Romeo y Julieta | 1875 Bully

The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Bully turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable smoke — and honestly, not at all what I expected going into it.

From the moment it was lit, the cigar performed beautifully. The burn line stayed sharp and even through roughly the first third, producing a firm, compact ash that held on impressively well. Construction early on seemed excellent, and the draw initially delivered a smooth, comfortable amount of smoke with little effort.

What surprised me most was the cigar’s body. Based on its appearance and reputation, I expected something heavier and more aggressive, but instead the Bully leaned pleasantly mild to medium-bodied. The flavor profile was balanced and approachable rather than overpowering, making it an easy cigar to settle into and simply enjoy.

Flavor-wise, the experience remained fairly consistent throughout most of the smoke. There was a gentle pepper note lingering in the background — enough to give the cigar some personality without dominating the palate. Alongside that came subtle notes of toasted almonds, light cedar, and an interesting savory quality that kept reminding me of olives. Strange comparison, I know, but cigars sometimes pull unexpected flavor memories from somewhere deep in the subconscious, and that salty, briny note kept surfacing for me throughout the experience.

The smoke itself was smooth and clean, never becoming harsh or bitter, which I appreciated. It had that classic Romeo y Julieta character — restrained, balanced, and approachable rather than bold or overly complex.

Unfortunately, the final third is where things began to fall apart a bit. The draw gradually tightened up, making it harder to pull smoke through the cigar, and the overall smoking experience suffered because of it. It never became unsmokable, but it definitely lost some of the effortless enjoyment it had earlier on. That was disappointing because the cigar had started strong enough that I was genuinely considering keeping a few in the humidor as a dependable mild smoke.

Even with the issues near the end, there was enough here that I’d absolutely give it another shot. Sometimes cigars are simply victims of a less-than-perfect roll, and when this one was performing properly, it showed flashes of being a very enjoyable everyday cigar. I’d definitely like to revisit it again sometime and see if the next experience lives up to the promise of that excellent first third.