3 Regular Guys Cigar Review - Rocky Patel Sun Grown
Super 8 Cigar Sampler Review Courtesy of the 3 Regular Guys at Thompson Cigar.
Compared to some of the ageless names of the cigar world, like the Fuente's and Padron's, Patel is a new surname on the scene. Rocky Patel's bio is quite an interesting one. It also pays tribute to his determination and commitment to the quality of the cigars he makes.
Rocky began smoking cigars with seriousness back in 1990 while working
as an attorney in the entertainment industry. Rocky became a founding
member of the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills. With his favorite
stogie hideout located only a block and a half from his office, it was pretty convenient for him to nurture his growing obsession with quality cigars and cultivate his interest in fine tobacco blends.
During the cigar boom, Rocky was approached by a gentleman who had an
idea for a cigar company. It was to be called Indian Tabac and named
after the Indian Motorcycle brand. Being more committed to the quality of the cigars, Rocky bought out his partner in 1997 and poured himself into expanding his knowledge and mastery of cigar making and the development of the Indian Tabac brand.
Rocky spent the next 4 to 5 years in Nicaragua and Honduras and focused passionately on getting his hands dirty in the fields and tobacco barns learning every facet of the business. With the last name of Patel and the shingle of an attorney on his wall it was personal commitment and determination that brought him into the inner circle of the premium cigar business. Passion for cigars may now be in his blood but it wasn't born there. Shortly thereafter Rocky believed strongly enough in his dream to build and run his own premium cigar brand that he sold his law firm, moved to Florida and dedicated himself 110% to cigars.
Leading off with a narrative as compelling as this running through our minds it was with a lot of anticipation that we 3 Regular Guys reached for our Rocky Patel Sun Grown belicosos; admired them for a bit; cut them; toasted, lit and smoked them. All of us immediately took notice of the attractiveness of the wrapper. This cigar was beautiful. The oily slightly-veiny wrapper had Dave smelling hints of oatmeal, and Scott noted it as smelling rich, mellow and leathery.
Even prior to lighting we all remarked that this cigar was absolutely packed with tobacco. The filler was packed beautifully and the binder and wrapper turned into an immaculate stick. Lighting up this cigar was easy and it yielded plenty of cool smoke from a good draw with a full mouthfeel. The ash was a dense grayish-white. The flavors however were trying hard to tell us a different story.
Dave found the initial taste to be slightly sharp on his tongue with lots of peppery and citrus notes. Colm picked up on this cigar tasting young and slightly edgy. He also thought it was rather unbalanced, very peppery and lacking in complexity. Scott found it to be a spicy smoke with a cayenne pepper taste that made this seem like a cajun cigar. Scott found the finish to be medium in length but it left the palate quickly.
The flavors coming from this cigar were strong and threw us for a loop because they were not the rich deep tobacco notes that we had anticipated. The taste of the wrapper was spicy and strong on the tongue and then moved to the back of the throat. Dave even found the spiciness of the wrapper a bit numbing to his gums and tongue.
To sum up, we were thoroughly perplexed with our final estimation of this cigar. From an immaculate construction and stellar appearance we were still encouraged with the zesty smell of the wrapper. Packed full with tobacco there was little risk that this cigar wouldn't yield an ample amount of smoke and a rich complex experience. But somehow it didn't. It was dry on the palate, too peppery, and just off.
We were a bit reassurred when we chatted a few days later with our fellow colleague Kelly from our warehouse -he's a huge fan of the Rocky Patel Sun Grown and had really built us up in wanting to smoke this cigar. He stopped us to let us know that he had just recently smoked one and there was something not quite right about it. It was nothing like he knew them to be and chalked it up that we found ourselves tangled up in an off-box of sticks.
It's not Rocky in general as we like a lot of his product -Scott is a big fan of the Edge (last one he bought was out of the Madison Avenue Davidoff store humidor). We think we've gotta go back and try again because this cigar should be a tremendous smoke!
Get your Super 8 Sampler by clicking here >>.
Cigar, Cigars, Thompson Cigar, Cigar Advice, Cigar Reviews, Rocky Patel
Compared to some of the ageless names of the cigar world, like the Fuente's and Padron's, Patel is a new surname on the scene. Rocky Patel's bio is quite an interesting one. It also pays tribute to his determination and commitment to the quality of the cigars he makes.
