Are RP Vintage for real?

[LilBastage]

Thanks for the discussion guys.


I think I'm done with JRs. It seems as though they can't do business without putting down the competition (RP, Padron). That tells me a lot about their feelings towards their own product.

I'll keep smoking the Vintage. I do think that they should remove the bands denoting the "vintage" years. If none of the tobacco is from those crops, then they aren't exactly those years' "vintage" are they? "Aged 10 Years" and "Aged 12 Years" (as stated on the boxes) would seem more accurate.

 

[Devil Doc]

Me thinks Lew doth protest too much.

Doc.

 

[desertcgar]

Can't we all just get along!!! I think that was stated by somebody. Just can't remember who..J/K

 

[jstrat]

You know, it doesn't matter to me if the RP Vintage is really made with tobacco from 90 or 92, I still don't like 'em. I've smoked a few of each and still haven't found one that I liked. Can't fault the construction, but the flavor profile is not for me. Just my opinion, no offense intended.

 

[OutlawD]

Funny this comes up now, when Rocky was at our store in June or July he was actually talking about his next vintage wrapper.
He said he was actually looking at some leaf from either 94 or 95.
Possibly both years but probably only one of the two.
The wrapper for the current Vintage line will dry up and when it does he wants to be ready with a new batch of wrapper leaf.
The binder and filler is readily available, its grown all the time and is always in fermentation.
I'm sure when he finds a suitable wrapper the respective years will be changed on the bands.
One example of this is the Vintage 99 Connecticut, same binder and filler with a 99 shade wrapper.

 

[mostholycerebus]

What JR isn't recognizing is that part of Rocky's marketing strategy revolves around exclusives. The Edge was meant to help B&M's, since 100 cigar box orders are rare on the 'net. I believe only Famous gets the Factory Selects, which are seconds that have failed just the blemish test, while the more readily available Seconds could have failed blemish or draw tests. Then there is the likely impetus if Lews ire, the CI-exclusive Fusion. The real question is if Lew has even contacted RP regarding their own exclusive blend (as CI did), and if so exactly what happened. Which is kinda moot anyway, because after this I dunno if Rocky would even consider the idea.

 

[JHolmes763]

Then there is the likely impetus if Lews ire, the CI-exclusive Fusion.

Have you tried the Fusions? I had one last night for the first time. It was a far more complex cigar than I thought it would be. The wrapper is lighter than the 90s and 92s. It's got great flavor and a thick white smoke. Mine had a little bit of a tight draw, though. The flavor changes, though out... I'm not the guy that tastes leather and pencil lead and all that, so I can't describe it. It finishes strong and held a tight white ash for over half of the cigar before falling.

I suck at describing cigars, but after ordering these on Oct 25th and just receiving them last week, they were worth the wait in my book. I hope the supply on them picks up.

---John Holmes...

 

[mostholycerebus]

No, but i'm gonna try and score at least a 5-er eventually. Right now every dime I have is being thrown at holiday fuentes. I', considering a box split in a few months.

 

[JHolmes763]

Looks like CI has 'em all in stock now. Hopefully they're getting regular shipments. I'll have to keep my eye out for a split or just get a box myself.

 

[nascarfan]

Wow I love it when some one rams a stick into a hornets nest and stirrs it up real good. To be honest this is a subject that I never thought about. This is the way that I see it. Everybody has the right to enjoy any cigar that they choose for any reason, with out the fear of being critisized.
Here is my problem by using the word "vintage" with the date "1990" they are sugesting that either the whole cigar or some part of it was from that year. If that is true they can't sell that cigar forever, at some point their going to run out of that tobacco. Unless they only put a tiny bit of that tobacco in each cigar. If there is no 1990 vintage tobacco in those cigars as far as I'm concerned that is fraud.
To me the difference between padron's anniversary series and RP 's is that padron makes it clear that those cigars are just to cellebrate an important date in their companys history. I would be very interested to hear the company define "vintage" and "1990", and how much of that tobacco they have left.

 

[JDC20]

The fact of the matter is that if Lew wanted to sell any of Rockys product lines all he would have to do is go to the factories where they are made and say, I want X million of this stick and X million of that.

When cigars are made by contract as Rockys cigars are, General cigar in case of the Vintage line and Nestor Plascensia in case of the Edge, it is very easy to find other "similiar" cigars in the market or have someone take the idea or style of the blend and do it themselves.

I don't think this is a jab by Lew specifically at any of Mr. Patels cigars, I think it is probably more of a jab at the idea perpetrated by the vintage moniker and the consumers gullible enough to fall for the gimmicks.

