Romeo y Julieta Cigars – Cuba’s largest Habano brand

The Romeo y Julieta brand and Shakespeare’s love tragedy have more in common than just the name. What they both have in common is that their origins are surrounded by a certain uncertainty: It is said that Shakespeare, like all the others, did not write the play himself, while the founding date of the Romeo y Julieta cigar is anything but clear. Some claim that Inocencia Álvarez and Manin García launched the brand in Havana in 1850. Other sources say it was in 1873 or 1875. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter, because the really important number for the Romeo y Julieta brand is 1903. In that year, the marketing genius José Rodriguez Fernández, known as Don Pepin , acquired the company with the pleasant-sounding name, ending the sleeping beauty slumber in which it had slumbered for decades.

Romeo y Julieta Cigars – Cuba’s largest Habano brand

The Romeo y Julieta brand and Shakespeare’s love tragedy have more in common than just the name. What they both have in common is that their origins are surrounded by a certain uncertainty: It is said that Shakespeare, like all the others, did not write the play himself, while the founding date of the Romeo y Julieta cigar is anything but clear. Some claim that Inocencia Álvarez and Manin García launched the brand in Havana in 1850. Other sources say it was in 1873 or 1875. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter, because the really important number for the Romeo y Julieta brand is 1903. In that year, the marketing genius José Rodriguez Fernández, known as Don Pepin , acquired the company with the pleasant-sounding name, ending the sleeping beauty slumber in which it had slumbered for decades.

A worldwide marketing firework

If the cigars had been produced exclusively for the domestic Cuban market up to the present day, as Álvarez and García initially did, the Romeo y Julieta brand would never have become one of the best-known and most-smoked Habanos. This cigar owes its enormous worldwide popularity to Don Pepin, who managed to anchor the brand in the minds of aficionados within a few years. He toured the world’s most sophisticated racetracks with a racehorse named Julieta , and while the horse ran its laps, he handed out sample cigars to wealthy visitors. He even managed to convince the city fathers of Verona to allow him to set up a tobacco stand under Juliet’s famous balcony to supply visitors with Romeo y Julieta . Only the outbreak of the Second World War put an end to this marketing campaign. In addition, he was more aware than almost anyone else of the enormous advertising effect of the belly band, which he knew how to market skillfully. He had customized belly bands printed at a reasonable price for wealthy customers – prominent contemporaries as well as heads of state – which were then sold in thousands in tobacco shops around the world. In the end, one of the most famous lovers of Romeo y Julieta was even given special honors : the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill . The largest format to date, Julieta No.2, was named after him.

Largest remaining variety of vitolas

A characteristic of old cigar brands is their great variety of vitolas, or formats. Over 40 shapes , including some machine-made ones, once belonged to the Romeo y Julieta brand . However, the range has since been significantly reduced. Nevertheless, it still includes 22 varieties, four of which are in tubes, which means that this Habano is still the largest Cuban brand for cigars totalmente a mano tripa larga . From the very beginning, Don Pepin focused on consistently high quality in order to ensure the long-term success of the brand. Therefore, only the best types of tobacco were used, which come exclusively from the best-known growing region, Vuelta Abajo. Romeo y Julieta cigars are generally mild to medium-strong , although the Churchill formats have a fuller taste and an impressive aroma. You should rather avoid the numbers 1 to 3, which are packed in tubes. Since they do not have a very high degree of maturity, they rightly do not carry the “De Luxe” label, especially since they are also machine-made. The vitolas wrapped in cedar wood, called “Cedros de Luxe”, are all very good. However, the cigar box should actually have the imprint “De Luxe” on it, otherwise there will be machine-made specimens inside. The Vintage series of the sister brand of the same name, which is made in the Dominican Republic, is worth mentioning. These are very fine cigars with a mild to medium-full body – consisting of a Connecticut Shade wrapper, a Mexican binder and a filler made from various Caribbean tobaccos.

The right accessories for your cigar

The great thing about the Romeo y Julieta brand is that lovers of these cigars can crown the smoking pleasure by using matching accessories. One example would be the Romeo y Julieta cigar ashtray made of porcelain, which is printed with the RyJ insignia and the love scene on the balcony , which also adorns the cigar boxes. Thanks to its solid workmanship and a size of 17.5 x 17.5 cm, it offers enough space for four cigars from the brand that is rich in vitolas. To make his Romeo y Julieta smokeable beforehand, the true connoisseur reaches for the Romeo y Julieta cigar cutter. This guillotine cutter has two hardened stainless steel blades that are automatically extended via a switch at the top of the cutter. Its elegant appearance with the high-gloss surface in combination with the polished metal components and the Romeo y Julieta logo in the middle round off the look.