I am sitting here watching the opening ceremonies from the 2008 Olympics and I am blown away by what the Chinese have done. But at the same time I feel bad for them as a people. While the ceremonies have been visually amazing, the people performing them are almost without emotion. The military like movements are a little unsettling and sad. Perhaps I am reading to much into what I see, but this is my observation.

Today’s smoke has been gifted to me from the promotions department at Altadis USA. It is the second one I have ever smoked and the first one left me less then impressed due to the high price tag. The question that remains is, will a freebie invoke the same opinion as the one I had to pay for.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Romeo Y Julieta Edición Limitada
Origin: Dominican Republic
Sizes: Rothchilde 5 x 54
Wrapper: San Andreas Corojo (Mexico)
Binder: Broadleaf (Nicaragua)
Filler:Nicaraguan & Dominican

Pre-Smoke: I headed over to the beach on a sunny but comfortable August afternoon. The scent of the wrapper was of hazelnut and cedar, while the the foot had hazelnut and mocha. The wrapper was glistening with oils  and like many Altadis cigars the roll was almost seamless. The draw had some mocha and coffee to it. As I was going through my pre-light ritual the weather dramatically changed and I noticed what might of been funnel clouds trying to form. Below are two pictures can anyone shed some light if this was a funnel cloud attempting to form?

Smoke: This cigar burned really well, and had no burn issues what so ever. It also had a nice aroma about it as I smoked it. The first third of the cigar had some mocha, coffee and hazelnut notes to it. Which was a really nice combination. The second third had notes of coffee and hazelnut, while the cigar finished off with strong hazelnut notes.

Overall: While more enjoyable then the first time I smoked it because I took the time to identify the notes this cigar is not really worth the price tag. There are many more smokes in this price point that are far superior. The value really drives the rating down and although I got the smoke for free, I have to take the MSRP into consideration.

Rating: 88
Price: $17.00 retail

This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 9:31 PM and is filed under Cigar Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.