Archive for the ‘anniversary’ Category

Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

I’m sure you’ve seen every blog out there reviewing this cigar, and I am no exception. Patrick Vivalo, executive sales at Rocky Patel, contacted me to review this cigar. Being a Rocky Patel fan, I accepted and before I knew it, two samples were at my door. Along with the samples was a press release flyer and a hand written note from Nish Patel.

The 15th Anniversary is produced out of their new “boutique” factory in Nicaragua, and will be released on July 30th, 2010. Obviously this line is in celebration of Rocky Patel being in the cigar biz for 15 years. And like Jerry said in his review at the Stogie Review… Even if you aren’t a huge Rocky fan, he is very active in the industry and always fighting those who want to hinder our right to sit back and have a cigar. He deserves to be applauded for his efforts. Anyway, enough babble. I paired the Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary with water and offer you my thoughts.

2RP15th

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador

Binder: Jalapa

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Price: Around $9.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The dark oily wrapper had a rugged look to it, and a few small to medium veins. The odor coming off of the wrapper was dark, sweet and woody. The foot also had that same sweet woody smell to it. This box pressed beauty was rock solid and evenly packed with tobacco. Despite that, the draw was good with a slight resistance. The pre-light draw had a dark earthy, woody, sweet taste.

The ash held for an inch and the burn required no corrections.

1RP15th

 

Flavor:

The first third had a nice smooth peppery spice that had some punch to it. Wispy earthy notes mixed with a dark wood. A rich natural tobacco taste mingled in with the other flavors and it had a nice balance. The smoke feel was crisp and had a lingering finish. As this third came to a close, I started to pick up some sweet notes.

3RP15th

The second third continued the trend to a sweeter flavor profile. Eventually it developed into mocha. That peppery spice stayed pretty constant and kept things lively. The woody flavor took a turn towards cedar. The smoke feel was dry and crisp, and the smoke had a lot of volume. At times mocha was a dominant flavor, and other draws had cedar as the main flavor. Overall everything mixed together for a good balance.

4RP15th

The last third had an increase in body and but didn’t go over the top. The pepper calmed down a bit and had a nice tingle on the lips and tongue. Not a lot changed in terms of flavor profile. It basically kept the same pace as before.

5RP15th

Conclusion:

This was a good full bodied cigar. The flavors were good and everything came together nicely. While not a powerhouse, this wasn’t a beginner smoke. I wasn’t “Wowed” by the experience, but I wasn’t let down either. If I had to complain, it would be about the price. But overall, I would recommend you try the Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary. Thanks to Rocky, Nish, and Patrick for letting me get a sneak peek.

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Ed and I are back for our monthly visit to The Stogie Review. In this episode we critique the Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo. I reviewed this cigar by myself a while ago and had a slightly different experience. But overall, both times were enjoyable.

In this episode we give a shout out to The Cigar Nut, and mention a contest starting July 23rd here at TomsCigars.com. Stay tuned!

This video runs a little long at 29 minutes, so set some time aside and see what we have to say about the Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo.

For MP3 audio, click here.

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

Monday, June 15th, 2009

First things first… Some companies think you and I are too stupid to notice if they increase their prices just as SCHIP takes effect. Not much we can do really… To add insult to injury, many cigar shops are tacking on yet more cost. They can just blame SCHIP and hope their customers won’t notice.

On to Perdomo… They are eating the SCHIP tax on over 70 percent of their portfolio. Some of their cigars will actually see a price REDUCTION. Nick Perdomo has the right idea. He knows his customers put him on the map, and he is going to help us out. You greedy bastards can learn something from this company.

Anyhow, I am pairing this cigar up with water, and a few sips of Glenfiddich 18 year scotch. My rant is over, lets get to the review!

 

Wrapper: Cuban seed Criollo

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Cuban seed Nicaraguan

Size: Figurado 4.7 x 56

Price: Around $6.00

4Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

Pre-smoke & Construction:

The wrapper looked oily and smooth, with minimal veins. Sniffing the wrapper and foot revealed a woody smell mixed with natural tobacco. When I squeezed the length of the cigar, I found out this thing was packed rock solid. I clipped and took a pre-light draw. It was pretty tight. I managed to loosen it up with careful grooming and a poker. The pre-light draw had a sweet, earthy, woody taste to it.

 

Flavor:

Right out of the gate, the first third greeted me with a nice flavor profile. Unique earthy notes stood out. They melded with an interesting flavor that was woody. What kind of wood I do not know.  As the first third came to a close, a pleasant sweet taste came about. It was almost caramel. Very nice…

1Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

The second third kept that smooth, woody flavor. Those unique earthy tones started to become more traditional, which I don’t consider a bad thing. That sweet flavor I described as caramel started to become mocha, but not entirely.

2Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

As I hit the last third, I encountered some bitterness. It wasn’t strong and went away quickly. The mocha flavors changed into an unidentifiable sweetness that was very nice. The flavor profile really seemed to simplify itself, but was very nice.

3Perdomo 10th Anniversary Criollo

Conclusion:

As you probably noticed, I forgot to take a picture for the first third. I guess I just got tied up in enjoying this cigar. This was a very good medium to full bodied smoke. There isn’t much I can say except I enjoyed it a lot. I’d recommend you try it for sure.

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