Royal Jamaica Gold Belicoso – A Decent Stick I Might Not Have Purchased Separately

Not quite a year ago I purchased a ten cigar belicoso sampler of cigar giant Altadis’ premium brands which contained two Royal Jamaica Gold Belicosos. Also included in the box were an H. Upmann, two Montecristos, a Trinidad, two Romeo y Julieta, and two sticks that I have since forgotten. It took me quite a while to get to the Royal Jamaica sticks as I really didn’t know much about them and hadn’t heard any buzz about the brand. Well about two months ago I lit my first of the two and smoked it while watching a Sunday afternoon NFL game at my favorite cigar bar (MFCB). Gee, how surprising is that?

The Cigar

The Royal Jamaica Gold Belicoso is a 6 1/8 x 52 torpedo shaped belicoso with a Nicaraguan Colorado wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Jamaican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan tobacco for the filler. This brand was re-launched by Altadis in 2004 having previously been under the auspices of the founding Gore family whose operations suffered greatly after Hurricane Gilbert struck the island. Altadis lists the belicoso as being box pressed but my two sticks are definitely not. The wrapper is on the dark side of the Colorado scale and is fairly oily. The cigar come wrapped in a gold foil wrapper over a regular band and the wrapper does nothing to add to cigar’s look as far as I’m concerned. Royal Jamaica Gold cigars are hand rolled in the Dominican Republic. The Royal Jamaica Gold line is classified as a mild to medium strength and some sizes have been rated as high as 88 by Cigar Aficionado. The belicoso in particular has a burn time of about 50 – 60 minutes.

The Manufacturer

Altadis is a behemoth of a company representing a myriad of brands including the non-Cuban versions of Montecristo, H. Upmann, among many others. It is by far the largest cigar conglomerate in the world. Previously the company was known as Consolidated Cigars and had been owned at one time by billionaire businessman Ron Perelman. The original company was founded in 1921 and through the years produced some of the greatest cigar marketing campaigns for such brands as Dutch Master, El Producto, and Muriel. The list of brands they now own is like a who’s who of the cigar world and includes both premium labels and machine made fodder for convenience store shelves.

My Experience

My expectations as I slid the wrapper off my cigar were not very high. I couldn’t find anyone who smoked this brand and a quick scan through a few issues of various cigar magazines didn’t turn up much info. The aroma of the unlit cigar was predominantly cedar and leather with a hint of spice. It was a sweet smell, not unlike the aroma of some maduro wrappers but without the coffee or cocoa. The cigar appeared to be well made and there were no imperfections I could see. As I toasted the foot I was struck with a very nice aroma of sweet vanilla. My first draw proved to be very easy as the cigar was somewhat loosely packed. The flavor started out with a touch of sweetness, cedar, and leather but as I smoked it further down more spice appeared. I would describe the flavor as medium but the strength more on the mild side without any harshness. The belicoso burned evenly all the way down and drew beautifully to the end.

Overall I was fairly impressed with this stick. I would have preferred a more full bodied smoke as, even though the flavor was good, the cigar lacked the richness of the sticks I normally smoke. Had this cigar not been included in the sampler pack I likely would not have tried it, but I’m glad that it was and I did. Would I rush out to buy another? Not likely, but I wouldn’t be unhappy smoking one again for a change of pace.

Pairings

Predictably I was sipping an ale when I had mine but this cigar would go very well with a lighter rum or an aged port. It has a hint of sweetness and enough flavor to stand up against lighter beverages, but not against stronger drink like bourbons and other whiskeys.

Price

My sticks were part of a ten stick sampler that went for about $55. Online I’ve seen them advertised in the $5 - $6 per stick price range and boxes of 25 advertised for between $100 to $115 with one retailer selling them for as low as $86/box.