Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill

Description

Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill Cigar Review This week we’re jet-setting to Cuba for an epic 45 minute smoke sesh with the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill. I had been on the rampage in my old man’s study one recent Sunday afternoon. You know those days when you wake up bouncing off the walls for reasons you can’t place? I call it “cleaning fever.” I was purging old tax returns and rearranging bookshelves not touched since the Clinton administration.

Product Specifications

The room still has his smell, old parchment and heavy oak furniture — with the faint, ghostly trace of stale tobacco forever breathing in that factory residue which clings to paper walls in every longtime smoker’s sanctum. Anyway, I opened a dense leather-bound tome of naval history and an unmounted photo fell out. It was a Polaroid from ’84. My dad was on a porch in some tropical place, probably younger than I am now, and he had the grin that meant he’d just won an important bet.

In his hands was this jumbo, royal looking cigar. It wasn’t today’s Wide Churchill — that was decades away (that doesn’t exist yet) — but a classic Julieta No. 2. A “Churchill.” When I saw the photo, this instant gut instinct washed over me: I needed to stop cleaning, immediately go find some matches and pay homage to the lineage that red-and-white band traced. I put down the vacuum, ran immediately to my own humidor, cut around everything else until my fingers hit something solid.

Something thick. Some statement! That smoke?

The
Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill
.

I thought that if I was going to channel the spirit of the old man’s study, I might as well do it with the weight-lifting computer of my lineage. The Specs
Name
Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill
Vitola de Galera
Montesco
Wrapper/Binder/Filler
Cuban Vuelta Abajo (Tripa Larga)
I gotta admit, a 55 ring gauge cigar feels different in the hand.

It’s not only a smoke; it’s an architectural object. In essence, there is a little bit of Habanos S.A. saying with the “Montesco” vitola, to “Take on me!”. It’s shorter than the classic Churchill and wider than the Short Churchill, in that ideal “extra heavyweight” zone that feels really solid in the palm. Construction: The Handshake
Before I had even considered introducing a flame anywhere near this thing, I’d already spent a solid five minutes rolling it between my fingers.

The wrapper on this Cuban is a nice, oily looking Colorado shade – it’s a such, reddish brown that you could mistaken for an old shoe leather. It’s a
Tripa Larga, Totalmente a Mano
(long filler, entirely hand made), and you can taste the workmanship. There’s a feel to it, a weight that cheaper sticks simply don’t have. It is dense but not rock-hard.

The pre-light draw was effortless. I’ve also smoked some Cubans that were like sucking a milkshake through a pinhole, but the Wide Churchill? It breathed perfectly. I caught a whiff of the tobacco growing cold and an elusive sweet hay smell.

I cut the cap straight off – I mean if you’re coming in with a 55 ring gauge, you need that wide-open surface to hit if you really want to appreciate what Montesco vitola can do. The gold secondary band of “Wide Churchills” really popped against the red primary Romeo y Julieta logo. It’s a good-looking stick, no question about it. The First Third: Nutty Beginnings
Slowly I toasted the foot, ensuring that large surface was shining bright.

The first couple puffs were a revelation of creamy gorgeousness. I don’t just mean “sort of smooth”; I mean a thick, ruched smoke that lines your palate like heavy silk. Nuttiness smacks you right in the mouth. It wasn’t subtle.

It tasted like a few handfuls of roasted cashews, and then there was that whiff of bitterness from a walnut or two — except that this is the right kind of bitter burst, one that demands you pay attention to it. The strength remained fairly steady, right in that light-to-medium zone. It’s an energetic beginning, but not aggressive. I sank back into my dad’s old leather chair with the cracked armrests, looking at how the smoke floated up to the ceiling.

The ash was bright grey and held on tightly for over an inch. That is what tells me the rollers at the factory knew what they were doing with this Vuelta Abajo leaf. The draw remained light, rewarding me with huge, satisfying plumes of white smoke. If you’re a dude who wants to taste and see the smoke, this is right up your alley.

The Plot Thickens vs. The Second Third
As I progressed into the halfway mark, the profile began to change

.

The creaminess remained, but it brought a few friends. I began to get some individual woody notes — cedar, mostly — and a hint of leather. It smelled like the room in that old study I was supposed to have been cleaning. There was a little light zesty flicker of orange peel on the retrohale that kept things relatively interesting.

A complicated mix, yet one that isn’t trying to dance around with you. What I love about the Wide Churchill is that it’s all in balance. It’s a 55 ring gauge, so you should expect it to be a powerhouse, but no, this one is actually kind of polite. It’s medium-bodied, accentuating those earth and mineral notes that define a real Cuban.

I found a little bit of spice creeping in around the edges — not really peppery zing, more like a warm baking spice. Like nutmeg, or a whisper of cinnamon. It kept my palate engaged, but not running for a glass of water every two minutes. Grand Finale of the Grand Finale
As they returned to the home stretch, the flavors circled back on themselves but with greater intensity.

Those nutty notes — hazelnuts and pecans this time around — came back with a vengeance. The cedar became stronger, and there was more of a tobacco feel coming through, becoming richer and “toastier.” As it burned down to the nub, it never got hot or became harsh. It’s the sign of a well-aged, well-made cigar. I’ve heard people (including me) say that the Wide Churchill is a 45-minute smoke.

Maybe if you’re in a rush. For me, that was a good 75-minute ride. It’s not like I was going to drop it until I could hear myself screaming in agony because by then my fingers would be about touching the burning ember. The finish was long and silky with a nice lingering dark fruit/earthy taste.

It’s the kind of smoke that makes you want to remain absolutely still in that very same quiet for a few minutes after it’s gone. The Pairing: What to Drink?

I mean, I’m a firm believer you should not overcomplicate your pairings.

As such this is a medium-strength, often creamy smoke date precisely dont want a peat bomb of a Scotch dominating the flavour nuances of the tobacco. I opted for a medium-bodied Cuban rum — in the family, after all. A 7-year-old Havana Club did plenty fine. The sweetness of the rum combined with the nutty, wood notes of the Wide Churchill as if they had been old fri