ROMEO Y JULIETA LAUNCHES “HOUSE OF VERONA” COLLABORATION CIGAR

EASTON, PA – Famous Smoke Shop, the largest American-owned distributor of discounted premium cigars online, has announced a new cigar release: Romeo y Julieta House of Verona. This new premium cigar is debuting exclusively at Famous Smoke Shop, and is the latest they have done in collaboration with Romeo Y Julieta. Previously, RyJ and Famous collaborations have resulted in some highly rated and well-received cigars including House of Montague and House of Capulet.

This exciting new addition takes its name from the ruling family of Verona, who take their name from the Italian town where Shakespeare based his fateful tale of Romeo and Juliet. Prince Escalus of Verona, the patriarch of his family, was the well-respected mediator and personification of law and order. He demanded a peaceful resolution to the ill-fated families of Montague and Capulet. Much like the members of the Verona family, this cigar lives up to the iconic RyJ brand, providing a rich, medium-bodied, and peace-loving smoke. In the end, this Prince uttered the profound final words of the drama, "For never was a story of more woe, Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Offering the distinctively rich flavors of Romeo Y Julieta, the House of Verona is less intense than previous additions; featuring a semi-sweet three-nation blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian filler that adds a complex layer of earthiness and a slight spice that tingles the tongue. The rich Nicaraguan binder goes on to complement the sweet-as-pie flavors of Cubano San Andrés wrapper that top everything off.

“House of Verona is the ‘Goldilocks’ of the Romeo Y Julieta lineup,” says John Pullo, Managing Copywriter of Famous Smoke Shop. Pullo, who was among the first at Famous Smoke Shop to sample the House of Verona, stated, “There’s more to it than just the buttery subtleties of the RyJ Capulet; it’s less intense on the palate than the Maduro-wrapped Montague. Not too strong, not too mild - it fits in between them ‘just right’.”

This exclusive cigar is hand rolled in the Dominican Republic, in the highly renowned Tabacalera de Garcia alongside the rest of RyJ’s ultra-premium cigars. House of Verona is a luxury quality cigar, available at Famous at an astonishingly low pre-order price of around $5 per cigar.

The House of Verona comes in boxes of 20, eco-friendly humidor jars, 5-packs, and singles, and are available in an attractive array of vitolas including; Churchill, Corona, Robusto, Toro, and Short Magnum.

Short Magnum (5 ½ x60) $5.04/cigar SRP

Robusto (5 x54) $4.29/cigar SRP

Toro (6 x50) $4.84/cigar SRP

Churchill (7 x52) $4.89/cigar SRP

Corona (5 ½ x44) $4.39/cigar SRP Experience the theatrical flavors of the House of Verona, only at Famous Smoke Shop.











About Famous Smoke Shop
Famous Smoke Shop is the nation’s #1 discount retailer of premium cigars online, offering one of the largest selections of handmade cigars, machine-made cigars, cigar humidors and accessories. Famous offers the web’s lowest prices on a wide selection of cigar brands including Acid, Davidoff, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, Ashton, Padron, Oliva and Perdomo cigars, and many more. Famous offers their customers the best prices on all premium cigars as well as friendly and knowledgeable customer service.

Partagas Serie D no. 6 (3 1/2 x 50)

Video review HERE.

(From the Habanos.com website)

Serie D only includes vitolas with a 50 ring gauge and, with the introduction of the Serie D No. 6, will comprise three vitolas.

Partagás Serie D No. 6 (ring gauge 50 x 90 mm length, Vitola de Galera -Factory Name- D No. 6), showcases the Partagás character, but concentrated into an even shorter format, allowing its aromas to be released and its intense flavoured enjoyed in a shorter format, with a smoking time of around 15 minutes, which is ideal for the modern situations affecting smokers all over the world.

Like all the Partagás Series, it includes the characteristic red and gold band, which has become a reference in the Partagás brand and also across all Habanos brands.

This new Serie D also includes two innovative types of presentations:

SBN (Semi Boîte Nature) branded box, but with 20 units and with all the Habanos in a spectacular double layer.

An attractive and practical special 5-unit box in the colours of the Series.

Another image innovation is the visible sticker with the Serie D colours, which will be extended to the other 2 vitolas in the Serie D No. 4 and Serie D No. 5 . Also included on this box for the first time by Serie D is an external papeleta -rectangular seal on the short side of the box- that will make the brand’s wooden boxes more readily identifiable, similar to the one introduced at one stage by Serie E.he 

The cigar is a lighter medium brown in color. It is visibly short; much shorter than a usual robusto cigar. The cigar has a light feel in the hand due to it's short length.

The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a dry cedar and a slightly buttery brown sugar. There was a nice black pepper rated at an 8. There was also a nice black coffee base but the black pepper pretty much disguises it. 

