Archive for the ‘collection’ Category

Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

The latest addition to Rocky’s seasonal blends is the Autumn Collection. So far I’ve enjoyed them all, except for the Summer Collection from 2008. I think overall, the seasonal blends are a success. Considering I’m such a Rocky Patel fanboi, I had to pick up a few of these to review. You know my routine by now… Glass of water and a cigar. On to the review!

 

Wrapper: Colorado Maduro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 6 x 52

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

Construction on this cigar looked great. There were only a few smaller veins and one larger size. The tobacco was firmly packed, giving the cigar a hard feel. The wrapper and foot had a sweet, earthy, spicy smell. The pre-light draw was a little stiff, and had sweet tastes of earth and wood.

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Flavor:

The first third – I was greeted with an earthy, rich soil type of flavor. There was a slight peppery spice when exhaling through the nose. It had a heating effect in the nose, if that makes sense. I started to detect a slight woodiness as the first third came to a close.

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The second third saw a reduction in the earthy flavors, and that seemed to allowed woody flavors to become more noticeable. The pepper went down a notch as well, and became more of a sweet spice. The heating effect in the sinus remained. Hints of mocha would come and go, and made things a bit more enjoyable.

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The last third continued with the sweet spice, and it left a tingle on the lips. It was similar to cinnamon on the aftertaste. The earthy notes would come and the woody flavors varied in strength. Subtle mocha flavors came and went as well. With about an inch to go, I had to put this cigar down. It wasn’t due to it being bad, I was just pressed for time. I can assure you this cigar is worth nubbing.

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Conclusion:

This was a very nice medium to full bodied cigar. The change in flavors kept my attention to this slow burner. It was enough to distract me from the draw, which was a tad too tight. I have to give the Autumn Collection 2009 a thumbs up. Try them while you can.

Rocky Patel Summer Collection 2009

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I wasn’t a big fan of the Rocky Patel Summer Collection from 2008. It’s not that it was bad, I guess I simply wasn’t impressed with it. When I saw the 2009 edition of this cigar, I had to try it. Guys like Jerry from The Stogie Review, and Barry from A Cigar Smoker gave it glowing reviews. Everyone’s palate is different, but these two endorsements were enough for me to pick up a couple sticks for review. As usual, I paired this cigar with water. Let’s get to the review…

 

Stats –

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Cameroon

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Price: Around $7.00

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The oily wrapper looked good, with minimal veins or flaws. It had a simple earthy smell, while the foot had a similar earthy odor with an added spicy sweet component. The pre-light draw was perfect, and had an earthy/hay and natural tobacco taste.

The burn required a few corrections in the first two thirds, and the ash held firm for over an inch.

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Flavor:

The first third started off with a peppery bite when exhaled through the nose. It demanded my attention, but remained smooth. About an inch into this third, the pepper became much more mellow. This allowed a mocha/co-co flavor to come out. It wasn’t in your face strong, but wasn’t too subtle either. The mocha packed a spicy punch and remained smooth. Things went well.

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As I rounded the second third, the mocha increased in strength. The sweet, peppery notes were easily noticeable, but became easier and smoother.  Very subtle earthy flavors lurked behind everything allowing for an overall enjoyable, relaxing smoke. The the smoke feel left a tingle on the lips, and was plentiful. My smoking room quickly filled with up.

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The last third increased in body. Mocha was without a doubt the dominant flavor. The sweet peppery spice remained and bordered on cinnamon. The earthy undertones remained and were drowned out at times. I had to pay attention or I would miss them completely. An additional flavor crept in that I never identified. Barry described it as fruity, but I didn’t detect that. Whatever it was, it had a sweet tinge and was very enjoyable.

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Conclusion:

This was a very good medium to full bodied cigar. I am torn between this and the Winter Collection as far as which is my favorite Rocky Patel seasonal blend. No matter, I strongly suggest you at least give this cigar a chance. Very nice… Rocky – You’ve done it again!

