Our Cigar of The Year 2013 is the Romeo y Julieta Churchill Reserva 2008. We have loved this cigar since the first time we smoked it in Havana back in 2012. It is a cigar that delivers everything we hope for in a great smoke from subtle and perfumed aromas, rich yet balanced flavors and a long and intense aftertaste. It reminds us of great vintage cigars from the 1950s and 1960s, with its incredible depth of favor and character yet a harmonious style. It is also a cigar that improves with age. We originally rated it 97 points, but we think it is even better now – 99 points.
Romeo y Julieta only released 5,000 boxes of the Churchill Reserve 2008. The cigar comes in a black lacquered box with a soft velvet cover. Each box contains 20 cigars. The cigar is a classic Churchill dimension: measuring 47-ring gauge thick by 7 inches long. It sells for about $1,000 to $1,400 a box, depending on the market.
According to Habanos SA, the global distribution company for Cuban cigars, the limited production Churchill is produced from tobacco selected from the 2008 vintage that has been processed for a minimum of three years. This stringent selection process applies to all parts of the cigar, including the filler, binder and wrapper.
Click here to see James’ tasting note of the cigar.
The video below is from the 2012 Habanos cigar festival, when the Romeo y Julieta Churchill Reserva 2008 was launched. As we noted before, we think it’s even better now.