At, or near the midpoint (20 minutes) there is a noticeable cinnamon. It actually appeared shortly after my initial impressions. The cedar is moving away from the dry cedar and it's more of a standard sweet cedar. There are still flashes of dry cedar here and there, however. The cigar is medium bodied by American standards. The finish is a light cream with some nice lingering black pepper. 

The cigar ended at 35 minutes. The flavors pretty much continued to the end. The cigar never moved much past medium bodied. The cedar continued to move back and forth between a dry cedar and a sweet cedar. The lightly buttered brown sugar and cinnamon notes continued, as well as the black coffee. The black pepper was very good in this cigar on both the front end and the finish, which continued to be a light cream. This was a good, short cigar. Perhaps the Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Honduran cigar manufacturers should think about producing some short cigars for today's fast paced world. I picked up this cigar at the Cancun LCDH in December. It was an enjoyable, short cigar.

Score: 92

Protocol Lancero (7 1/2 x 38)

Video review HERE.

(Description take from Cigar-Coop.com website)

The Protocol Lancero is a new line extension to Cubariqueño Cigar Company’s Protocol line. It was about a year ago, when cigar enthusiasts Juan Cancel and Bill Ives launched Cubariqueño Cigar Company. The company’s first release, Protocol was released in two sizes to select retailers in New Jersey. Last summer, the duo headed to the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show where they took their release national. The cigar proved to be one of the small batch revelations of the 2015 trade show. Now with a year under their belts, Cancel and Ives have added a third size, a  7 1/2 x 38 lancero.

The name of the company, Cubariqueño pays homage to Ives’ Cuban heritage and Cancel’s Puerto Rican heritage. The name of the brand pays homage to law enforcement, where the duo serve as police offices in New York City.To produce their cigar, Cancel and Ives turned to Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (La Zona SA)

Lancero: 7 1/2 x 38 REVIEWED TODAY

Corona Gorda: 5 5/8 x 46

Toro: 6 x 52

The cigar looks like a long pencil. It has a nice shiny wrapper and for a size of this diameter has a nice feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors at light up were a massive amount of black pepper which I rated at a 9. When you retro hale you really get a blast! There was also a nice orange/apricot mix combined with brown sugar and cinnamon. There was a nice black coffee base. The black pepper is simply amazing. It seems to be everywhere. Even at this early stage the black pepper is fantastic on the finish also. In addition you have a sweet vanilla cream. 

At, or just past the midpoint (28 minutes) the cigar is definitely full bodied. 2 things of note; with the speed at which this cigar burns I noticed that at the one inch point there was the introduction of caramel notes. It was about this point that the cigar also hit full bodied status. The flavor notes are now orange citrus, brown sugar, caramel, and cinnamon. The apricot notes are not longer in play. The pepper remains very good.

The cigar lasted 54 minutes which is about normal for a lancero. The brown sugar and cinnamon really came out in the latter stages. The citrus and caramel remained very good, as did the black coffee base. The pepper remained very good on the front end and the finish, which was unchanged. This was a very good cigar from start to finish. The flavors were fantastic and the fact that it was full bodied made it even better. This is a cigar that you must try. It is great.

Score: 95

Gotham Heroes Alec Bradley Robusto (5 x 50)

Video review HERE.

(From the Gotham Cigars website)

The Gotham Alec Bradley Robusto is the first edition in our Gotham Heroes Series line created exclusively for us, and handcrafted in the world famous Nestor Plasencia factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

It is a 100% Nicaraguan puro.

Wrapper: Sun Grown Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

The cigar is a medium brown color and has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was a bit firm. The initial flavors were a sweet, buttery cedar,  brown sugar, whipping cream, and black coffee. There was black pepper rated at a 7 1/2 to 8. There are a lot of the whipping cream flavors which are quite sweet. 

About one inch in (18 minutes) the cigar is starting to change. The predominant flavor is a slightly buttery whipping cream with the cedar holding a secondary position with a touch of brown sugar mixed in. The pepper remains very good. The coffee holds the base. The finish also has a whipping cream flavor with a good amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. The cigar is starting to get a dark noted feel to it.

At the midpoint (33 minutes) the whipping cream notes have greatly decreased. In their place is now chocolate! Quite a change but it seems to support my statement in the last segment that the cigar was getting a dark noted feel. The buttery cedar is still there along with the brown sugar, black pepper and coffee. The cigar is still medium bodied but it is pushing toward medium to full. The finish is still one of a whipping cream and very good lingering black pepper.

The cigar ended at 56 minutes. The flavors as the cigar ended were chocolate, cedar, and just enough whipping cream to give it a lighter flavor. The black coffee was very elevated from the 2/3 point to the end. The pepper remained very good. The finish was unchanged. The cigar reached medium to full bodied. This was a good cigar that made a fairly big change in the middle. These are quite affordable at $30 for a 5 pack. To give these a try go to the Gotham Cigars website. 

