Romeo y Julieta 2000 Edición Limitada Prominente

[jazznut]

"Rhapsody In Brown"

Romeo y Julieta Exhibición No.2 Edición Limitada 2000

Country of fabrication: Cuba
Packaging: Plain dress box containing 25 cigars
Dimensions: 7.63 inches by 49-ring gauge
Type of cigar: Prominente
Box code: RPO DIC00
Factory: Héroes de Moncada
Date issued: December 2000
Date smoked: Tuesday August 15th, 2006

Setting: A comfortable summer evening on the back porch following dinner.

Accompanying spirit: Booker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon 126.3 Proof (63.15% alcohol by volume), Batch C90-K-28, aged 7 years and 10 months, with a splash of water. This monumental American liquor proved a superb companion to the Cuban, the rippling raisiny richness of the whiskey serving to lift up and accentuate each individual taste of the cigar.

Accompanying chocolate: Andrea Stainer Cioccolato Allo Zenzero, dark chocolate (over 70% cocoa) with ginger from Novoleto-Pontremoli. The idea of partaking of this excellent Tuscan chocolate alongside the Romeo y Julieta grew irresistible shortly after I had fired up the Double Coronas.

The cigar:

The Colorado to Colorado Oscuro capa displayed a medium sienna tinged cocoa brown colour profusely embellished with burnt umber streaks and punctate markings. Many of the barely raised ridges of the veins, in contrast, exhibited a much lighter golden straw hue. A semi-gloss sheen emanated from the surface, while the veins appeared suppressed and the diffusely distributed tooth fine. The duller underlying capote showed a natural walnut colour. I noted a wide variation of hue within the tripa, the leaves ranging in tone from straw-ochre imbued with a pale olive green overcast through cocoa brown and reddish burnt sienna to a very deep Van Dyke brown.

The ¼-inch deep, finely rendered triple-seam cap came crowned with a flattened head. Box pressing, although mild, was slightly more apparent from the top of the cigar to the bottom. The fairly symmetric and ideally compact internal scroll pattern lent the Prominente a consistently firm feel from end to end.

Yes, a few scallops and angulations did occur over the course of combustion. However, these were minor in nature and not at all troublesome. The exceptionally solid ash, which melded pale grey and charcoal tones, held on as long as I dared to let it and, once disengaged, left a rather straight appendage behind. No re-lights were required, though I did purge the cigar twice during the latter stages in order to minimize tar accumulation. Total smoking time exceeded 2¼ hours.

The pre-light bouquet of the Double Coronas evoked an olfactory sensation of chocolate shavings having been turned into the furrows of freshly fertilized soil. Scents of leather and musk, as well as a delicate, exotic overlay of Chai Masala and cedar, further enticed.

Following torching, the Prominente released a rich aroma of embering tobacco heavily imbued with notions of melted chocolate seeping into leather. This opulent fragrance remained constant throughout the entire session.

On the palate, the opening segment reflected a signature Romeo y Julieta interplay of garden herbs and spices – in this case, primarily heather, lavender and mint – hovering above a core of discreetly toasted, medium-bodied tobacco. The cedar component, though restrained, permeated the other tastes in a persistent and firm fashion.

Within moments, however, sumptuous layers of leather and chocolate came forth, the latter projecting a light peppery punch that reminded me of mildly cayenne laced chocolate hot sauce. I found the counterbalancing sweetness difficult to pinpoint, as it seemed neither overtly sugary nor honeyed. In tandem with the piquant chocolate element, this elusive sweetness created a bakery-like illusion similar to spiced fudge brownies.

A little further into the session, the leather component assumed prominence, wrapping itself luxuriously around the other nuances. A subtle textural quality akin to butter also emerged at this time, adding caramel-toffee tones to the sweeter tendencies of the cigar.

From mid point through to the latter stages, the intrinsic tobacco characteristic gradually intensified, enveloping yet not obscuring the herb, spice, cedar and confectionery aspects in the process. This shifting of emphasis eventually led to a tightly amalgamated and focused finale that, though very rich in tenor, was not in the least ponderous. Indeed, the last inch or two had me wishing that some of the spent ash might magically reconstitute back into unburned leaves.

My last encounter with the 2000 Double Coronas dates back over three years to July of 2003, when the cigar was a relative infant. In the interim, the Prominente has begun to shed its disparate vestiges of ‘baby fat’ and underlying tannic acids while developing considerable coherence and refinement. And it continues to bring together the best features of the Romeo y Julieta house style and the early Edición Limitadas.

I came to this tasting session bearing a tremendous degree of expectation, and departed with a renewed and heightened respect for the brilliance of the blend. Notwithstanding the undeniable contribution of accompanying whiskey and chocolate to the overall experience, this Romeo y Julieta Prominente may well represent the finest cigar I have yet smoked in 2006.