I recently received some samples of two Romeo y Julieta cigars from the Famous Smoke Shop. The two blends are the House of Montague and the House of Capulet. What is interesting is that these names have not been used before by Romeo y Julieta. Anyway, today I sampled the House of Montague.
The prologue to the story of the House of Montague begins with the outer sleeve of the cigar. It is a translucent paper that has an ornate design printed in silver and includes the words House of Montague and Romeo y Julieta along with 2 lions , a shield, a sword and a crown. There are two bands on this cigar, one at the top of the sleeve and one at the foot. The top band is classic Romeo y Julieta (red, white, and silver) with the words Medallas de Oro (Gold Medal) embossed in the middle of the band and the name Montague embossed on the bottom. The foot band is simple (red, white, and silver) with the words Romeo y Julieta embossed in the center and also printed in silver across the band.
Romeo y Julieta House of Montague
Removing the sleeve is simple. It gently pulls off the stick along with the bands revealing a dark brown – coffee bean colored – Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. There is a slight red hue in the wrapper color. It is a good-looking cigar with a well applied cap. The House of Montague weighs in at 5×54 and has no soft spots. Running my fingers up and down the barrel I feel an occasional bump and a noticeable vein.. The Montague is a product of Honduras and both the House of Montague and the House of Capulet are a joint project between Romeo y Julieta and Famous Smoke. We will review the House of Capulet in another article.
Turning the page we get into the first chapter of “The House of Montague”. It looked so good, I decided to give it an extended dry draw, rolling it around between my lips and savoring the spice and the red pepper sting on my tongue – which ignited different parts of the palate. The actual dry draw notes lingered a bit longer than most cigars I have smoked. The draw is perfectly open.
Well enough playing around, let’s get into the rest of the story and fire this bad boy up. I applied my single flame torch to the foot and warmed it up slowly. As it started to ignite, the smoke began to billow off the foot. Taking the first few puffs the Montague delivers a woody and muted pepper mouthful of smoke which is easy on the retrohale giving just a small initial burn.
A few puffs in and there is a wet leather background developing. The ash has multi shades of grey in it, not quite fifty shades of grey, but you know the look. Deep into the first third I taste a fermented juice tingle on the tip of my tongue as the spice begins to fade and give way to a sweet component. The House of Montague is a slow burn with a crisp char line and tight ash as you will see.
The sweetness moves into a sweet chocolate note and there is a cinnamon spice aroma that fills the air in the Stogie Press lounge. The House of Montague is literally mouthwatering at this point. The flavors are blending nicely and filling my palate with tasty sensations. No wonder Juliet wanted Romeo so much.
As the House of Montague transitions toward the final 3rd, there is a mineral note along with a sliver of earth that enters the mix. The smoke also got a little hot at this point which told me to smoke it slower and enjoy the pleasure. The ash has been simply amazing. Heck Romeo could have climbed up on it to get to Juliet. As I slowed down on the puffs, the heat diminished and the Montague finished with a delightful sweetness.
Romeo y Julieta House of Montgue
Overall, the House of Montague is a well-constructed and flavorful smoke that the newbie and experienced cigar smoker would enjoy, and the best part is, you can get these directly from Famous Smoke Online Here. Oh yea, they cost $5.15 a stick!!
