigars. I did not know that.

I've yet to try the Favoritos, but the Petit Quintero can be a nice yard 'gar...never complex but when they're "On", the cuban twang is definitely present. When they're not...it tastes super bitter. I've also tried the brevas, and although at first I didn't like them as much as the Petit Quintero (for an ultimate budget stick) since they were harsher/coarser, I started enjoying them more and more for what they are and even split them in half sometimes to get a 15min smoke while cooking on the BBQ.

I agree that the quality of RG perlas I've had was impeccable. Not complex, but creamy and silky all the way through. Didn't pick up any "flavors" however.

I'm sitting on a box of Short de Punch, hopefully they're good they will be my first try with the marca. I know I've got to try Punch-Punch and Punch 48...those seem to sell like hot cakes.

[Edicion]

Great insights and info @JohnS!

I am in the camp of not getting it 95% of the times with R&J except for

Belicosos - a good example is a flavor powerhouse, almost as special as a Sancho Panza in its on way

R&J Petit Corona - great full flavored PC that imo is the best of all the smaller rg cigars in the R&J lineup (and there are many!)

Cazadores - great taste and feel to this one and reasonably priced for the quality

LEs - some of the best cigars to date have been LEs and I dare to say a DC from 2000 is the new benchmark for me

[Fugu]

9 hours ago, Bijan said:

Yeah... The RyJ Sports Largos (which @NSXCIGAR mentioned) are a unique vitola that can be pretty good, but a thinner ring gauge than those.

True, they can be nice, but outside the C&C range, there is no current offering anymore.

5 hours ago, Edicion said:

Great insights and info @JohnS!

I am in the camp of not getting it 95% of the times with R&J except for

Belicosos - a good example is a flavor powerhouse, almost as special as a Sancho Panza in its on way

R&J Petit Corona - great full flavored PC that imo is the best of all the smaller rg cigars in the R&J lineup (and there are many!)

Cazadores - great taste and feel to this one and reasonably priced for the quality

LEs - some of the best cigars to date have been LEs and I dare to say a DC from 2000 is the new benchmark for me

Agree on the PC. For some reason I smoke way more MFs. Guess I am a cheapskate. No, apart from pricing I think it’s mostly availability. Same holding for the Beli, which is harder to come by in my neck of the woods. I think, both vitolas are of comparatively limited production.

As for LEs, indeed there are some great RyJ ones that actually surpass regular production. Have you had the Hermosos No. 1 from 2003? That should set your new benchmark. Easily among the best of all times, in my book. You literally want to chew and “eat” the smoke. With another excellent one to mention being the De Luxe, but still, a far stretch from the Hermosos. They weren’t too enthusiastically received on release, but they are coming around nicely.

[El Presidente]

 

They need to be Rosado  to be given a half a chance to shine in the R&J way. 

What I love and smoke. 

• Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales  (...and I hate the size)
• R&J Exhibicion 4
• R&J Belicoso
• R&J Petit Corona 
• R&J Churchill (Tubos Preferred). 

Rosado Rosado Rosado Rosado Rosado Rosado

 

[Edicion]

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

True, they can be nice, but outside the C&C range, there is no current offering anymore.

Agree on the PC. For some reason I smoke way more MFs. Guess I am a cheapskate. No, apart from pricing I think it’s mostly availability. Same holding for the Beli, which is harder to come by in my neck of the woods. I think, both vitolas are of comparatively limited production.

As for LEs, indeed there are some great RyJ ones that actually surpass regular production. Have you had the Hermosos No. 1 from 2003? That should set your new benchmark. Easily among the best of all times, in my book. You literally want to chew and “eat” the smoke. With another excellent one to mention being the De Luxe, but still, a far stretch from the Hermosos. They weren’t too enthusiastically received on release, but they are coming around nicely.

Would really like to get a few of the early LEs to try, I have heard a few fellow members praising the Hermosos 1+2+3 if I recall correctly, but availability and prices seem to have skyrocket with these coming around now 20+y after their release. I wish there were sampler packs of these on BR to get! If you want to nerd out I wrote a review on the Exhibición 2 because it was an exceptional cigar experience.

