Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta

By Tony Casas | August 28, 2018

While I am still without my computer I still found a way to make sure I got a review done. Hooray for me! This week we are looking at The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta paired with a 2015 version of Avery’s The Beast Grand Cru.

The Good Stuff:

Back in 2012 the household cigar named Romeo y Julietta took. Bit of a departure from the norm when they released a line extension simply called “Romeo”. Romeo was created with a different flavor profile in mind. Something a bit bolder, more full-bodied. Fast forward to the present and we are greeted with a further extension of the Romeo brand with the new Romeo San Andreas. Rolled at the Tabacalera AJ Fernandez factory in Nicaragua the Romeo San Andres is blended using a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The cigar is offered in four sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Short Magnum (5 1/2 x 60), Toro (6 x 54), and the Piramides (6 1/8 x 52). Each format comes packaged in boxes of 20 running between $9.35 and $9.85 a stick. Big shoutout goes out to Cuenca Cigars for sending a few of these our way for review. You can pick these up directly from Cuenca here.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican Republic / Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9.35
Pairing: Avery The Beast (Grand Cru 17.2% ABV)

Prelight

The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta starts out with a gorgeous, consistent, deep, dark brown wrapper. The wrapper showcases a few smaller veins as its laid seamlessly over itself. The texture on the wrapper struts some soft tooth with a whole mess of oils. The wrapper feels very dense and very hard as the cigar itself is extremely heavy and jam-packed with tobacco leading up to the cigar’s round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with the same style band as the original Romeo only in black instead of red with the words “San Andres” embossed across the front. 

The wrapper on the Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta  gives off lots of sweet raisin, spice, and oak aromas while the food of the cigar showcases more pepper and natural tobacco. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces lots of sweet tobacco, grain, cocoa, and natural tobacco flavors. 

First Third:

The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta starts off with a massive cayenne pepper bomb which left my tongue and lips tingling for a considerable amount of time. Once the pepper began to fade I am greeted with the great tartness I have come to expect from Mexican San Andres-wrapped cigars along with bold raisin, spice and oak backed by a bit of chalkiness and natural tobacco. The draw is great despite the cigar being so tightly packed. Each puff releases a considerable amount of thick, gray smoke while the cigar releases a standard amount of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is sharp, but a bit wavy leaving behind a trail of medium to dark gray ash which held on for an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Not the second third of The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta and a rich, dark chocolate has really started to take charge of the flavor profile backed by raisin and oak with light notes of tartness and spice. I am happy to report that the chalkiness has now faded. The retrohale really brings the pepper and spice forward so I don’t find myself doing it too often on this particular cigar. I close out the second third with no nicotine kick while the cigar is still burning with some slight waves. 

Finish:

The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta is still showcases the dark chocolate-forward profile along with the raisin, spice, and tartness. Pretty much anything else has been washed out of the experience. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to smoke The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat. Despite burning a bit wavy I never once had to reach for my torch to relight or touchup the burn. I close out feeling very little in the nicotine department.

Overview:

The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta is a solid cigar. While it wasn’t anything to write home about, I felt that cigar offered a great experience for someone who is used to smoking Romeo y Julietta cigars and is craving a unique experience. The cigar preformed flawlessly and the price point is spot-on. I only wish the cigar had a bit more dimension to it, but that’s strictly from a personal preference stand point. This is something I would smoke again, but I don’t see myself running out and looking for more anytime soon.

Pairing:

As soon as I lit up my first The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta I was dead-set on having a raisin-forward beer to pair it with once I was ready to review it. That particular choice came down to a 2015 version of Avery’s defunct The Beast Grand Cru. Coming in at a whopping 17.2% ABV the Beast leads with heavy molasses, raisin, date, caramel, apple, booze, and just a dash of spice and bitterness with a decently heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more booze, lots more spice, a good amount of raisin, vanilla, apple, and caramel. The raisin and booze really stick with you for some time in the aftertaste. The flavors in the beer made for a phenomenal pairing with The Romeo San Andres by Romeo y Julietta as many of them married up well while the others helped lift the cigar into a more full-bodied category.