Rocky began smoking cigars with seriousness back in 1990 while working
as an attorney in the entertainment industry. Rocky became a founding
member of the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills. With his favorite
stogie hideout located only a block and a half from his office, it was pretty convenient for him to nurture his growing obsession with quality cigars and cultivate his interest in fine tobacco blends.
During the cigar boom, Rocky was approached by a gentleman who had an
idea for a cigar company. It was to be called Indian Tabac and named
after the Indian Motorcycle brand. Being more committed to the quality of the cigars, Rocky bought out his partner in 1997 and poured himself into expanding his knowledge and mastery of cigar making and the development of the Indian Tabac brand.
Rocky spent the next 4 to 5 years in Nicaragua and Honduras and focused passionately on getting his hands dirty in the fields and tobacco barns learning every facet of the business. With the last name of Patel and the shingle of an attorney on his wall it was personal commitment and determination that brought him into the inner circle of the premium cigar business. Passion for cigars may now be in his blood but it wasn't born there. Shortly thereafter Rocky believed strongly enough in his dream to build and run his own premium cigar brand that he sold his law firm, moved to Florida and dedicated himself 110% to cigars.
Leading off with a narrative as compelling as this running through our minds it was with a lot of anticipation that we 3 Regular Guys reached for our Rocky Patel Sun Grown belicosos; admired them for a bit; cut them; toasted, lit and smoked them. All of us immediately took notice of the attractiveness of the wrapper. This cigar was beautiful. The oily slightly-veiny wrapper had Dave smelling hints of oatmeal, and Scott noted it as smelling rich, mellow and leathery.
Even prior to lighting we all remarked that this cigar was absolutely packed with tobacco. The filler was packed beautifully and the binder and wrapper turned into an immaculate stick. Lighting up this cigar was easy and it yielded plenty of cool smoke from a good draw with a full mouthfeel. The ash was a dense grayish-white. The flavors however were trying hard to tell us a different story.
Dave found the initial taste to be slightly sharp on his tongue with lots of peppery and citrus notes. Colm picked up on this cigar tasting young and slightly edgy. He also thought it was rather unbalanced, very peppery and lacking in complexity. Scott found it to be a spicy smoke with a cayenne pepper taste that made this seem like a cajun cigar. Scott found the finish to be medium in length but it left the palate quickly.
The flavors coming from this cigar were strong and threw us for a loop because they were not the rich deep tobacco notes that we had anticipated. The taste of the wrapper was spicy and strong on the tongue and then moved to the back of the throat. Dave even found the spiciness of the wrapper a bit numbing to his gums and tongue.
To sum up, we were thoroughly perplexed with our final estimation of this cigar. From an immaculate construction and stellar appearance we were still encouraged with the zesty smell of the wrapper. Packed full with tobacco there was little risk that this cigar wouldn't yield an ample amount of smoke and a rich complex experience. But somehow it didn't. It was dry on the palate, too peppery, and just off.
We were a bit reassurred when we chatted a few days later with our fellow colleague Kelly from our warehouse -he's a huge fan of the Rocky Patel Sun Grown and had really built us up in wanting to smoke this cigar. He stopped us to let us know that he had just recently smoked one and there was something not quite right about it. It was nothing like he knew them to be and chalked it up that we found ourselves tangled up in an off-box of sticks.
It's not Rocky in general as we like a lot of his product -Scott is a big fan of the Edge (last one he bought was out of the Madison Avenue Davidoff store humidor). We think we've gotta go back and try again because this cigar should be a tremendous smoke!
Get your Super 8 Sampler by clicking here >>.
Cigar, Cigars, Thompson Cigar, Cigar Advice, Cigar Reviews, Rocky Patel
posted by Cigar Blog Moderator @ 8:18 PM
2 Comments:
At 8:51 PM,
Anonymous said…
I recommend trying the petite corona in the RP Sun Grown. I think it is the best vitola in this line. My $.02
I like the blog. Very nice.
-Matt
Matt's Cigar Journal
At 9:18 AM,
Larry said…
In all honesty: I love my Rocky P's. For me it is the Rocky Patel Sun Grown Junior. The taste and the draw is great and they are not that expensive. Really good to enjoy myself.
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