Agree on the PC/Beli and the availability being the main issue for me, and so happy to score a PC box on a recent 24:24 that I will put away for 2-3 y to come around nicely. Before that I had to go to a B&M to buy one once in a while when I had that itch.

[foursite12]

1. Churchill (this seems to be a cigar where Tubos offer a richer experience but both are excellent)

2. Petit Royales. Superb, rich flavors that belie the absurd size. Questionable value proposition

3. Cazadores. More of a "rustic" cigar with loads of power, especially when young

4. PC. Flies under the radar. Surprisingly nice cigar 

[KCCubano]

1 hour ago, foursite12 said:

1. Churchill (this seems to be a cigar where Tubos offer a richer experience but both are excellent)

2. Petit Royales. Superb, rich flavors that belie the absurd size. Questionable value proposition

3. Cazadores. More of a "rustic" cigar with loads of power, especially when young

4. PC. Flies under the radar. Surprisingly nice cigar 

Agree on tubos. I would only buy the Churchill in 10 ct Tubos due to such a wide gap in consistency. Plus I always felt performed much better than a dress box. At todays prices no way would spend the $$$ on a crap shoot db. The ten ct tubos are rare to find these days with online vendors although I really havent sought them out. 

[Fugu]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:41 PM, therealrsr said:

We have a family wedding coming up in September of next year.  There will be a cigar lounge that I am supplying so I bought 50 each of the tubos 1 & 2. 

Still time to reconsider it. 🤔😆😉

[NSXCIGAR]

On 7/10/2022 at 6:45 PM, MrVoyondon69 said:

Interesting fact regarding the "Duty Free" cigars. I did not know that.

There's definitely a quality difference with all of these cigars. All the global brand tubos are huge volume cigars that are geared towards duty free or casual/gift buyers which is a huge market. They can't sell enough and they typically have to bribe distributors with premium product to take them. 

This was not the case before 2002. Every cheapie I had before then was of average or higher quality. In fact the machine made versions of many of these were excellent. I was a huge fan of Partagas Mille Fleurs and Super Partagas in cello. 

[MossybackR]

On 7/10/2022 at 4:49 PM, Bijan said:

There are 4 Marcas that have quality cigars as @JohnS describes on one hand and also cheap and cheerful cigars as they are often called on the forum on the other hand:

Hoyo de Monterrey

H. Upmann

Partagas

Romeo y Julieta

Of these upmann has no premium small format besides the half corona.

Hoyo has 2 premiums the du depute and the du maire.

Partagas has only the partagas shorts.

And RyJ has a few (cedros 2, and cedros 3, petit julietas and RyJ PC). However I find all of those beside maybe the petit julietas lacking in flavours or at least lacking in RyJ flavours at present.

Good summary of smaller format cigars — I like the description of “cheap and cheerful”, although recent developments have had an impact on the cheap descriptor. The Trinidad Reyes used to belong in this category and I would add RASCC and SC El Principe. 

[MrVoyondon69]

On 7/13/2022 at 5:26 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

They can't sell enough and they typically have to bribe distributors with premium product to take them. 
This was not the case before 2002. Every cheapie I had before then was of average or higher quality. In fact the machine made versions of many of these were excellent.

Interesting fact on the bribery…Distros are closer to OPEC then anything else in this game

I saw some Dave Dude videos on old Cazadores and even Quintero Brevas from late 90s early 2000s and he said they were better then now. I can only imagine since I haven’t had the opportunity to smoke any from that era so far

On 7/14/2022 at 3:25 AM, MossybackR said:

Good summary of smaller format cigars — I like the description of “cheap and cheerful”, although recent developments have had an impact on the cheap descriptor. The Trinidad Reyes used to belong in this category and I would add RASCC and SC El Principe. 

At current prices, I personally consider anything under 250$/box as C&C…but they do need to be good to fulfill the cheerful part.

I recently got to try RASCC, although I didn’t wait and had burn issues, I was surprised at how different it is from other cubans. Not really the flavour profile I dig TBH (still good but reminds me too much of Va/Per pipe blends). I’d rather have Bol CJ or Party short or HUHC then a RASCC. Those flavors are more in my alley.

Still glad I got a box though…who knows maybe I’ll like them better in a year.


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