Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramides EL 2005 (3 Box Codes)

[Well Armed]

Sounds like they were excellent. Damn long ashes there Stever!

[log1k]

Hands down my favorrite Romeo....too bad I smoked them all

[greenpimp]

Really took one for the time there smoking three! So selfless...:-D

The profile sounds wonderful. Reviews around different sites sure seem to vary wildly on this cigar, however. Yours sounds like a cigar I would buy.

[stever]

» Really took one for the time there smoking three! So selfless...:-D

Sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. ;-)

But seriously, one point of my review is to see if any one else is experiencing variations in vendor and box code quality for this cigar.

» The profile sounds wonderful. Reviews around different sites sure seem to

» vary wildly on this cigar, however. Yours sounds like a cigar I would buy.

I wonder if there is still a lack of consistency between vendor regions, despite what Habanos says.

[shrink]

» I wonder if there is still a lack of consistency between vendor regions,

» despite what Habanos says.

Exceptional, detailed and analytical review, Steve!

I'm a bit confused by your discussion of "vendor regions". The boxcodes you cited were all FIM, ABR through JUL. Since I am assuming these all came from the same factory (and this is an assumption, given the changing codes), the apparent differences between these sticks would be more logically explained by other factors, i.e. tobacco, roller, and date of construction.

And if Habanos were sending different stock to different regions, on what basis would they differentiate?

Thanks for the review!

[stever]

» I'm a bit confused by your discussion of "vendor regions". The boxcodes

» you cited were all FIM, ABR through JUL. Since I am assuming these all

» came from the same factory (and this is an assumption, given the changing

» codes), the apparent differences between these sticks would be more

» logically explained by other factors, i.e. tobacco, roller, and date of

» construction.

From what I understand reviews, of this cigar have been "all over the board." I too have found quality differences, not from cigar to cigar from the same box, but from box to box.

In my case I have sampled multiple cigars of the R&J Petit Piramide from boxes coming from three different regions, and there appear to be some differences.

In the final analysis, it may be that there are far too many variables that impact quality, and to claim that there are regional quality differences may be stretching it. However, has anyone else noticed any such differences?

[El Presidente]

Superlative Review

There is a grading done but it is not regional but done at the retail level. Let me explain.

Assume all the same box code of say R&J Petit Pirimide LE.

Now visualise a "Cigar Bell Curve"

Superb 5%

Very Good 20%

Good 50%

Average 20%

Poor 5%

Every major distributor or big retailers stock will resemble this breakup.

The problem is there are 25% of boxes that are sub "private client" standard. Who do they go to? Similarly who gets the top 25% of stock?

The end decision is made by the retailer. Now, we set aside our bottom 25% to the wholesale market (pubs,clubs,casinos, secondary retailers). I have known large retailers to target that bottom 25% to the net market but that has almost disappeared as end consumers wised up and used BB's to inform each other.

The above bell curve also reinforces how important it is to have each box inspected. If you run into a duty free store and pick a box off the shelf you run roughly a 75% chance of getting a good box of cigars or better (not quite true as most duty free outlets have horrendous climate control).

A few other things will skew this Bell curve downward. End of lines, vintage stock, the last of LE stocks etc all will have a higher percentage of good-poor stock only because much of the stock has been picked over in the past hence removing the Very Good and Superb Stock. The exception to this is where distributors or retailers have set aside complete batches of stock for long term ageing.

[stever]

Rob:

Thanks for the excellent info. This helps quite a bit.

[Professor Twain]

Rob, this is great information, another example of why I devour the information on this Board.

Please tell Lisa to make a note, only Superb and Very Good stock for me on all future orders.

[stever]

Over the course of the past week, I smoked three R&J Petit Piramides from three different vendors and three different box codes: FIM MAY 05 from the UK; FIM JUL 05 from Switzerland; and FIM ABR 05 from Australia (not Czar).

The photos in this review are from the first R&J PP I smoked, FIM MAY 05 from the UK. All three examples look pretty much the same, except the one from Australia is a bit drier in appearance than either the UK or Swiss examples. The Swiss example is perhaps the darkest and oiliest of the three. Otherwise, the construction of all three was excellent, and each burns pretty much the same way. Each sample created a first ash that is about two inches.

This cigar sports a dark rich brown wrapper with a light sheen. Smell at cold is of wet leather, chocolate, and dark berries. Near the foot there is a discernible dark cherry note overlaying the wet leather and rich tobacco aromas. BTW, the odor from the box is primarily of chocolate cherries with an underlying light wet leather pungency. Odors are very promising!

