Vitola: Robusto- 5.5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSPR $10
- Purchased from Silo Cigars
Background
Romeo y Julieta is one of the most storied brands in the cigar industry…although most people think of the Cuban version when you start talking about it. The American-market Romeo y Julieta is made by Altadis and the Reserva Real line is currently about the most successful line of cigars sold in the United States. But…confession time…I really don’t like the Reserva Real. It just never had a pleasing flavor to me. The Reserva Real is a true “old school” cigar that mostly sells well to old-school cigar smokers. Several years ago, the company decided to create an offshoot in an attempt to appeal to younger cigar smokers…that offshoot was Romeo by Romeo y Julieta (or RoMEo, as I like to call it).
The original RoMEo was a more medium-bodied Dominican-based blend (they insist that it’s full-bodied, but it really isn’t). It was followed up by the RoMEo Añejo, which uses a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper over Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf. And that was in turn followed up by the clumsily-named RoMEo by Romeo y Julieta Aging Room, a collaboration between the giant Altadis and boutique-sized Aging Room. Finally, in 2016 the RoMEo 505 Nicaragua was debuted. It is made by the Plascencia factory in Nicaragua and uses only Nicaraguan leaf: Habano from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa for the fillers, along with Habano Jalapa leaves for binder and wrapper.
It’s billed as their spiciest addition to the line, although it should be noted that it’s not the first time an all-Nicaraguan cigar has worn a Romeo y Julieta name. The RyJ came out a few years back and was, in my opinion, an excellent attempt to produce a nuanced Nicaraguan smoke the worked within the Romeo y Julieta paradigm, but it ultimately did not attract enough buyers, so it was discontinued. This review is the first time I’ve smoked this blend and I purchased this test cigar at Silo Cigars in Knoxville.
(On a side editorial note, it is interesting how Altadis keeps relying on other people to produce blends that appeal to the modern marketplace…the Placenscia family helps here, they relied on Jochi Blanco and Rafael Nodal for the Aging Room collaboration, they have a Montecristo made by A.J. Fernandez, and, of course, the Henry Clay Tattoo from Pete Johnson. On the one hand, it’s nice to see companies working together…on the other, it makes you wonder if one of the largest companies in the world doesn’t have enough experience and talent in-house.)
Prelight
In case you didn’t know, 505 is the calling code for Nicaragua, which is where they got the name. The box has mostly black, orange and gold for the major elements, with the box split vertically in two like other RoMEO releases. This one has a map of Nicaragua on the right side, with “Nicaraguan 505” in gold foil overlaying it. The left side has RoMEO in black type on an orange background. Then the regular Romeo y Julieta artwork is under that, displayed in full color.
The band is a repeat of most of those elements…black, orange and gold foil…and looks modern without trying so hard to be “hip” and “edgy.” Basically, it looks good and appropriate. The wrapper leaf was darker than I would expect for a Habano Criollo leaf…basically a milk chocolate base color with a little darker mottling in it. The aroma from it was rich and earthy, with just a touch of cedar in the mix. The foot had more earthiness, with some coffee bean and wood, too.
The cold draw had plenty of give and tasted of dried fruit, leather and earth.
Flavor
I lit the Romeo 505 and immediately got a mix of earth and leather flavor up front, with plenty of black pepper underneath, along with an undercurrent of salty and sweet flavors, all making for a very interesting start to this cigar. As the first third continued I found the interplay of flavors to be really interesting…the salty and sweet notes came forward a little; the leather stayed in the forefront and the earth fell back some; a bit of a floral note came through occasionally and there was a bit of pepper spice, but not nearly as much as you would think from a Nicaraguan puro.
The second third continued on mostly leathery with the sweet and salty right behind. There was a slight increase in the frequency of the floral notes and the pepper spice fell to practically non-existent. So far the body had been in the medium-plus range.
In the last third, the leatheriness didn’t abate, but the floral notes did fade away, replaced by some anise and coffee bean. The cigar did start to burn a little hot at this point, too.
Construction
I had a great draw, fairly even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
The RoMEo Añejo is my favorite thing wearing the Romeo y Julieta badging, but this is a close second…and the price is fair at $10 to $12 a stick.
Conclusions
Altadis definitely hit the mark of introducing something completely new and different into the Romeo y Julieta lines of cigars. The RoMEo 505 Nicaragua is a leathery, earthy puro that delivers a constant medium-plus body, moderate amount of spice and unique flavor profile. As noted above, this would be my second-favorite entry into the RyJ catalog and something that I would enjoy again from time to time.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
