Romeo y Julieta Churchills

Talking about classic cigars, Churchills from Romeo y Julieta are as classic as it gets.

The date of its launch is highly discussed among historians. Some say it was launched in the 1940s after a visit of Sir Winston Churchill himself who was a true aficionado of the brand. Others say it was released in the 1950s.

Today the Churchills line evolved to more references like the Wide, Short and Petit Churchills, but the only thing they have in common is the name because the size, blend, and strength are not the same as the Churchills. This cigar was so important to Habanos that today, all the cigars in the same size range are called Churchills. It is a big cigar — 7.00″x47 — very strong and the recommended ageing period is around 3 years when the cigar starts to lose some of its initial tartness.

Before Lighting Up

Opening the 25 count box of the Romeo y Julieta Churchills for the first time is something that a cigar aficionado never forgets. Visually, it’s a big cigar, there’s no doubt about it and with that much amount of premium Cuban tobacco inside, you can imagine that the smell can fill up an entire room. The cold draw has some nice wood and cedar notes, nothing unusual or very spectacular to note besides that.

1st Third

Right after lighting the Churchills up, there was some bitterness to it combined with a vegetable flavour on the smoke. The smoke was not heavy or creamy, it was very light and with some freshness to it. This is because of the length of this cigar. Being a 7.00” the smoke reaches your mouth with less temperature than a Robusto cigar for example. The smoke temperature decreases in the body, being almost transparent when you let it out. Be patient, that smoke travelled a long way from the foot of the cigar. Along the way, it is permeating the leaves with some richness, which will help the cigar do develop better and become more complex. After a couple of draws, the cedar and caramel taste started to appear. Also, a subtle saltiness started to show up.

2nd Third

One thing to note is the exquisite razor-sharp burn that we got on this particular cigar. It stayed consistent and very straight throughout the entire cigar smoking session. Notes of earth and cedar became the main actors in this story while the second-actor roles were leather, butter, and some black tea. At this point, the cigar is still at medium body strength and very pleasant on the palate with a hint of peeper when you run the smoke through your nose. By the end of this 2nd third, we still had some light smoke but now a bit thicker.

3rd Third

On the last third, the smoke took a turn for the better. In fact, all the cigar just became better. An amazing combination of 85% leather and 15% butter was enough to make this last third a very creamy and oily finish, transforming the cigar into a full body. Smoke got heavy and meaty, the kind of smoke that makes you want to chew on it. The burn was surprisingly good for such a long cigar and it never went out.

Final Notes

There were times in the past when the Churchills were a bit disregarded by the public and some bad reviews started to appear on cigar circuits. And let’s be honest here, there was a time in the past where the construction and flavor of this cigar were simply awful. Very bitter, a lot of burning issues and the wrappers were looking like they were run over by a school bus. However, as of now, Habanos took the smart decision of getting their quality control up and running again for this model and the improvements are amazing. This cigar is a mandatory presence in your humidor because it is not just a cigar anymore, it is a piece of history.