Romeo y Julieta Aniversario Maduro Robusto

Named after Shakespeare’s literary masterpiece, Romeo y Julieta has been around for 149 years with its start in Cuba in 1875. After becoming incredibly popular during the 20th century, they moved to the Dominican Republic due to the Cuban Embargo. Today, cigar master José Seijas watches over the majority of Romeo y Julieta cigars and creates some of the most classic Cuban inspired cigars today.

The Romeo y Julieta Aniversario line was created to commemorate Romeo y Julieta's 130 years in the cigar business. Carefully crafted in the Dominican Republic, the maduro that you have in your shipment today is an extension of the original line and features Honduran and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, a Honduran Criollo ’98 binder, and a handsome chocolate brown Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. Once lit, expect to find a nearly perfect draw with medium-bodied and balanced notes of earth, pepper, coffee and hints of cherry sweetness. Our panel suggested pairing it with a Cherry Brandy.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.