The cigar appears to be well filled and has a good weight in hand. The draw is a tad on the firm side perhaps due to it being so well filled. The taste at cold is of lightly sweetened and slightly toasted tobacco with a hint of cherry. The cigar leaves a taste on my lips of black pepper.

Despite the firm draw the cigar fires up easily, and the first mouthful of smoke produces creamy coffee flavors and wood notes with sweet berry overtones. There’s also a light taste of pepper at the start. Body is at first on the light side, but soon picks up to medium. Smoke volume also increases and soon becomes more than adequate.

Mouth feel is lush right from the start, and the flavors are nicely rounded. The cigar starts off as a very smooth smoke with a nice balance of rich, dark flavors. Within a few minutes, the cigar finishes with cedar and sweet toasted tobacco flavors, but it also develops a very noticeable nasal-clearing aspect that I don’t recall having experienced when I last smoked these about 9 months ago. Very promising, and very nice!

Within half an inch, the cigar is developing an exotic wood flavor with an almost butterscotch or hard toffee-like note. At the same time, I’m beginning to pick up a burnt cherry flavor mid-palate, and there’s also more of a tangy fruit flavor on the finish. The butterscotch, hard-toffee note is definitely prevalent in my nostrils and complements the nasal-clearing aspects of this cigar.

At the one-inch mark, the cigar is definitely hitting its stride. The cherry notes and the butterscotch notes seem to combine into a wine-like or spirit-like flavor that almost makes you think that the cigar has been flavored with a liquor of some sort. Again, this is something that I don’t recall experiencing last time I smoked these. Definitely a lip-smacking, nasal-clearing little powerhouse that has my attention. The initial coffee flavors seem to have given way to dry cocoa flavors which seem to mix well with the wine-like, dark fruit notes. Just before the sweet cedar, pine nettle-like and toasted tobacco finish, I discern a light nutty flavor. Near the halfway mark, there’s more of a rich toasted tobacco flavor and a sweeter, long-lasting finish of wet leather.

The first ash produced is nearly two inches in length and nicely striated. The burn is clean and crisp throughout the duration of the smoke. This is a very well constructed cigar.

From the halfway point on, the cigar continues to pick up in strength, with more richness and depth of flavors. Overall, this cigar produces a nice mix of cocoa, sweet toasted tobacco, burnt cherry and wine-like flavors, and has a sweet cedar and mint-like finish.

The second R&J PP I smoked was FIM JUL 05 from Switzerland. Like the one I smoked from the UK, the Swiss example has a nice nasal-clearing aspect, and a wine-like cherry flavor mixed with chocolate and wood notes. However, the chocolate and cocoa notes are more prominent in the Swiss example and, as a result, perhaps provide a better balance to the cherry and fruit notes. Like the UK example, there are also cedar and wood notes, and the smoke is rich and lush with a sweet after-taste.

The last R&J PP I smoked was FIM ABR 05 from Australia. Of the three, this is the strongest and produces dark brooding chocolate, cocoa, earth and wood flavors. However, this example lacks much of the fruit notes, and, as a result, not as complex a smoke. Overall, I find the smoke to be at times flat and somewhat unbalanced. Occasionally it tastes a bit harsh and bitter. It actually improves in the last third when some charred cherry flavor appears and balances the wood and cocoa notes.

In my estimation, all three examples still hold promise. The Swiss example is currently the better balanced of the three and the most immediately smokeable; it also has enough strength and richness to age quite well. In addition, it is producing flavors that it hadn’t 9 months ago.

The UK example needs more time for the fruit notes to tone down and for the chocolate and woodnotes to develop more.

The Australia example holds the biggest question mark for me. First, I received the Australian example in good condition, but not as in as good a condition as either the Swiss or UK examples. Second, while it is very strong in the cocoa, earth and wood flavors, it remains to be seen the extent to which these flavors will mellow out and allow the fruit flavors to come through. Hopefully, those fruit flavors will still be there a few years down the road. It is promising, however, that the charred cherry flavor did come through in the last third of the Aussie cigar.

Find a box if you can from a reputable vendor who keeps cigars in good condition. The R&J Petit Piramide EL 2005 is a satisfying and fun smoke. I hope to revisit all three examples in another 6-9 months.