Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Torpedo (6.25 x 52). I find this one hard to review. I've been sitting on my notes for a couple of days thinking on and off about how to put them together. I often find Rockey Patel hit and miss for my taste, but this one is tricky. It was like two completely different cigars inside the same wrapper. Decided not to worry about it.
Looking at it initially, it looks great. Tightly wrapped, box pressed Honduran broadleaf wrapper. Feels nice and firm. The aroma is strong but pleasant and I take a prelight draw which has also a very nice spicy flavor. A couple of minutes later I realized I still hadn't lit it yet. I kept pulling the unlit stick thinking about the flavor where it was coming from. I lit it up, no problems there. Actually throughout the whole stick the burn stayed excellent with a good, easy draw and a solid ash. No questions about the construction. But once I took that first draw I just thought, "where did that spice go?" it was very muted up front. Maybe just a little sweet. There was a lot of flavor coming through, but the different tastes didn't seem to balance each other out very well. It was also a little harsh through the nose and had an aftertaste that lingered for a while that I didn't find very pleasant. I was pairing this with coffee and I found I kept going to it to clear out my palate. All that said, once I hit about the halfway mark, everything changed. The harshness was totally gone and this became a much smoother, more balanced smoke with an enjoyable flavor. Really excellent mild to medium smoke at this point, actually. I'm glad I didn't toss it during that first half.
Related threads:
Other reading. These were definitely worth a read and helped me to appreciate all the hard work Rocky has put in, besides just being genuinely interesting:
Looking at it initially, it looks great. Tightly wrapped, box pressed Honduran broadleaf wrapper. Feels nice and firm. The aroma is strong but pleasant and I take a prelight draw which has also a very nice spicy flavor. A couple of minutes later I realized I still hadn't lit it yet. I kept pulling the unlit stick thinking about the flavor where it was coming from. I lit it up, no problems there. Actually throughout the whole stick the burn stayed excellent with a good, easy draw and a solid ash. No questions about the construction. But once I took that first draw I just thought, "where did that spice go?" it was very muted up front. Maybe just a little sweet. There was a lot of flavor coming through, but the different tastes didn't seem to balance each other out very well. It was also a little harsh through the nose and had an aftertaste that lingered for a while that I didn't find very pleasant. I was pairing this with coffee and I found I kept going to it to clear out my palate. All that said, once I hit about the halfway mark, everything changed. The harshness was totally gone and this became a much smoother, more balanced smoke with an enjoyable flavor. Really excellent mild to medium smoke at this point, actually. I'm glad I didn't toss it during that first half.
Related threads:
- T2P reviews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 (Oct 2009) <- His experience differed quite a bit from mine, as he said, "Throughout the smoke there has been no bite, just smoothness." As I said, I didn't find it becoming smooth until the last half.
- SewerRanger reivews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Toro (Aug 2009) <- He said of the first half, "this was more of a luscious velvety cocoa that stood out on the front of your palette and lingered in the back after every exhale" and it makes me wonder if when people speak of "cocoa flavor" it's ultimately something I don't like much. But I find that people generally can find that in virtually every smoke so I haven't really noticed any correlation between that being described and my preferences.
- theroberthogan's thread reviewing a Rocky Patel sampler, here the Vintage 1990 (Mar 2009) <- I actually found it to get smoother as it went on, but his experience was the opposite, "Unfortunately, with about two inches left, the cigar became more and more harsh. It finally got to the point where every puff was throat irritating, even after purging."
- mr.mac reviews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 (July 2007) <- He was "disappointed" but didn't have the same experience as I had, either. "When it got down to the label, it started to give me that "bitter" or "sour" taste that I hear about." Perhaps it's just that I prefer a more bitter flavor.
- XxMerlinxX reviews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 (Oct 2006) <- He actually did get what I was looking for right up front, "I was hit with a burst of spice right off of the bat." Though he had burn problems that I didn't experience.
- Mark Twain does a three cigar review, including the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 petit corona (Apr 2006) <- I think we were both impressed with the same prelight experience, as he said, "The RP is a fabulous little cigar that I am highly impressed with. It is solidly built and firm to the touch. The pre-light smell of the RP was heavy, and exceedingly rich."
- kevpriest reviews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 "A" Size (Dec 2008) <- He implied that the "A" size was much better and was considering trying the sungrown in this size, "especially if the 'A' size improves the Sungrown anywhere near as much as it did the Vintage"
- cvmfour talks about his Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage Churchill (Dec 2004) <- It wasn't for him, "Yes it had a great draw, burn, and ash; but the flavor just wasn't there." Lot's of comments on both sides.
Other reading. These were definitely worth a read and helped me to appreciate all the hard work Rocky has put in, besides just being genuinely interesting:
- Cigar Aficionado interview with Rocky Patel with good advice for any business, "And the only way I could show them is by outworking them and by doing my own thing—don't give up. You have to look at your competition in whatever business you're in, see what they're doing and try to do it better."
- Smoke Magazine interview with Rocky Patel Did you know they were apparently going to make a Rocky Patel reality TV show? "They thought my lifestyle was cool and would make good television so they started shooting the pilot for “Cigar Czar,” covering everything we do." Has anyone heard anything about that?
