Romeo y Julieta Eternal

2020 was a big year for two of Altadis’ iconic brands. Montecristo celebrated its 85th anniversary and Romeo y Julieta celebrated its 145th anniversary. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated supply-chain problems made it a challenge to get commemorative releases into the market in time. Altadis worked with AJ Fernandez to develop the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua, a regular production line and Romeo y Julieta worked with Plasencia for a limited edition cigar called the Eternal. Both of these releases came late in 2020 and for all practical purposes hit the market in 2021. Both were produced in Nicaragua. Today we turn our attention to the Romeo y Julieta Eternal.

The Romeo y Julieta brand is one that has been primarily produced in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera and Honduras at Flor de Copan. These are both factories that are a part of Altadis. Romeo y Julieta has also produced several releases in Nicaragua. These have been done by two manufacturing partners – Plasencia and AJ Fernandez. 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.

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 (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)
Romeo y Julieta Eternal (Plasencia SA for Altadis)

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to being produced in Nicaragua, the Romeo y Julieta Eternal features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos. The wrapper is double fermented and has been aged 26 months. As mentioned above, the Eternal is produced at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Plasencia S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Romeo y Julieta Eternal is offered in one size – a 54 x 6 Toro. The cigars are presented in eleven-count boxes. One of the cigars in the box contains a special golden ring and secondary band. According to Tabacalera USA Director of Product Capability Rafael Nodal, “Eternal’s golden ring symbolizes the strong bond between aficionados and Romeo y Julieta and the everlasting love of the iconic star-crossed lovers.”

Appearance

The Nicaraguan wrapper of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal had a dark Colorado color to it. On the surface of the wrapper, there was some oil. While there were some visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams, this was a wrapper that was relatively smooth.

The band of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal has a black background. There are two concentric ovals made up of gold rivets. Inside the inner oval is the text “1875” in red font. In between the two ovals is the text “ROMEO Y JULIETA” in red font on the upper section and “MEDALLAS DE ORO” in red font on the lower section. There are three gold medallions on the left and right side. The lower part of the band has a black pseudo band design. On that pseudo band is the text “ETERNAL” in red font. The entire band is surrounded by gold and red trim. There is also a red ribbon surrounding the footer.

Special “gold ring” edition of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal

The “gold ring” cigar has a similar design but the upper portion of the band has a gold background. There also is a special gold secondary ring on this cigar.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered notes of natural tobacco, cedar, and a slight floral note. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to remove the ribbon from the footer, toast up the Romeo y Julieta Eternal and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Romeo y Julieta Eternal opened up with notes of wood, cedar, natural tobacco, and mixed pepper. Early on, the wood and natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront. The cedar and mixed pepper settled in the background. In addition, some earth notes settled in the background. On the retro-hale were additional layers of cedar and pepper.

As the Romeo y Julieta Eternal moved into second third, the natural tobacco increased in intensity and emerged as the sole primary note. In the background the earth and pepper notes both increased in intensity. Meanwhile the wood notes settled into the background.

There wasn’t much change in the last third. The natural tobacco notes remained primary. The pepper and earth notes were close secondary notes while the wood and cedar were slightly further back. This is the way the Romeo y Julieta Eternal came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While there was a slight curvature on the burn line, the burn of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal maintained a straight burn path and straight burn line. There was a slight salt and pepper look to the ash. This was an ash that was on the firmer side. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal

Draw

The burn of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal also performed quite well. This draw had a slight resistance to it which is something that I consider to be a positive. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Romeo y Julieta Eternal delivered a medium strength, medium-bodied smoking experience from start to finish. There wasn’t much in the way of variance in the intensity levels of the strength and body. Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One side note – I loved the black and gold banding on this Romeo y Julieta. While it doesn’t factor into the score or rating, this is one of the best presentations I’ve seen from Altadis under the Romeo y Julieta brand.

In terms of the Romeo y Julieta Eternal, it keeps to a very classic profile – and one that I would say fits very well in the profile of the Romeo y Julieta brand. The cigar has excellent construction and good flavor. The issue I have is I’m not sure there was a lot that stood out to make this a limited edition that is a “must have.” In the end,there still is enough going on with this cigar where I would make a recommendation to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s a cigar that I still would buy and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Wood, Cedar, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good