Romeo y Julieta Dominicain

Like Montecristo, like Punch, like Hoyo de Monterrey, Romeo y Julieta is a name cut in two by 1960. The Cuban brand stayed in Havana; the name, outside Cuba, was taken up by its former owners and is made today in the Dominican Republic, in the same vast factory at La Romana.

The Dominican version drifted from the Cuban model more openly than others. Where the Havana of the same name cultivates a medium, floral profile, the Dominican has explored varied registers over the decades, from the very mild to the full-bodied, multiplying its lines. That is the privilege — and the risk — of a name without continuity of recipe.

The Shakespearean band remained on both sides: the Veronese love story already adorned the boxes in the nineteenth century, long before politics split the brand in two.

Range Depth

• Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real

  Wrapper Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade · Strength Medium

  The medium register of the Dominican house: cedar, hazelnut, a mildness kept in check. The proposition closest to what the name suggests.

  Robusto

• Romeo 505 Nicaragua

  Wrapper Nicaraguan Habano · Strength Full

  The sharpest departure from the Cuban model: Nicaraguan filler, pepper and earth. A cigar with nothing to connect it to the Havana of the same name but the band.

  Toro

🥃 Pairings

• Tawny port

  Spirits

  The cooked fruit of the tawny follows the hazelnut of the Reserva Real.

• Espresso

  Coffee

  On the 505, the roast stands up to the Nicaraguan pepper.