Romeo Y Julieta Cedros Deluxe No 3 (NOV 2005)

[Colt45]

Another great review - thanks :-)

Smithy as Hansel...... never mind.

[smokum]

Great review of a good cigar Rob. I enjoyed our chat very much ! I actually did a review of this cigar...my first review mind you...but I posted it into thin air and it disappeared somehow. My thoughts were very close to yours...especially towards the end. All in all I enjoyed it very much.

[El Presidente]

Romeo Y Julieta Cedros Deluxe No 3 (NOV 2005)

It was after a discussion with a fellow FOH member (Hi Bob ) that Smithy and I decided it was about time we re-visited a cigar that we overlook 9 times out of 10.......The Romeo y Julieta Cedros De Luxe No 3.

Need a petite corona....we will jump at Por larranaga, Cohiba Siglo II, Bolivar PC, Trinidad Coloniales, ....a great Monte 4, Juan Lopez PC, Partagas etc.....but seldom the R&J CD3. Why? Well that is a hard question to answer. The R&JCD3 was far popular in years gone past. It has always been a dependable cigar and a standout Petit Corona...but just a tad unsexy.

Well after my morning telephone discussion with Bob, we thought we would rectify the situation and open a bottle of wine and test drive the Romeo y Julieta Cedros Deluxe No 3.

The cedar wrapper lends a little bit of class to this cigar but on the other hand it obstructs a clear look at the wrapper which in turn means assessing a box can be difficult. Upon undressing this petit corona we find a colorado...colorado claro wrapper. The one photographed was mine...smithy's had a patchwork look to it which encompassed more than a few green spots. The final look according to Smithy was Colorado Camoflage.....you need a cigar to blend into a shooting trip on a dry Savana....this is it.

I have seen all types of wrappers on this cigar from dark...near maduro to light butterscotch. One cannot escape the feeling that the cedar wrapper hides a lot of blemishes.

However....this petite corona was perfectly constructed in every way. no hard/soft spots, nicely bunched filler and a good cap.

Smell at cold was cedar (as expected) with an element of cream.

Having clipped the cap, the same cedar and cream were evident in the test cold draw. My draw was perfect although smithy's was slightly underfilled and a touch too easy. Still no complaints so far.

Toasted the foot to find after a few draws a distinct element of sweet spice and subtle cream flavours. The smoke was a little thin initially but it quickly improved. Body was straight medium, cream, cedar and an element of milk coffee on the palate. No R&J fruitiness. Strength increasing from medium to full as we near the end of the first third, meaty charachteristic to this cigar...it has a real core of strength and substance...a density/weight on the palate which makes it a serious cigar.

Into the second third and Smithy related flavour of pine needles. It reminded him of picnics his parents took him in wet pine forests and the subsequent taste of that setting in ones mouth. To be honest...I had no idea what he was on about. A part of me wanted him to keep his Hansel and Gretel family stories to himself lest I find out something seriously disturbing

On second thoughts, Smithy's pine needle odyssey was not too far different removed from the cedar flavour which was the core of this second third. Cedar, milk coffee but still that spine of meatiness/substance.

Into the last third and it was building in strength again but also building in bitterness. There were stronger white pepper spices through the nose, the cedar/pine was leaving us and was replaced with some charred BBQ notes . I let mine go out with an inch to go.

Smithy and I agreed that it was a much better cigar than we had anticipated. It had a substance to it which commanded respect and which alluded to great days to come. I am looking forward to trying an 06 when they come in.

The Romeo y Julieta Cedros De Luxe No 3 is the clutch player of any sporting team. It is the cigar that you go to when you want no surprises...the consistent performer who gets the job done everytime with a minimum of fuss.

We will both re-visit this petit corona in the next couple of weeks and look forward to doing so.

We agreed on the scores

88/100 4/6 smokerings.