 

[Saxjazzman]

Quote from the Linky posted above:

"Our company got where we are by treating customers efficiently and honestly, and that's why I've spent a lot of time and money to make a brand to right a massive wrong that's being perpetrated on smokers here in this country. The brand is called Flor de Baloney and you'll notice two dates on the band - 1890 and 1892, indicating that the tobaccos are 116 and 118 years old, respectively. Of course, this is sheer bullshit, but so are the dates on a lot of expensive cigars that are on smokeshop shelves right now. There's no real difference between these new Flor de Baloney cigars and the "vintage" cigars being foisted on the public for six, seven, and eight dollars apiece other than the price"

Now I am certainly not offended by blue words, and in fact, I use them a lot. But are they actually a good marketing tool to sell anything?? Just my personal thoughts. And yeah, he must really be pissed that he can't get any of the RP action. A pretty strong and IMHO immature reaction by a man that is supposed to be a top notch salesman. I've heard before that this guy is a master BS artist, and now I know that he is a cry baby too. I'm not sure where I'll buy my next batch of cigars, but it might just be a better idea to support my local B&M than to give this guy any money.

Afterthought:

Also, I don't pay ANY attention to marketing when I smoke a cigar. I don't care where the tobacco came from or whose tits it was rolled in (cigar ad reference). If it smokes good and tastes good, it's got my seal of approval on it. I don't care who else likes it or hates it. The phrase most said on this board is "Smoke what you like, like what you smoke." and that is my advice. Besides, if we all believed advertisers, Irish Spring, All laundry detergent and Hanes underwear would get you lay'd by hot women.......... Oh, and Acids would too.

What???? They don't???? I have cases of Irish Spring, laundry detergent and Hanes undies!!!

 

[Buen Cosecha]

The fact of the matter is that if Lew wanted to sell any of Rockys product lines all he would have to do is go to the factories where they are made and say, I want X million of this stick and X million of that.

Now it's clear that not everybody is aware of the market situation, there is a big shortage on raw material, there was in the past 5 months nothing available on Nic Filler, nothing nothing so it's not that easy to asume that Nestor just roll's out an extra X Million of this and that.

They are even behind on Rocky's stuff, that says enough

 

[JDC20]

The fact of the matter is that if Lew wanted to sell any of Rockys product lines all he would have to do is go to the factories where they are made and say, I want X million of this stick and X million of that.

Now it's clear that not everybody is aware of the market situation, there is a big shortage on raw material, there was in the past 5 months nothing available on Nic Filler, nothing nothing so it's not that easy to asume that Nestor just roll's out an extra X Million of this and that.

They are even behind on Rocky's stuff, that says enough

I'm pretty aware of market situations, and on our end of the business there is no shortage of raw materials.

So I am assuming if what you said is correct, that there is no Nic. Filler, Nestor must have a whole bunch of 4 year and 6 month old tobacco waiting to go into production on Rocky's Edge in 6 months? It claims that the cigars are 5 years aged.

They wouldn't be using the current raw material on the market now to make a vintage cigar like that would they? So the large inventories of old tobacco like that would most likely make them immune to the swings of the open market?

 

[Buen Cosecha]

The fact of the matter is that if Lew wanted to sell any of Rockys product lines all he would have to do is go to the factories where they are made and say, I want X million of this stick and X million of that.

Now it's clear that not everybody is aware of the market situation, there is a big shortage on raw material, there was in the past 5 months nothing available on Nic Filler, nothing nothing so it's not that easy to asume that Nestor just roll's out an extra X Million of this and that.

They are even behind on Rocky's stuff, that says enough

I'm pretty aware of market situations, and on our end of the business there is no shortage of raw materials.

So I am assuming if what you said is correct, that there is no Nic. Filler, Nestor must have a whole bunch of 4 year and 6 month old tobacco waiting to go into production on Rocky's Edge in 6 months? It claims that the cigars are 5 years aged.

They wouldn't be using the current raw material on the market now to make a vintage cigar like that would they? So the large inventories of old tobacco like that would most likely make them immune to the swings of the open market?

indeed my friend, you have a reason, now what is another fact is that for example Nestor has!! inventory
not for the open market, but for his own production, i don't want to say something about Rocky's products,
aged for 5 years or not aged, what i know for sure is that they use good tobacco and they try to make a great cigar.

 

[insight]

I talked to a guy with personal knowledge who told me the edge tobacco is aged between 6 and 18 months, and he said that the 5 year claim is only a marketing ploy. He said this is how Rocky generally markets products. I still like the vintage line but I doubt very much they have the age that is claimed