Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill (Cigar Review) Box Date May 2012

           This cigar was given to me about a year ago at a function. Believe it or not, I don't remember ever smoking one before now. This particular one was the bomb and well worth the wait. The box date was from 2012 and I've been saying for well over a year now that it was an excellent year for cigars in Cuba as this cigar and many others from that vintage have proven that to be true in my humble opinion. It's considered a Robust weighing in at 50 x 124 (4.9") and has been sold in Dress Boxes of 10 and 25 cigars plus Cardboard Packs of 3 cigars in aluminium tubes since 2006. 

            The cigar was slightly bumpy but otherwise smooth. What scared me was that it was as hard as a rock and might prove to be a tight but the pre-light draw showed me otherwise, the draw was going to be good. I picked-up nothing at this point except for a little wood. Once lit, it was a mild to medium bodied smoke with a woody flavour. For the first half inch the burn was straight but after that and for almost the entire smoke the burn was off and I was constantly touching it up with my torch. I know many of my readers don't like it when I do that but I believe if you let the burn get away from you and canoe too much, it will alter the taste of the smoke.

             So far, by the first inch, the cigar was very smooth and had no rough edges with hints cocoa bean creeping in but still overwhelmingly woody. Not far past the first inch the ash fell on it's own. The cigar is turning out to be more on the mild side. The flavours pretty much remain the same but just past the half way mark some earthiness starts to muscle it's way in for a while and then begins to take over past the remaining third of the cigar making it the dominant flavour until the end. As I said previously, this entire time I've been touching up the cigar with my torch to make sure the burn is relatively straight. By the last inch it picks up strength but it still smokes well right to the very end until I can't hold it any longer.

             Except for the burn being off, this was a flawless cigar. I enjoyed smoking this cigar immensely and would recommend the Short Churchill for any newbie smoker....it may a little to mild for the seasoned enthusiast. This of course comes as no surprise since it's well known that RyJ are one of the milder brands in Cuban Cigar Catalog and this vitola is no exception. If you're a novice cigar smoker or an experienced aficionado looking for a breakfast smoke, this cigar is for you. Enjoy