Rocky Patel vintage 1990
I reached deep in the humidor this time around. The cigar up for review tonight is really what got me into premium cigars. The Macanudo Vintage was a gateway cigar of sorts. But the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 is when I started to really notice great flavors in cigars. My first box purchase was this cigar. In fact, I still have quite a few left from that first purchase. The cigar I am reviewing tonight is from that batch that is a few years old.
Yea, the picture below is that first box I bought. And yes, I am such a fan-boy that I had Rocky sign it back in 2007. You can see how I assembled the clock HERE. Anyway, lets get to the review!
Wrapper: Honduran Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: Toro 6.5 x 52
Price: Around $8.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
Overall, this box pressed cigar looked nice. The dark wrapper was smooth with small veins. Pinching showed it was pretty tightly packed with no soft spots. Sniffing the wrapper had a woody smell, while the foot virtually had no smell to it. The pre-light draw was good, with a slight resistance, and tasted woody and somewhat earthy. The cap was a little sloppy and came unraveled. Luckily this didn’t have a lasting effect and everything went fine. Other then the cap problem, which I’ve had many times on these cigars, construction was good. The burn required several corrections, and the ash held firm for well over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third greeted me with a simple woody and nutty flavors. Earthy notes mingled into the flavor profile at times, and complimented a very slight spicy pepper.
The second third is when the cigar started to come in to it’s own. The smoke became smooth, almost creamy. Caramel notes subtly made themselves known. The pepper almost went away, but would rear its head at times. The earthy tastes I had earlier became harder and harder to detect. The nutty flavors remained throughout this third. I was left with a parched feeling, and drank lots of water.
The last third began with that pleasant caramely flavor. Nutty notes remained prominent as well, and I had a hard time detecting earthy flavors. As predicted, the pepper went away too. The body crept into the upper medium to full range, and was just plain enjoyable. Good times.
Conclusion:
This is a good medium to full bodied cigar, and my humidor is never without them. I know these aren’t the best cigars I’ve had, but since they were such a large part of my discovery of fine cigars, I keep them on hand. One complaint I have with the 1990 line is the cap. They just seem to be placed in a sloppy manner, and often I’ve had problems. Despite that, I have to recommend that you at least try the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990.
