Rocky Patel Decade | Short Cigar Review
I’m going to try something new here. In the past, I’ve only done reviews in a longer format. That’s fine and all but it does take a lot of work and, even though I am still going to do a lot of those, I think it’s a smart idea to do shorter reviews as well. For these reviews I will use a 1-5 point rating system with 5 being awesome and 1 being pathetic. There might be a lot of repeat here since I plan on giving a short update to every cigar I smoke. Now onto this cigar.
There is a reason why I like Rocky Patel’s cigars and the Decade is one of his better lines. Great draw, fairly even burn and a nominal full bodied profile. It has meaty flavors along with some chocolate and bitterness. It’s probably a good idea to smoke this cigar in the afternoon of after lunch or dinner since it is a little more robust than the average cigar.
4 points
Rocky Patel’s Website
The man makes unquestionably great cigars but his website, rockypatel.com, isn’t a classic.
My first problem is that it is a flash site. That means it takes a long time to load. Another problem I have with these sites is that if you want to link to a specific page you can’t.
Why is this a problem? Well, when I do a review of a cigar I try to go and find the maker’s website and do a little research into what the cigar is supposed to be like. Now, I have to say that most cigar makers don’t have their own websites. Some of the cigars that are owned by the big guys have their own spot on the parent site but that’s a different matter altogether.
To cut a long story short, I can’t link to the great content on Rocky’s site because it is a flash site.
But flash sites aren’t all bad. Not by a long shot. While I can’t link to the site and it does take a long time to load the content on the site the content is great. You actually have video of Rocky explaining the characteristics of each blend he has (not every brand, which I will get to shortly).
It’s nice smoking a cigar, like the torpedo from the Sun Grown line, taking notes on it and then going onto the maker’s own site and finding out he tastes the same flavors that I am. Exciting! No?
Well, it is exciting to me and leads me to my last problem with his site. I emailed the customer service address about a month ago asking about a cigar they didn’t show in their products section and I have yet to receive an email back, which means I won’t be receiving an email.
It’s a work in progress, so I’ll let it slide. If I absolutely, positively needed to find something out I would have sent at least a couple more emails.
There are a couple Hispanic beats that you can play while surfing the site (there are three options with the third being… silence – it is a work in progress). The events section is just a calender that shows if there is an event a certain day. You can then click on that day and see where the events are. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to travel a couple thousand miles to go to one of these events and is another area for improvement (a sort by location and date function would be welcomed).
There are some good pictures from one of their factories and there is this odd, Star Trek warp speed-like graphic that shows you all the people who work for Rocky Patel. The retailers section is “coming soon.”
One last thing: the site does have a link to their html powered site but there is no html powered site. It’s a dead link.
It’s a good site if you compare it against all the other cigar sites out there that were developed by cigar makers. But it still has lots of room to grow. The cigars are still some of the best out there though.
Rocky Patel Sun Grown Torpedo – Cigar Review
Cigar Stats
Length: 6.25″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Brazil, Dom. Rep., Nicaragua
Approximate Price: $7.70
Dark and oily cigar. The construction looks perfect but the appearance is another matter. There’s a couple of raised veins and it looks almost like there are creases in the cigar. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the performance of the cigar.
Thanksgiving Fire!
Yes, this is the cigar I decided to smoke on Thanksgiving. It better be good!
Absolutely effortless draw; just perfect. There’s also a good amount of spice. Full bodied cigar. The other flavors I am getting are a slight toasty flavor and there is this very subtle sweetness that I get only when I blow smoke out of my nose. Some earthiness to this cigar as well.
Burns well, actually very well. Just a couple of minor problems that does not affect my overall enjoyment of this cigar at all. Flavors are still great halfway through. Very interesting cigar.
Great flavors and it maintains its strength the whole way through. From foot to nub this is an amazing cigar that anyone who likes full bodied (it isn’t extremely full bodied) cigars has to try one of these cigars out.
92 points
Thanksgiving Cigar
Hi everybody. I know that Thanksgiving was yesterday and that I should have left you all a message wishing you a happy Turkey Day but I didn’t because I was having too much fun with my family and also enjoying a great cigar.
But first, what I am thankful for. First and foremost, my family. They are great people and deserve every last ounce of praise given to them. Secondly, God. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to have such a wonderful life. Thirdly, America. Without living in the greatest country to have ever graced Earth I would not have anywhere near as good a life as I do now.
Now onto the more jovial topics.
The food was great. We went over to my cousin’s house (they are nearly twenty years older than me) and we had some great food. Then we came home and I had a wonderful torpedo from Rocky Patel’s Sun Grown line. I gave it 92 points and you should be seeing the review sometime soon.
Anything else? No, not really. The season finale of Sons of Anarchy, my favorite new show, was on Wednesday. It’s a double-edged sword having favorite shows on cable because while they usually do touch on more risque topics it is also true that their seasons are also shorter then shows on network television.
But seeing all that I am thankful for, and it is a lot, I can easily live with only getting a dozen episodes of a good show every year. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
24: Redemption and The Unit all in one Night
It was awesome watching both 24 and The Unit all in one night. I just wish my cigars had been better, which was surprising since I smoked a Arturo Fuente and a Rocky Patel.
