Rocky Patel

Husker44

I'm a new poster and relatively new cigar smoker. I have lurked for a while and learned quite a bit.

Last night, I had my first Rocky Patel. It was a 1999 Vintage Connecticut. I really enjoyed the mild and smooth aspects of the cigar. What is the difference in this than the standard Connecticut? I assume aging. But what does aging do to the cigar? Make it milder, stronger, smoother?

Russ55

To me, the 99 is a little smoother, and has more going on with the flavor. I think it's a more interesting smoke. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've had either. I like both, but probably prefer the 99.

kuzi16

age will smooth out tobacco and make it a bit more mild depending on the blend.

the 1999 has not only a different wrapper (different year that is) but a different filler as well. the 1999 has a filler from nicaragua and the dominican where as the connecticut has filler from honduras.
i would expect the connecticut to be a bit more nutty and round where as the 1999 to be a bit more earth and maybe a bit more spice.

but take that with a grain of salt. i have yet to smoke either. i recommend you go out and try both within a two day span to see for yourself.

Fourtotheflush

I have had both and surprisingly like the regulat Rocky Ct. better than the 1999.

I wanted to like the 99 better, it looked better, had more attractive bands and had the pedigree w the aged wrapper.

Turns out I lreally like the Rocky CT better. Ive only had the Robusto and the Toro and liked them both.
Both the 99 and the CT are good cigars, if the price points were switched around I would still like the CT better.

I think.

turn_key

Welcome Husker! I haven't had a 1999 yet but it sounds like a great smoke.

I'm a fan of the Vintage 1990 which I highly recommend: very mild and smooth.

Joeyjoe21_8

god that is ultimately my favorite connet.. in the world....if you have anymore you want to trade out let me know and ill hook you up big time....ive been searching for those but havnt found a good deal on them yet....let me know husker.... and welcome to the boards..

Husker44

There is a local B&M here that I picked up 2 from. It was good enough, I will smoke the second one There were a bit pricey from the normal CT ($7.75/stick) I have yet to find anything online. If I can find them somewhere or negotiate a better price I will let you know

Hays

Adding my .02, I'm much on the same page with Joey. The RP Vintage 1999 is definitely at the top of my list as far as mild connecticuts go. I found it to be a much mellower and smoother smoke than the RP Connecticut, but I enjoy both. Welcome to the forum!

PuroFreak

Personally, I didn't care for the Ct. at all. It seemed to lack complexity and much flavor at all for that matter. The 99 is a good cigar, it has great flavor and a bit of complexity to it. In my opinion there are many other Ct. wrapped smokes out there that are much better than both from Rocky.

Tran

Come on, try Sun Grown. There is also a great cigar

Usaf06

deadman

You’re not going to find any RP love here. In my experience with them they seem hit or miss as far as flavor and construction. I did get a fiver of the royal vintage years ago that I liked but they are over priced IMO and I have some Decade Cameroon somewhere but like I said hit and miss. One will be nice and the next blah at best. I currently have an assortment from a member here. I just haven’t smoked them all yet, so many decisions so little time. 

But at the end of the day, smoke what you enjoy. 

This message was brought to you by Luken & Associates. 
“Kinder Gentler” 

TNBigfoot68

@Tran haven't met you yet so welcome. That took some digging to find that old thread. One thing about RP is they almost always draw great and burn great. Also Rocky does a lot for the industry. A good place to show off what your smoking is the what I am smoking ....  have fun brother. 

Patrickbrick

I thought you, c-love and Jeremy all loved those things nick.  I believe multiple boxes were purchased.  

VegasFrank

Hey eff it brother.  I love most of the Rocky sticks that I have tried.  I got a free forum fiver {14 sticks} from a member here.  I smoked a few and shared the rest with buddies at a party.  Zero complaints, including from me.  Wall Street, San Andreas, 1990, Edge, anniversary, and more.  Thank you, @BKDog for your generosity!

Yes, some people have construction issues.  I have never found that to be true.  I HAVE found some of them to be bland and I've also found those issues correctable with proper storage and aging.

Smoke on, brother!

Usaf06

Patrickbrick said:

I thought you, c-love and Jeremy all loved those things nick.  I believe multiple boxes were purchased.  

I never purchased any. I wasnt laughing at what this guy is smoking btw. I was laughing he pulled up this 9 year old tread to post about RP. And that's not the stick they bought Patty. 

jlmarta

Back in medieval days when I was still a newbie I really liked a number of RP’s contributions to the rolled-up tobacco world. 

Then, after a while, ol’ Rocky began to fancy himself a master blender and businessman. First, he discontinued a top seller (Indian Tabak Fire) and began to re-blend other solid performers like Edge and Sun Grown into unrecognizable and undesirable items of tobacco. And he started down the slippery slope. 

Even later, he dredged up a brother named Nish who, lo and behold, was suddenly proclaimed a master blender and who furthered and accelerated the Patel trip down that slope. 

In case you’re wondering, I no longer have any love for anything Patel. To be fair, though, they ARE better than Gurkhas IMHO. 