Score: 91

Guardian of the Farm Campeon (6 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Casa Fernandez and Warped Cigars teamed up once again for a new release. At the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, the two companies showed off its second collaboration project called “Guardian of the Farm”.

The principals involved with the collaboration are Max Fernandez of Casa Fernandez and Warped Cigars’ owner Kyle Gellis. The line is a tribute to the guard dogs of the Aganorsa farms in Nicaragua that grow the tobacco used in blends used by both companies. In fact, each of the vitola names correspond to one of the dogs: Campeon (6 x 52 ), J.J. (5 1/4 x 50), and Apollo Seleccion de Warped (a 6 x 44 lonsdale). The Apollo Seleccion de Warped is described as more limited release. Each of the three sizes are packaged in 25 count boxes.

Guardian of the Farm is a 100% Nicaraguan puro featuring Aganorsa-grown tobacco. The cigar is produced at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (TABSA)

Vitolas Available

Campeon: 6 x 52 (SRP $8.74) REVIEWED TODAY

JJ: 5 1/4 x 50 (SRP $8.50)

Apollo Seleccion de Warped: 6 x 44 (SRP $8.00)

The cigar is a medium brown in color and has an average feel in the hand. The foot is closed.

The test draw after cutting the minimum from the slightly pointed cap was a bit firm but that was probably due to the closed foot. The initial flavors at light up were the typical Arganosa vegetable like flavor combined with a sweet orange citrus and brown sugar with a light black coffee base. There was black pepper rated at a 7 1/2 to 8. 

One inch (20 minutes) in the vegetable flavors have become very manageable. There is still a nice orange citrus and brown sugar but now there is also a touch of cinnamon and dry cocoa. The light black coffee holds a nice base. The cigar is very sweet; almost candy-like. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a sweet cream with some dry cocoa influence. There is also nice lingering black pepper. The cigar is burning very evenly.

At the midpoint (43 minutes) the flavors are in equal proportion; very balanced. The flavors work very well together. The cigar is trying to move toward medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. 

At the end (1 hour 30 minutes) the cigar continued to be very balanced but I noticed flashes of butter here and there. Nothing spectacular but the cigar had them in minor amounts. I am really coming around to this Arganosa tobacco. It has a unique flavor and combines very nicely with the other sweeter flavors. The cigar reached medium to full bodied. This was a very good cigar. A combination between Warped Cigars and Casa Fernandez; how can you go wrong? Seek these out and try them. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor.

Score: 94

Foundry Tobacco Company Presents Temple Hall Estates

History takes many forms, from words in books to stories handed down through generations.  Foundry Tobacco Company’s new Temple Hall Estates collection is a story of heritage, best told through smoke.

The Temple Hall Cigar Factory was born of necessity.  During WWII, England needed to keep its currency within the commonwealth to support the war effort.  As the Brits were among the world’s largest buyers of Cuban cigars at that time, many Cuban cigar masters expatriated to British-held Jamaica to continue to supply this important market.  The Temple Hall cigar factory quickly became a big-time player. Years later, when the Castro regime took control of Cuba, Ramón Cifuentes, the father of Partagas, assumed the day-to-day operation of the factory. His legendary attention to detail and exacting standards quickly put Temple Hall on the map, and it became known as one of the world’s premier cigar factories. 

When the Temple Hall factory was acquired by General Cigar in the 1960s, Edgar Cullman, then chairman of the company, saw tremendous promise in Ramón and ultimately transferred him to the Dominican Republic where he played a pivotal role in developing the company’s strict standards for cigar making and quality assurance.

Justin Andrews, sales manager for Foundry Tobacco Company had this to day about the brand, “Temple Hall Estates pays homage to the factory in Jamaica, and the people who shared Ramón Cifuentes’ love for the art of cigar making.  This new line is made in Santiago, DR, according to the techniques set forth at Temple Hall by Ramón.” 

A silky, elegant, and flavorful smoke reminiscent of the cigars crafted at Temple Hall under the tutelage of Ramón Cifuentes, Temple Hall Estates is made with a Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Mexican San Andrean binder.  Proprietary Dominican Piloto Cubano leaves grown in Mao, DR and harvested from all three grades (volado, seco and ligero) and Mexican San Andrean long fillers round out the blend and deliver enticing notes of earth and cedar. 

Andrews noted, Temple Hall Estates rounds out the Foundry Tobacco Company portfolio by offering a mild, smooth-smoking cigar not previously represented in the FTC Heritage Series which includes Ramón Allones and Bolivar.”

Temple Hall Estates is available in four classic sizes listed below, and is now shipping to cigar retailers across the U.S. The brand will be supported with in-store educational events beginning in March and taking place at cigar shops across the country.

5.5 x 49 – SRP per cigar is $6.99

6 x 50 – SRP per cigar is $7.49

5.25 x 54 – SRP per cigar is $7.99

7.5 x 49 – SRP per cigar is $8.49