The People's Review of the Rocky Patel Patel Bros

FINALLY THE CHAMP HAS COME BACK TO THE B&B BLOG!!! That's right The Champ is back after a bit of a hiatus to bring you yet another edition of "The People's Review" and today's review is of one of the new offerings from Rocky Patel the Patel Brothers. Here's the story behind this cigar courtesy of Rocky's homepage:

"For the first time in his company's history, Rocky Patel has collaborated with his brother Nish to create a full-bodied powerhouse cigar blend. The duo worked for years to find a robust and unique wrapper to accompany a special Nicaraguan filler and binder blend. A breakthrough came in the form of a beautifully dark and oily broadleaf wrapper selected from the tobacco fields of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. For each of their efforts, they decided to call the rich and bold cigar PATEL BROTHERS. "

This is one of the new blends released by RP (along with the Summer Collection 09, 1961, and Autumn Collection 09) and I was pretty psyched to try it out again since I had an intro to it before this review and it kicked my a$$! Here are the specs on this stogie:

Vitola: Torpedo 6.25" x 52

Filler: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf

Strength: Full

Let's get into reviewing this new cigar!

Pre-light construction and Draw

Taking the cigar out the cello, I notice the wrapper is quite oily yet it's pretty toothy with some prominent veins showing. A little squeeze tells me the cigar is packed full of that good Nicaraguan tobacco yet it does have some give to it. After I clip the torpedo cap, the draw is near effortless with just a slight touch of resistance. The flavors I get off the cold draw include strong hints of chocolate with a mixture of spice and a sort of dairy flavor. Let's get it lit and get to it!

First Third

It's lit and right off the bat that combo of chocolate and dairy with spice hits early! The combo is chocolate milk with a black pepper spice and a sort of dirty flavor finish. The spice is really strong off the start and I can feel the tingle on the nostrils and the back of my throat; with the retrohale I am getting a serious nic buzz indicative that the cigar is quite full in strength. Continuing on I'm getting a nice touch of pecans mixed in with the other prevailing flavors (this mix is extremely enjoyable). I paired this cigar with a glass of 2007 Liroc Cuvee Reserve red wine, which was a pretty decent pairing but with these early flavors I think a good tawny port would be perfect! The finish on this cigar is very lengthy and pleasant; the aroma coming off this cigar is also phenominal! The draw is perfect so far and it gives off a lot of creamy thick smoke; it's burning a touch hot off the start but nothing that isn't manageable. Just noticed another flavor addition: that earthy dirt flavor has changed to more of a hay flavor mixed in with some raisins (it's very nice!) The ash on this cigar is a nice greyish white color and it's holding pretty solid so far plus the burn is slow and even, which is a plus! The spice that was so present off the start is starting to fade a little bit yet I can still feel it tingle through the nose; there's also a toasty flavor that's introduced to the fold with the other earlier flavors sans the strong pepper and even some leather notes! So far, this cigar is all over the place with the flavors and the ash is holding firm at 2" yet starting to flake a little bit (possibly due to the chill in the air as I smoke this) so I am looking forward to what the rest of this cigar has to offer!

Halfway Point

Time to move on to the halfway point and the spice has completely faded away but the flavors of chocolate milk, pecans and raisins are still around. Finish continues to be very lengthy and leaving a very sweet pleasant flavor on the pallet. The integrity of the ash is starting to waiver a bit as the ash is getting pretty flaky-looking; the draw on this cigar is still on point and still giving off a lot of smoke. Now I'm starting to get some black coffee notes with a slight touch of leather and the absence of earthiness from earlier on in the cigar. Even in this flavor transition the strength has remained pretty full-bodied. Now the ash has gone from pretty flaky to jagged?! Yes it had a weird mouth-looking shape to it at one point but outside of that those sweet flavors are still hanging around. Now I'm starting to notice that the spice is slowly trying to make a comeback though not as powerful as it was in the beginning. Also, have to give my cigar a little touchup as the burn is getting a little more uneven...pretty uneventful way to end this section.

Final Stretch and The People's Verdict

As I'm coming down the home stretch and this cigar isn't really changing flavors at this point. Mostly, it's the same notes of chocolate milk, pecans, raisins with a little earthiness and a small amount of spice. The only notable flavor addition was a slight hint of berries paired with black coffee (the berries I reckon is a nod to the Winter Collection to which this cigar was suppose to mimic) but other than that it's basically a repeat of the beginning sans spice. Burn wasn't as even and the ash was flaky.

The People's Verdict: MEH

I give this one a "MEH" simply because the beginning of this cigar gave me high hopes of a strong cigar that's super flavorful yet after the first 1/3 of the cigar it was basically 1 dimensional and at one point was flat. I won't completely write this cigar as it is a new release so I will say that with some humi time this cigar could possibly be a great offering from RP so go out and get one or two and let them sit for a while and I'm sure they will be on point! Once again, this is The Champ saying keep lighting up them good cigars and let the smoke take you away!

Cheers and Enjoy!