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Romeo y
Julieta
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History
The Romeo y Julieta marque was established in 1875 by
Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia. The brand is named for
the Shakespeare tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.
Between 1885 and 1900, the brand won numerous awards at
different tasting exhibitions (as still evidenced by the gold
medals on the brand's logo). However, the brand truly took off
after it was acquired by Jose "Pepin" Rodriguez Fernandez,
former head of the Cabanas factory in Havana, and his firm,
Rodriguez, Argelles y Cia, in 1903. Being a very cosmopolitan
man, Rodriguez constantly travelled across Europe and the
Americas, actively promoting his brand, and entering his
horse, the aptly named Julieta, in racing events across the
world.
As a result of his salesmanship, the brand became
exceptionally popular around the world among wealthy
customers, many of which demanded personalized bands for their
cigars. At its height, as many as 2000 personalized cigar
bands were produced for customers. The brand was also known at
this time for specializing in figurado cigars, such as
perfectos and piramides, with over a thousand such shapes
believed to have been in production.
Sir Winston Churchill was perhaps the brand's most famous
devotee. The flagship vitola of the brand is named in his
honor, a long 7" by 47 ring gauge cigar known as the
Churchill.
After Rodriguez's death in 1954 (he was 88 years old), the
revolution, and the subsequent nationalization of the tobacco
industry, the brand was moved to La Romana in the Dominican
Republic, where production of a Romeo y Julieta cigar for the
American market continues today under the direction of Altadis
SA. The Cuban government nationalized the brand and still
produces and distributes it world-wide as one of its
top-selling global brands.
In 2006, a new addition was made to the regular Romeo y
Julieta lineup. The Short Churchill size, a Robusto, was
introduced at the 8th Annual Habanos Festival in Havana, Cuba
in 2006.
Romeo y Julieta also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the
Small and the Medium.
Vitolas in the Romeo y Julieta Line
The following list of the Romeo y Julieta marque includes the
size in inches and ring gauge with metric in parenthesis.
Also, the vitola de galera or factory name of that size is
included along with its popular size name in American cigar
vocabulary.
Hand-Made Vitolas
Churchill - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
Belicoso - 5 1/2" x 52 (140 x 20.64 mm) Campana, a belicoso
Short Churchill - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a
robusto or rothschild
Exhibicion No. 3 - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda,
a toro
Exhibicion No. 4 - 5" x 48 (127 x 19.05 mm) Hermoso No. 4, a
robusto or rothschild
Cazador - 6 3/8" x 44 (162 x 17.46 mm) Cazador, a lonsdale
Corona - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Petit Corona - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit
corona
Tres Petit Corona - 4 1/2" x 40 (116 x 15.87 mm) Franciscano,
a tres petit corona
Petit Julieta - 3 7/8" x 30 (100 x 11.91 mm) Entreacto, a
small panetela
Cedro de Luxe No. 1 - 6 1/2" x 42 (165 x 16.67 mm) Cervantes,
a lonsdale
Cedro de Luxe No. 2 - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a
corona
Cedro de Luxe No. 3 - (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Machine-Made and Hand-Finish Vitolas
Romeo No. 1 - 5 1/2" x 40 (140 x 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
Romeo No. 2 - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a
petit corona
Romeo No. 3 - 4 5/8" x 40 (117 x 15.87 mm) Coronita, a petit
corona
Mille Fleur - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a
petit corona
Coronita en Cedro - 5 1/8" x 40 (129 x 15.87 mm) Petit Cetro,
a petit corona
Belvedere - 4 7/8" x 39 (125 x 15.48 mm) Belvedere, a petit
corona
Regala de Londres - 4 5/8" x 40 (117 x 15.87 mm) Coronita, a
petit corona
Sport Largo - 4 5/8" x 35 (117 x 13.89 mm) Sport, a small
panetela
Petit Princess - 4 3/8" x 35 (110 x 13.89 mm) Epicure, a tres
petit corona
Edicion Limitada Releases
Exhibicion No. 2 (2000) - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm)
Prominente, a double corona
Robusto (2001) - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a
robusto or rothschild
Hermoso No. 1 (2003) - 6 1/2" x 48 (165 x 19.05 mm) Super
Hermoso, a large toro
Hermoso No. 2 (2004) - 6 1/8" x 48 (157 x 19.05) Hermoso No.
2, a double robusto
Petit Piramide (2005) - 5 x 50 (127 x 19.84 mm) Petit Piramide,
a petit belicoso
Cigar
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