Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconet

Most cigar companies take anniversaries very seriously, every month of the year, there are new cigars released to commemorate everything from a one-year anniversary to 225 years.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Romeo y Julieta brand, which was officially registered in 1873 in Cuba. However, the most common date referred to when talking about the establishment of the original Cuban brand is 1875.

Earlier this year, during the Festival del Habano XXV, Habanos S.A. showed off a new Cuban cigar to mark the anniversary, the Romeo y Julieta Amantes; amantes is Spanish for lovers. While we know the cigar is a 6 x 53 parejo and that it will be sold in 20-count boxes, Habanos S.A. has not yet announced a price, a release date or even if the cigar is a limited edition or not.

Not to be outdone, Altadis U.S.A., which sells the non-Cuban version of the brand in the U.S., announced its own celebratory cigars, plural, for the same occasion. The aptly named Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary is made up of two different releases: a three-vitola regular production line and a limited edition size that can only be found in a special humidor.

Blend-wise, both releases are the same: an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper from AJ Fernandez covering a Mexican San Andrés binder from the Turrent family and filler tobaccos that include Peruvian and Honduran tobacco from the Plasencia family and Dominican tobacco from José Mendez & Co. The cigars are produced at Tabacalera de García in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

The regular production Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary line debuted in April with three different vitolas, all packaged in 16-count boxes:

• Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Prologue (5 x 50) — $25 (Box of 16, $400)
• Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconet (6 x 54) — $27 (Box of 16, $432)
• Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Crescendo (7 x 50) — $28 (Box of 16, $448)

In addition, Altadis U.S.A. released the Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Humidor, a limited edition, motorized humidor unveiled at the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show. The humidor, which requires electricity to function, is set into motion by one of a pair of buttons on its backside, which, when pushed, begins the process of raising the lid and elevating the inner container where up to 150 cigars can be stored. Another button closes the humidor, while the humidor can be locked via a pair of his-and-hers keys that are hidden in the sides of the humidor.

A total of 50 cigars are included with the humidor, 15 of which are an exclusive size of the Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary line, which shipped to retailers in April. It’s a 6 1/2 x 52 belicoso called Reconciliation. The remaining 35 cigars in the humidor are a sampling of cigars from the non-Cuban Romeo y Julieta portfolio.

• Cigar Reviewed: Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconet
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera de García
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras & Peru
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $27 (Box of 16, $432)
• Release Date: April 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

From a visual perspective, all three of the Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconets I am smoking for this review are extremely similar. They are all covered in attractive cinnamon brown wrappers featuring plenty of oil, and all three have numerous obvious veins present. However, while my first cigar’s wrapper is extremely toothy to the touch, the other two are silky smooth, and the first cigar is also noticeably harder when squeezed. The aromas coming from the wrappers are different: the first cigar is dominated by sweet woodiness, the second cigar features an abundance of creamy earth, and the third cigar has more barnyard than anything else. Regardless, secondary notes include leather tack, dark chocolate, pencil lead, generic nuttiness and some toastiness. The feet of all three cigars feature strong rasin sweetness followed by creamy oak, tobacco, white rice, sawdust and a touch of a floral note. After straight cuts, the cold draws have more raisin sweetness and creamy oak flavors, but also some cinnamon, sweet cornbread, generic nuttiness, coffee beans and light lemon zest.

After lighting the feet, the cigars start with a dank earth flavor that is easy to pick out, but there is virtually no spice or pepper to be had. After about 15 puffs, main flavors of peanut butter and oak slowly emerge, followed by secondary flavors of leather tack, salted potato chips, coffee beans, cocoa nibs, dry straw and gritty earth. Interestingly, the third cigar—the lightest of the three—has a creamier profile and more toastiness in general, but the main flavors are pretty much the same as the other two cigars. The retrohale features a rich but fairly light raisin sweetness, and while there is a very small amount of pepper present, it is so light that it almost disappears entirely at a few points. Flavor is full, the body is just under medium, and the strength hits a solid medium by the end of the first third. The draws on the first two cigars are a bit tighter than I would like—albeit still within normal limits—but there are zero issues when it comes to the burn lines or smoke production for all three cigars.

During the second third, the profile shifts a bit as a gritty earth flavor replaces the peanut butter note, joining the oak that remains as the other main flavor. Additional flavors of sourdough bread, leather, tree bark, coffee beans, anise, dark chocolate and a touch of citrus peel show up at various points. The sweetness on the retrohale has changed to a more subtle honey flavor, but there is still virtually no pepper. Flavor remains at full, the body bumps up to a solid medium and the strength increases slightly to land at a point just over the medium mark. In terms of construction, my third cigar needs one minor burn correction and the draws on the first two cigars are still slightly tight, but the smoke production is copious from the ends of all three cigars.

Once again, the profile changes, as a leather note joins the earth to form the main flavor combination, pushing the oak note to the secondary. Other flavors include plain popcorn, coffee beans, generic nuttiness, barnyard, cocoa nibs and a bit more floral, but the amount of both honey sweetness and black pepper on the retrohales is very similar compared to the second third. Flavor ends at full, while the body and strength increase to medium-plus. Unfortunately, the second and third cigars need two burn corrections each to stay on track, but the draws on the two tighter cigars have finally loosened up a bit, while the smoke production remains plentiful until I am finished with each cigar.

Final Notes

• Altadis U.S.A. went out of its way to mention the tobacco sources for the blend: AJ Fernandez, José Mendez & Co., and Plasencia. These are some of the company’s key external suppliers.
• According to Wikipedia, a Balconet—sometimes referred to as a “Juliet balcony”— is “an architectural term to describe a false balcony, or railing at the outer plane of a window-opening reaching to the floor, and having, when the window is open, the appearance of a balcony.”
• However, a Balconet is also the name of a bra style designed with low-cut cups and wide straps.

• The bands were fairly difficult to remove, and one of them took a small piece of wrapper with it.
• The presentation of the box these cigars are packaged in was nicely designed and extremely attractive. The middle section features information on the blend, strength level, country of origin and factory where the cigars are made. In addition, the exterior of the box features cutouts in a design based on the architectural style of Verona, Italy, where the play is set.

• I also love the color scheme of the bands, especially against the dark wrapper, and the pebbling detail is a nice touch.
• JR Cigar, a sister company of Altadis U.S.A., advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as 6 x 54. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• Even when I just compared them by holding the cigars, I could tell the first two were heavier. Perhaps not surprisingly, those two cigars also had tighter draws, albeit not tight enough to negatively affect the smoking experience.
• Interestingly, the lighter cigar suffered more burn issues than the other two cigars combined, although there were no major problems.
• Final smoking time averaged out to two hours and 28 minutes for the three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconet cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop, Fox Cigars and JR Cigars have them for sale on their respective websites.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.