Oliveros Classic Collection Maduro

Monday, June 29th, 2009

I ran across this cigar from a couple sources. I won one in a raffle, and I believe I was sent one in a grab bag awhile back. There really isn’t a big story behind this cigar that I’m aware of. As we all know, I paired up with PUR filtered water and got to the review.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro

Binder: Dominican

Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Price: Around $3.00

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Pre-light & Construction:

First things first… During the pre-light inspection I was immediately annoyed. This cigar was rock hard. I had to massage it and ended up using a draw poker to make it acceptable. I was moments away from trashing the cigar and review, but I pressed on. Not a good way to start a review. Moving on… The wrapper looked nice and had a woody, earthy, and grassy smell. The foot produced a similar smell, with a tinge of pepper. As for the pre-light draw, as I mentioned, it was tight. I was too annoyed with that and didn’t even take notes on what it tasted like. The burn required a few corrections, and the ash was rock solid for over an inch.

 

Flavor:

The first third had a simple earthy taste. As I reached the end of this third, a slight sweet, dry mocha flavor arrived. Not bad, not great.

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The second third didn’t offer much more then the first. I still had plenty of earthy notes, and a buttery flavor came about. Later on I had a bitterness that wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t pleasant either.

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The last third really didn’t do anything for me. I was pretty bored at this point, but I pressed on. The earthy flavors fell back a lot, and that buttery component remained. That bitterness remained and started to get on my nerves. As the cigar came to a close, I may have gotten some slight nutty notes that weren’t bad.

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Conclusion:

This cigar wasn’t for me. The flavor profile just rubbed me the wrong way. The tight draw was the most annoying part of the experience. If you took that away, I would have enjoyed this cigar a little more. I think it boils down to a cigar that doesn’t fit what I like in a flavor profile. Your mileage may vary, so give it a shot. It wasn’t horrible.

Rocky Patel Spring Collection

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

The Summer Collection was OK, but really didn’t do anything for me. The Winter Collection was a great full bodied cigar. When I ran across the Spring Collection at a local shop in Tampa, I couldn’t resist picking a few up. It wasn’t easy, but I let these sticks rest a couple weeks and finally, it was time to start smoking for the review. Paired up with water, I bring you the review of the Rocky Patel Spring Collection.

 

Wrapper: Sumatra

Binder: Pennsylvania Broadleaf

Filler: Nicaragua

Size: Robusto 5 x 52

Price: Around $7.00

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Pre-smoke and Construction:

The first thing I notice on a cigar is the wrapper. This one was a little oily and smooth with small veins. Sniffing the wrapper reminded me of wood and a grassy soil. The foot smelled more like wood then anything else. Squeezing the cigars length, I found it was a little spongy and bounced back when squeezed. The pre-light draw was free, with a dry co-coish flavor mixed with wood.

The burn required a few correction in the first half of the cigar, but straightened out afterwards. The ash held for around an inch before I knocked it off (as I commonly do). Overall, I was very happy with construction in general.

 

Flavor:

The first third began with very smooth woody flavors. Exhaling through the nose, I found a fairly strong pepper. It wasn’t a major jolt, just enough to let you know it was there. As I progressed, mocha notes were detected. This mellow tone set the mood for the first third, and was quite relaxing and easy to smoke.

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As I rounded the second third, that pepper that said “Pay attention to me!” calmed down. It was still there, but only a fraction of it’s strength remained. What took it’s place was nice, smooth, and sometimes thick mocha notes. Woody flavors I mentioned before remained and mixed well with an addition of nuts in the background.

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The last third had a dominant woodsy flavor. Hiding behind that were subtle nutty notes. Next in line was mocha. It lost its thickness and lurked in the background. This was probably the simplest of the thirds in terms of flavor profile complexities, but it remained enjoyable.

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Conclusion:

This was a pretty good medium bodied cigar. I enjoyed the Winter Collection a bit more, but this was far more enjoyable then the Summer Collection. Any Rocky Patel fan should give this cigar a try.

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