Rocky Patel Vintage 1992

Made by Rocky Patel, I had the Robusto size of this beautiful cigar.  I have had these before, but my pallet was much younger then and I also wasn’t reviewing smokes at that time.  This cigar is a beautiful box press, which I love.  Rumor has it this Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper is aged 10 years and wraps up 7 year aged fillers.  All of this for only $8.75 (in Colorado, with our 40 percent tobacco tax.)  There is absolutely no question about the quality construction of this cigar.  It feels wonderful, looks wonderful, and smells wonderful.  The biggest pre-light aroma I am getting is a dark earthy scent.

The cigar lights wonderfully.  This is one of those great cigars that gets great flavor right off the bat.  Typically I will give a cigar a few puffs to let it warm up before I start passing judgement on it, but there is no need to let this one warm up.  It is very earthy with a little spice behind it.  The cigar burns a little unevenly, but then straightens itself out immediately.  I think this may be more from an uneven light than anything.  This cigar is easy to suck down without even realizing it because it almost begs you to let everything else go and just enjoy it.  There is a ton of smoke that comes out of it which occasionally gives a hint of cocoa to it.  The cigar is very smooth and easy to smoke.  It is medium to medium-full bodied but it never feels like too much.  I don’t think I have ever been disappointed by a Rocky cigar and this one is no exception.  The smoke seems to get a little more earthy and has a little more cocoa to it as it progresses.  This is a very flavorful cigar without overwhelming your mouth.  I would say it tastes like what one should expect from good tobacco.  This is also a cigar that every smoker should try without question.  It gets a little hot towards the end, which is probably as a result of me smoking it too fast.  The spicy tastes come out a lot in the final third, but never gets overwhelming.  So like I said, this is a must smoke for any cigar smoker out there.  I have had it before and I will definitely have it again, only in a larger size.

Rocky Patel Edge Maduro

I got the Rocky Patel Edge 4 pack, which included this.  It was $25.95 (in Colorado) for the 4 pack, which I consider a pretty good deal.  The 4 pack also has an included humidi-pak, so it would make a good one to mail to someone overseas or a gift or stocking stuffer.  The cigars come in 6 X 52, which is a little bigger than I usually smoke, but a size I still enjoy.  The maduro smells great, most an earthy dirt aroma with a hint of cocoa.  The wrapper is obviously a Maduro and Rocky’s website says it has a Nicaraguan binder and the filler is listed as “secret.”  The wrapper is very dark and oily with a few veins in it.  The cigar feels good, but it has one very hard spot just below the wrapper.  The cut and light went well, and the first thing I noticed was the difficulty of the draw.  This stuck around for most of the cigar and proved to be a huge downfall of it.  I don’t have a draw enhancer at home, so I couldn’t give that a try.

The cigar has some definite spice characteristics.  I must say that it tastes pretty mild for a big maduro cigar.  I drank a Lagunitas seasonal and the sweetness of the beer offset the spicy characteristics of the cigar nicely.  The cigar had good flavor, but the draw definitely took away from it.  The cigar also had some burning issues and I had to straighten out the burn so many times that I lost count.  I wonder if this doesn’t have something to do with the cigar sitting in the package with one side against the humidi-pak the whole time.  I could see that humidifying one side more than the other.  It seemed to get a little spicier going into the second third, with the earthy dirt taste remaining throughout.  The draw did get a little better, but never what it should be.  The flavors stayed about the same throughout the cigar, but they did seem to get a little mellower towards the end.

I feel like this is a good cigar that was plagued by problems.  If it weren’t for the very tough draw and very uneven burn I think I would have enjoyed it much more, but given these problems it made the cigar un-enjoyable.  I have had an edge before that was not in the 4 pack and I don’t remember having these problems, so it makes me wonder if it’s not something with the 4 pack.  I am definitely going to pick up the same cigar from a box because it was enjoyable minus the problems.