BKDog

Once upon a time, Rocky Patel was new and exciting, right around the 2003 time frame the Vintage 1990 was an exceptional choice and one of the only box pressed cigars (if not the only one) to find on the local B&M shop shelves in Florida. Although it has been roughly twenty years, the RP brand has only grown larger and continues to grow, which makes quite a number of retailers and competitive marketers jealous. It comes as no surprise to see certain, smaller enterprises become jealous due to the fact that there's not as much profit gap to be had with cigars which consistently retail for less than $7, as well as the artificial scarcity tactic typically found with some overpriced brands. To be fair, certain limited release blends and rare releases we are seeing more of these days are truly more scarce due to the limited amount of rare tobacco with every acquisition and growing season. There are sometimes other factors, such as quality control, and I believe one of the best examples of this measure (whether it be purposeful or by accident) was the Opus X initial release and every subsequent release, where Fuente would only distribute so much at a time. The supply and demand aspect of the cigar world can be a tricky enterprise, as some growers and manufacturers may not know if their particular blend will take off in popularity and thus sell. If the distributors do not sell a cigar line, nobody makes money and you've got a dead brand, and that's just not good for business. I've had a large number of RP cigars, with dozens and dozens of various blends in my coolers and I still haven't had every one of his cigars. That's a lot of cigars, folks.

Now, with all that being said, Rocky Patel has taken his enterprising efforts to a new level with a seemingly continuously expanding brand and an explosive outreaching campaign, with many dozens of varieties of cigars. Compare this to a more minimalist approach of Dunbarton with Steve Saka, who has only a couple handfuls of cigars on the market, from the budget friendly Umbagog and Sobremesa, to the fabled Unicorn retailing at $100 per stick. A person could ask how much political prowess Saka has compared to Rocky Patel, and this may grant additional insight about the marketing and size of each company. The point is, if you want to get into the politics and economics of the cigar world, you may find some unattractive aspects no matter where you look at times. You could decide to simply avoid all of this and just buy what you enjoy to smoke and leave it all as it is, and that's a perfectly fine choice to make, too.

I do have an appreciation for Rocky due to his very strong presence in the cigar world and political arena, and he frequently visits the Hill to protect the cigar industry against federal regulation. He's not alone, as many tobacco growers are outspoken and also promote a mostly unregulated cigar industry. I sometimes wonder how much money it takes to line the pockets of our legalized mafia government to keep them from taxing and regulating the cigar industry out of existence. I don't even want to think about it.

On the topic of the RP cigars themselves, I've found the vast majority to be rather good, with only a few duds which are too mild for my palate, a large number are too one-dimensional and boring, and a handful of home runs with great flavor and construction. I personally wish RP would concentrate more on the dozen or so of the best blends and make the rest of his line limited releases or drop them entirely, but that's just wishful thinking and does not take into account the economic situation and focus the company may have. I've migrated more toward boutiques and rare cigars lately, thanks in no small part to this place, but I still have time to enjoy a great Rocky Patel from time to time. Smoke what you enjoy, folks!

ShawnOL

I had a RP made under the Smoker Friendly brand that was pretty damn good, especially @ $5 roughly.

jlmarta

@BKDog

In the opening words of your recent post you mention Rocky’s Vintage 1990. That’s a very good example of the blend-changing tomfoolery I was referring to.

First there was theVintage 1990 and it was exceedingly good. Then came the Vintage 1992 - also quite good. Had the same filler and binder as the 1990 but a different wrapper. 

Next, there came the Fusion. Still the same filler and binder but this one sported both wrappers - the one from the 90 and the one from the 92. This one, too, was quite excellent. 

Now comes the part that really annoys me - he just couldn’t leave well enough alone. I don’t recall whether the ‘brainstorm’ was his or Nish’s but they changed the wrapper and the whole house of cards fell apart. Fast forward to today and it seems the notion of ‘dinking around’ with their blends has become a part of their business plan. A really dumb part, IMHO. 

Of all the blends I’ve mentioned above, the only one I know of that's still ‘in the original’ is the Vintage 1990. The rest have disappeared in their evolutionary process - in taste if not in name. 

I’m not at all interested in the political aspects of all this - I just want cigars to taste good. If RP et al had stuck with the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” I’d probably still be a loyal fan of Mr. Patel......

deadman

He should get AJ to help. RP is one of the few left without AJF blended offerings 

BKDog

jlmarta said:

@BKDog

In the opening words of your recent post you mention Rocky’s Vintage 1990. That’s a very good example of the blend-changing tomfoolery I was referring to.

First there was theVintage 1990 and it was exceedingly good. Then came the Vintage 1992 - also quite good. Had the same filler and binder as the 1990 but a different wrapper. 

Next, there came the Fusion. Still the same filler and binder but this one sported both wrappers - the one from the 90 and the one from the 92. This one, too, was quite excellent. 

Now comes the part that really annoys me - he just couldn’t leave well enough alone. I don’t recall whether the ‘brainstorm’ was his or Nish’s but they changed the wrapper and the whole house of cards fell apart. Fast forward to today and it seems the notion of ‘dinking around’ with their blends has become a part of their business plan. A really dumb part, IMHO. 

Of all the blends I’ve mentioned above, the only one I know of that's still ‘in the original’ is the Vintage 1990. The rest have disappeared in their evolutionary process - in taste if not in name. 

I’m not at all interested in the political aspects of all this - I just want cigars to taste good. If RP et al had stuck with the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” I’d probably still be a loyal fan of Mr. Patel......

I won't disagree with what you've stated, as I've only really found the 1990 seconds to be much like the original release as I remember back in the day. I don't know why this is, perhaps storage, I have no clue. I never liked the 1992, I found it to be too mild for my tastes. I also agree with you on the Nish front and progress of the company lately. On another note, I had a Prohibition the other day and it was absolutely marvelous, and I just smoke RP's and enjoy them and try not to worry about all the economic and political garble. Still, all are valid arguments to be made if that's an axe to be sharpened for whatever reason.
The one thing I do see is a separation line between budget priced premiums and the more boutique variety with consumers who seem to appreciate the vanity aspect and "cool factor" over the actual smoking experience itself. I've never really subscribed to the counterculture and trendy style mindset, and never will. Regardless, there are fantastic cigars to be had from many companies these days, we're living in exciting times for cigars.