Saturday, May 25, 2013

Rocky Patel-Patel Bros.

Brand: Rocky Patel
Blend: Patel Bros
Vitola: Toro (6.5x52)
Paired with: Mug Root Beer
TV/Movie/Other: Family Guy
Smoked at: My driveway

First things first, the damage report: at the foot of this stick, the wrapper was slightly peeled. Now, on to the review. This cigar is a quite dark maduro, and has good weight to it. I didn't notice any soft spots, so I cut the end with my double blade guillotine cutter and took a dry draw. Didn't get too much off of the cold puff, but the draw was a bit tight. The smoke production upon lighting was medium, and at the start there were solid oaky notes. There was also a deep earth type of taste to it, not unpleasant but not something I generally look for in a cigar. The burn was a nightmare at first, canoeing down the side of the cigar. I let it go to see if the burn would right itself, and it slowly started to self-correct. About an inch down the cigar, a deep and dark pepper undertone showed up which I thoroughly enjoyed, along with a nice leathery flavour.

The ash hung on for about an inch and a half before falling, which wasn't bad at all. About that time, a sweetness began to appear in the finish, which was very nice. The spice began to creep up as well. The burn was nice and even at this point, but another crack/peel appeared in the wrapper. Damn USPS. It didn't touch the binder, so the draw was still good. Speaking of which, the draw had opened up nicely by this point.

Once I passed the broken wrapper, guess what? Another break. At least it didn't effect the draw. The spice has remained through this point, and the earth is gone. The cigar's flavours stayed consistent until about 2 inches from the end, at which point they began to get bitter, and I put it down to die at that point.

Final verdict: LOOOOTS of wrapper problems, fairly good flavours, not too complex. Decent ash and a tight draw. 74/100






Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Esteban Carreras-Vigilante

Brand: Esteban Carreras
Blend: Vigilante
Vitola: 6x60
Paired with: Root Beer
TV/Movie/Other: some lame Spanish homework
Smoked at: Cigar Jack's

This cigar was the cigar of the month in Club Jacks, the cigar club in Cigar Jacks. It, apparently, is available nowhere else in the country. It has a light-medium tan wrapper, and is a chunky 6" by 60 ring gauge. The band, I might add, is a work of art, not even taking into account that this cigar is triple banded: one for the foot, one with the word Vigilante on it, and one with the Esteban Carreras decal and whatnot on it. I cut it with a really neat vintage cigar cutter (V cut) and took a cold draw. I caught a little bit of spice, but not much else. I started smoking at approximately 7:15.

Upon lighting, the cigar gave off a modest amount of smoke. I picked up on some smooth spice, along with a bit of sweet cedar. The burn through the first quarter inch was fairly even. The ash was a medium gray colour  and not flaky. Much to my disappointment, the ash fell off about a half inch in. The flavours stayed fairly steady through that first half inch.The strength seemed to be hovering at about medium.

The flavours of this stick seem to be relatively consistent, hovering between the smooth spice and the cedar sweetness. The strength seems to be decreasing a little bit as well. However, the burn shaped up nicely. With about 3.5 inches left, a large crack appeared on the bottom part of the wrapper. It did not affect the burn at all, so I carried on. The spiciness began to grow stronger, and as this occurred, the wrapper began to pull away along the crack line. With about 2 inches left on the stick, it began to get bitter, and I set it down to die.











Final verdict: medium body cigar with fairly consistent flavours of spice and cedar. A few wrapper and burn problems. Overall, not bad, but not an everyday stick for me. 80/100

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Rocky Patel-Sungrown


Brand: Rocky Patel
Blend: Sungrown
Vitola: Robusto (5.5x50)
Paired with: Mtn. Dew
TV/Movie/Other: Clockwork Angels: The Novel
Smoked at: Cigar Jacks

I obtained this cigar via another Redditor like myself. It has a medium coloured wrapper, and a double band bearing both the name and the blend. After cutting the cigar with a V-cutter, I took a cold draw, and was both surprised and worried at how loose the draw was. I lit it with a triple torch lighter, toasting the foot nicely first. I was immediately met with sweet, almost hazelnut notes and a very nice mild spice. The ash was a nice white colour, and didn't seem at all flaky.

An inch and a half into this stick, the burn became uneven. I flipped it over to let the underside catch up, but it was no use. I had to even it up with a single torch lighter that one of the Jacks regulars had laying around. The mild spice had faded at that point into rich, much more spicy tobacco overtones with sweet coffee undertones. The ash held on for an inch and a half before falling off (albeit this was my fault, as I jostled the stick setting it down).

More than halfway through, the flavours started to change again. I love this about Rocky Patel cigars; generally, they are very fluid and changing throughout the length of the smoke. Very prominent oaky flavours are mingling with the hazelnut undertones now, and the spice is still quite strong and in your face. Unfortunately, the burn is quite uneven, even after touch-ups. I put the single torch to the uneven part once more. In the last two inches or so, it grew slightly hot, and I set it down to die.



Final verdict: very flavourful and changing stick (hazelnut, coffee, oak, spice) with nice ash and quite a few burn problems. Full bodied. Overall, a good stick, but not for every day. 84/100