NOTE: The Montecristo and Romeo Y Julieta brand is no longer produced, however a new Cuban Snus is made by SPT, "Byron", which comes in four types - Byron White Portion, Byron Original Portion, Byron Anis and Byron Mini.Taboca AS, manufacturer of Montecristo, Romeo Y Julieta Señor, Romeo Y Julieta Señorita, and Taboca, are toted as being "Purveyors of luxury snus". The company was established in 2004 quite simply to bring us to best quality snus around. Their factories are on the island of Gotland, in Sweden.
Their "Swedish Sommelier", (in wine, a sommelier is a wine steward, highly trained and very knowledgable, some call him the "wine geek") selects the best hand picked tobacco from Cuba which is then sent on to Sweden and made with sheer perfection.
Monte Cristo is very distinct, but very balanced in all aspects of flavor. Upon opening the can you are greeted immediately with a very rich aroma of pepper and Cuban tobacco. You can buy this product in los and portion, I am reviewing the portion type. You can taste a certain purity in this snus, perhaps it's the hand picked Cuban tobacco, or the fact that this snus is filtered with pure Norwegian spring water - regardless, it is a very high quality snus. The taste of Monte Cristo is not subdued, you can taste it from the beginning to the end. Whereas Romeo Y Julieta Señor is more mild, this flavor is very "in your face", and I wouldn't have it any other way. You experience a great flavor the whole way through. The portions are packed full, and although slightly uncomfortable with the way they are packed, the flavor makes up for it like no other. The taste is that of Cuban tobacco (like Bergamot, it is hard to explain unless you've had a Cuban cigar or Cuban tobacco) with slight notes of pepper, and a small amount of salt to balance it out in Swedish Style.
Romeo Y Julieta Señor is very different from Monte Cristo. Despite the fact that these are all made of Cuban tobacco, each has a very distinct and unique flavor. Upon opening the can of Romeo Y Julieta Señor, you will pick up the smell of pepper but it is a very sweet pepper aroma. It's like smelling candy, you can smell it when it's sweet. Same with Romeo Y Julieta. Although NOT a candy snus, the pepper smell comes through in a very sweet way, it intrigues the nostrils and triggers your brain to tell you that something beautiful is about to happen. The portions are more comfortable than Monte Cristo, packed more lightly and having an easier mouth feel. When you put the portion in your mouth, you will immediately notice that the taste is more subdued than that of Monte Cristo, providing a more mild taste of Cuban tobacco and the sweet hints of pepper that you smelled upon opening the can. This snus is pure and beautiful, to say it quite simply, and tastes of elegant tobacco and takes you back to more simple and elegant times. As Northerner put it, Romeo Y Julieta Señor "....evokes the romance of Cuba....". I couldn't agree more.
Usually when I do a comparison of similiar products, I try to put one out on top at the end, however with these these two it is simply impossible. With Montecristo you get a full flavor of Cuban tobacco, with Romeo Y Julieta you get a Cuban tobacco flavor with sweet pepper notes in the background. I like both in their own aspects, so I can't pick one to come out on top. Which to me is a good thing. Taboca has made two products that are each very beautiful and unique in their own right. If you are ever somewhere and have a way to get ahold of any of these, I strongly urge you to do so. There is a reason each can contains the logo, "Made from the finest hand-selected tobaccos." Because they CAN say that. I can be honest and say it terms of flavor, it would be very hard for any tobacco product to match up to the pure, simple flavor and various subtle notes playing in the background of each one of these.
Comments
Post a Comment