Cigar Review: Rocky Patel 20th Anniversary

Rakesh “Rocky” Patel sold his Hollywood legal practice in the early 1990s, the dawn of the Cigar Boom, and moved to Honduras to learn the art of cigar production. Patel strove for one simple thing: Perfection. His company, initially dubbed Indian Tabac, was launched in 1995. Twenty years later, Patel and his company (renamed Rocky Patel Premium Cigars in 2002) have not only survived the malaise and inevitable fallout of the Boom (a claim very few can make), they have established a empire that competes with fellow tobacco giants Arturo Fuente and Padròn in the world-wide tobacco world. In accordance with his tradition of creating cigars to commemorate key points in his company’s history, Rocky Patel proudly released a special 20th Anniversary cigar to celebrate 20 years in the industry. Today, I’ll be reviewing the Rosthchild vitola; I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn’t particularly excited about this boxed pressed little beauty!

Form and Substance

• Vitola: Rothschild
• Wrapper: Honduran
• Binder: Trade Secret (Rocky Patel’s website’s words, not mine)
• Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí, Jalapa) & Honduran (Jamastran)
• Dimensions: 4 ½” x 50’ Boxed Press
• Country of Origin: Honduras

Aesthetics, Construction and Feel

The Twentieth Anniversary has a great aesthetic appeal to it, even by Rocky Patel standards. This is an impressive feat that must be noted, given Rocky’s chosen method of making cigars that are aesthetically eye-catching. The stick’s box pressing is nearly perfect; the dark Honduran wrapper looks smooth and sultry, the veins are subtle and the seams are practically invisible, sealed absolutely perfectly with no openings to be seen; the only soft spot I can feel is barely even a soft spot; similarly, the nub boasts a perfectly sealed double cap that shows no breaches once cut. The wrapper is silky smooth to the touch, as well, boasting rich earthy notes. The foot reveals a subtle coffee essence, as well as chocolate. In conclusion, let’s quite stalling and get on with the smoke!

Smoke and Flavor

First Third: The 20th Anniversary gets right on down to business with a perfect draw that will ultimately last from the first puff to the last. The first finely drawn puffs yield a strong, raw coffee essence, tempered somewhat by an undertone of chocolate. The retrohale is dominated by an even more raw (and therefore more rich) dark wood flavor. The burn is slightly uneven, a slight chink in the armor that sadly persists throughout the first third and into the second, the stick waging an uphill struggle to even itself out. The ash is a very dark grey; though it bends and fractures some, it holds surprisingly well. After the foot is cleared the puffs develop an unusually thick and dark chocolatey texture and aftertaste that coats the palate. Not a bad start!

Second Third: The second third begins on the heals of a slight charcoal undertone entering the background alongside the chocolate. Meanwhile in the foreground, the coffee intensifies the smoke when it metastasizes into a dark wood flavor. The rertrohale’s dark wood is concurrently enhanced by a note of sugar. Halfway through, the burn finally evens out while the ash continues to hold firm. Then, right out of left field, an independent raw coffee note returns to the foreground and vies for control with the dark wood.

Final Third: Here, after the ash finally falls for the first time, everything comes full circle in a fantastically unique way. The dark wood and raw coffee draw a truce and combine with each other, creating a rich and earthy hybrid note in the foreground. The coffee in the background stays as is, providing support for the foreground. This harmonic convergence of flavors and textures marks the 20th’s final delicious puffs.

The Final Verdict

Now that’s quite a lot going on for such a small stick! Every puff was, in one form or another, a fistful of powerfully rich and earthy essences that constitute both the 20th’s greatest strength and greatest weakness: every puff skirted the line of overpowering the palate, which, when counted with the occasional troubles with the burn, ultimately keeps the 20th from getting an A+ in my view. At the same time, it should also be noted that the draw did not fluctuate even once; as any experienced blender will tell you, this can be a might difficult feat to accomplish. As such, the 20th Anniversary Rothschild not only upholds the Rocky Patel legacy, it takes it to new heights!

Final Grade: A

Total Smoking Time: 01:12:24

Tips for a Perfect Smoke Experience

• As mentioned, this stick can overpower its smoker at any given moment, always take this little powerhouse with a sugar-enhanced cuff of coffee at your side. Dark chocolate also helps.