Going around from tobacco shop to tobacco shop, during my vacation in southern Spain, I finally managed, on the last day of our trip, to find an offering of Cuban leaf in down town Sevilla. Interestingly, they only had Romeo y Julieta No. 2 Tubos. Of course, I jumped at my first sighting of a decent cigar and got five for the way home. So happy was I to come across these at last that I figured I’d smoke one as soon as I got back to the hotel. Well, I wish I could tell you that my nightmare was over, but “Alas!” the stick was moldy inside the tube! I opened a second tube and would you believe it too was moldy?

Well, it was… and I started getting slightly nauseous at the thought that the only lot of Cuban cigars I’d found in all of Cadiz and Sevilla were all moldy. I opened four tubes before I called it quits, preserving the last one untouched, if only so that I could hold on to some hope during my seven hour long trip back to Madrid. It sat in my pocket for the whole ride back and as in a strange twilight zone kind of twist it was completely fine, so I decided to do a review.

Now, I should mention that there are some older R&J No.2 tubos which are gray and are actually not as good as the ones that come in white tubes. These little guys are not very powerful but are rewarding with their unique aroma and flavor, which I would characterize as slightly sweet and floral initially. I would characterize the entire Romeo Y Julieta line as light to medium bodied.

The wrapper on the petit corona is somewhat sweet but not without the peppery taste of a good Cuban wrapper. Though I found the draw to be a bit on the tighter side, the cigar produces a good volume of smoke after a quick light. I got a few different notes in the first few puffs, sweet nutmeg, butter, white pepper, and maybe a little bit of leather. The smoke generally has a very creamy and smooth texture overall.

Into the 2nd third you can sense the darker aromas and flavors come to the fore. The leather notes come up a bit, with new emerging coffee and a little cacao. The smoke is still slightly sweet, perhaps less so than at the onset.

I corrected the burn on this stick slightly a couple of times, but in general I would say that they burn well. If you feel like taking these down to the last inch, you won’t have a problem. The coffee notes will pick up and a sweet cedar note should appear and eventually embody the medium finish. This is a little cigar that is definitely worth the price; just make sure that, unlike me, you are able to get your money back for a ruined batch!