Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua

By now the idea of Tabacalera USA taking many of its key brands and making them in Nicaragua with Nicaraguan tobaccos is no longer a radical one. There have been currently seven releases under the Romeo y Julieta brand that have been made for Tabacalera USA. These cigars have been produced at either Tabacalera AJ Fernandez or Plasencia SA. One release is easily the most innovative one under the brand is the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua. The “Connecticut Nicaragua” phrase is the key one here – in that it involves the use of a Connecticut seed shade-grown wrapper from Nicaragua. While Ecuadorian grown Connecticut Shade, U.S. grown Connecticut Shade, and to a lesser extent, Honduran-grown Connecticut Shade dominate the Connecticut Seed wrapper market, when it comes to Nicaragua, this is a much rarer thing to see. Today we look at the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro and see what his cigar brings to the table.

For completeness, here is a look a the Romeo y Julieta national releases (shop exclusives not included) that have been produced in Nicaragua for Altadis USA’s parent company Tabacalera USA which includes Santa Clara Cigars as well as Altadis USA. The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua comes from the Plasencia factory.

Romeo 505 Nicaragua (Plasencia SA for Altadis)
Romeo y Julieta Crafted by AJ Fernandez (Tabacalera AJ Fernandez for Santa Clara Cigars)
Romeo San Andrés by Romeo y Julieta Toro (Tabacalera AJ Fernandez for Altadis)
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Nicaragua(Plasencia SA for Altadis)
Romeo y Julieta Crafted by Plasencia at 2019 IPCPR (Plasencia SA for Santa Clara Cigars)
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua (Plasencia SA for Altadis)
Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua (Tabacalera AJ Fernandez for Altadis)

One final note, the “1875” on the branding refers to the year the Romeo y Julieta brand was established in Cuba. The year 2020 marks the 145th anniversary of the brand.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Nicaraguan Shade-Grown Connecticut seed wrapper of the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua comes from the Plasencia family. The wrapper is used on a blend of all Nicaraguan fillers. As mentioned above, production for the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua comes from the Plasencia factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade-Grown Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory Plasencia S.A.

Vitolas Offered

There are four sizes available for the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua. All of the sizes are in 25-count boxes with the exception of the Magnum size which is offered in 20-count boxes.

Bully: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Magnum: 6 x 60
Churchill: 7 x 50

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Shade-Grown Connecticut wrapper of the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro had a classic golden brown color to it. This was a wrapper that had more of a silky complexion as opposed to an oily complexion. There were some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams, but overall the wrapper was on the smoother side.

There are two bands on the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua The primary band has a yellow, white, gold, and black color scheme. The center of the band has a white oval surrounded by gold rivets. On that white oval is the text “MEDALLAS de ORO” in black font. This oval sits inside a yellow oval that is surrounded by gold rivets. Just above the brown oval is the text “ROMEO Y JULIETA” in black font, while just below the oval is the text “1875” – also in black font. The remainder of the band is mostly yellow. There are three gold medallions on each side of the concentric ovals. The lower part of the band has a pseudo-secondary band design with the text “1875” in gold font.

The secondary band sits just below the primary band. This is a yellow band with white trim at the top and gold trim at the bottom. On the band is the text “CONNECTICUT” in gold font and “NICARAGUA” in black font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro, a straight cut was used to remove the cap of the cigar. After the cap was successfully removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of cream, citrus, and a slight amount of cedar. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the foot of the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Tasting Notes

The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro started out with more notes of cream, citrus, and cedar. Early on there was no dominant note. Toward the middle of the first third, the cedar and cream took over as the primary notes. Shortly afterward the cedar morphed into a classic wood note. While the wood and cream were in the forefront, the citrus settled in the background where some notes of earth and black pepper emerged. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced additional layers of cedar, wood, and a slight black pepper note.

During the second third, the cream receded into the background leaving the wood as the primary note. There was an increase in the pepper notes, but they did not quite reach the forefront. Meanwhile, along with the cream notes, there were still some earth and citrus notes present in the background.

By the time the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro reached the final third, the creaminess had increased back to the point where it rejoined the wood notes in the forefront. The pepper, citrus and earth notes were still also present. This is the way the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While there was an occasional slight jaggedness on the burn line, the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro had no problems maintaining a straight burn path. The resulting ash was silver gray with some dark spots mixed in. This was an ash that was on the firm side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro

Draw

The draw to the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro scored nicely as well. This cigar had the sweet-spot between resistance and openness. Most importantly this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro is a cigar that started out on the upper end of mild to medium in terms of both strength and body. There was a nominal increase along the way and by the second half, the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro progressed to the lower end of medium.

In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither overpowering the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Sometimes a release of a cigar simply falls under the radar, and it’s hard to explain. The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua is one such example. When it came to the Toro, what I found worked best about this cigar is that it delivered the creaminess I would want from a Connecticut Shade Cigar, and just enough of the black pepper from a Nicaraguan cigar. At the same time, I liked how this cigar stayed in the mild to medium/medium range of strength and body. The end result was a very satisfying experience – and a Connecticut Shade worthy of being considered among the best released in the past 12 months. It’s a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast any time of the day. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again – and it is one I’d get multiples of to keep in my humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Cedar, Classic Wood, Black Pepper, Citrus
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good