At the 2021 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars unveiled a new offering known as the Rocky Patel White Label. It a nutshell, this would be one of the most premium regular production offerings that the company would unveil. This cigar would be priced in the $20.00 range. The Rocky Patel White Label would be a Connecticut Shade offering. Companies such as Davidoff for many years have had a dominant position in humidors offering more ultra-premium Connecticut Shade offerings. In recent years, we have seen several companies challenge for humidor space with the ultra-premium Connecticut Shade offerings, and the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto is one of them. Today we take a closer look at the Rocky Patel White Label in the Robusto size.

In terms of Connecticut Shade offerings, the Rocky Patel White Label is not the first one by the company. There are several other ones currently offered in the company’s portfolio which are targeted more as everyday premium and everyday value-priced cigars.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 Connecticut (Premium)
Xen by Nish Patel (Premium)
The Edge Connecticut (Value)
Catch 22 Connecticut (Value)

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

According to Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, the Rocky Patel White Label contains tobaccos that have been aged ten years. The Rocky Patel White Label’s Connecticut Shade wrapper comes from the U.S. It’s not the only U.S. Connecticut wrapper in the Rocky Patel portfolio as the Vintage 1999 Connecticut uses a wrapper from this region. Another interesting note is other than the Xen by Nish Patel, the other Rocky Patel Connecticut offerings come out of Honduras. The Xen along with the White Label is produced at Rocky Patel’s TAVICUSA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

The remainder of the blend includes Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos.

Wrapper: U.S. Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Undisclosed
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. (TAVICUSA)

Vitolas Offered

Currently, the Rocky Patel White Label is offered in four sizes. Each is presented in 20-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Sixty: 6 x 60
Toro: 6 1/2 x 50
Churchill: 7 x 48

There was also a limited edition 6 1/2 x 55 figurado that was made exclusively available as a part of a special Rocky Patel White Label humidor set.

Appearance

The U.S. Connecticut Shade wrapper had a light brown and weathered look to it. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface. The wrapper also had a silky complexion with made it quite aesthetically pleasing. The wrapper also had thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams.

The band of the Rocky Patel White Label is – well, a white label. On the Robusto, this band covers a lion’s share of the area of the band. All of the fonts on the band have a copper color to them. Starting from the upper portion of the band and going down, these are the following highlights:

A Rocky Patel Circulus logo
Leaf designs
The text “ESTELI, NICARAGUA”
The text “WHITE LABEL”
The text “AGED 10 YEARS”
The text “CONNECTICUT SHADE WRAPPER”
The text “EST 1995”

The band features many copper-colored design elements. The footer is surrounded by a white footer band.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw was quintessential Connecticut Shade flavors – namely cream, wood, and cedar. Overall this wasn’t the most exciting of pre-light draws. Since the pre-light draw experience is not factored into the numeric score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to light up the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto and see what the smoking experience would deliver.

Tasting Notes

The Rocky Patel White Label Robusto opened up with notes of cream, wood, cedar, and a slight citrus component. There was no dominant note between the cream, wood, and cedar, but as the cigar burned through the first third, the creamy component moved to the forefront. The wood, cedar, and citrus were the secondary notes. Meanwhile, the retro-hale was delivering some black pepper.

During the second third of the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto, the cedar notes intensified and displaced the cream as the primary note. The cream settled in the background with the wood and citrus notes. In addition, some black pepper notes were now present on the tongue.

The cedar notes remained in the forefront during the final third. There was an increase in the pepper notes, but they still remained in a secondary role. The wood, citrus, and some cream notes rounded out the flavor profile. As the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto came to a close, the cigar’s nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto started out with a straight-line and straight burn path. On each of the samples, the burn path had some slight meandering and jaggedness on the burn line from the second third on. This required additional and frequent touch-ups. While the touch-ups did the trick, there were more of them than I preferred. The resulting ash was firm with a very light gray color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Draw

The draw to the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto performed quite well. It had a touch of resistance to it – which is something I consider a positive. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

For the most part, the Rocky Patel White Label Robusto delivered a medium-strength, medium-bodied smoke from start to finish. This cigar definitely had more boldness than a traditional Connecticut Shade cigar, but a the same time this was a very approachable cigar. As the cigar experience progressed, there was a slight increase in the intensity levels of the strength and body. In the end, the White Label Robusto remained in the medium area of the spectrum.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Rocky Patel White Label Robusto has a relatively straightforward flavor profile. It’s going to deliver quintessential flavor notes for a Connecticut Shade – namely cream, cedar, wood, and citrus. The flavors aren’t bad flavors, but they also lacked wow power. I would put this cigar in the “like it” but not “love it” category. In the end, it does enough to get a respectable 87-point score, but not enough to approach the Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence. At $19.00, this does carry a steep price point. The cigar delivers enough that I still would encourage others to try a sample. As for myself, I am still curious to smoke some of the other sizes of this blend.

Summary

Key Flavors:  Cream, Cedar, Wood, Citrus, Black Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 87

References

News: Rocky Patel White Label Makes Debut at 2021 PCA Trade Show
Price: $19.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Rocky Patel

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop

 

Originally posted on October 31, 2022 @ 5:17 pm

“The Frank blend is one that delivers a wonderful Connecticut Broadleaf experience…”

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Monster Mash Frank: 6 1/8 x 49
Price: $150.00 for sampler that includes 14 different Monster Mash cigars (which includes one Monster Mash Frank)

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Tatuaje Monster Mash Frank (4/26/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022)

Coming in at #11 is the Tatuaje Monster Mash Frank. Many are familiar with Tatuaje’s Monster Series – it’s a annual limited release around Halloween that pays homage to horror film characters. In 2021, Tatuaje Cigars released a sampler of all of the blends in the Monster Series known as the Monster Mash. The Monster Mash would differ from the original Monster Series in that each of the cigars would be 1 1/2 inches shorter than the original Monster Series. One of the cigars is the Frank, a cigar that pays homage to the character of Frankenstein. It also was the first Monsters cigar ever released. It’s the Monster Mash expression of the Tatuaje Frank that lands on the 2022 Countdown.

The Monster Mash Frank uses the same tobacco components as the original Tatuaje The Frank blend. This consists of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over all Nicaraguan fillers. Like the original Frank, the Monster Mash Frank is a box-pressed vitola, but it is shorter at 6 1/8 x 49.

 

The Monster Mash Frank delivered notes of espresso, earth, cocoa powder, cedar, wood, and pepper. Throughout the smoking experience of the Tatuaje Monster Mash Frank, the flavors were medium to full-bodied countered by medium to full strength. One cigar wrapper that Tatuaje Cigars’ owner Pete Johnson is known for is Connecticut Broadleaf and the Monster Mash Frank is a wonderful expression of a blend using that wrapper.

The Monster Mash Frank marks the seventh year Tatuaje has landed on a Cigar Coop Countdown. It’s also the fifth time a Monsters Series release has landed on the Countdown (Joining 2011’s The Wolfman, 2012’s The Mummy, 2014’s The Jekyll, and 2019’s The Bride). It’s also the second cigar produced out of the My Father Cigars factory to land on the 2022 Countdown. Meanwhile, Nicaragua continues to dominate the 2022 Countdown. Of the 20 cigars unveiled thus far, the Monster Mash Frank is the 14th to come out of Nicaragua.

 

 

For details of the 2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2022 criteria.

Note: Due to age restrictions, you might have to click on “Watch on YouTube” below.

Photo/Media Credits: Cigar Coop

 

Originally posted on December 29, 2022 @ 7:17 am

“Very simply, this small little size is loaded with flavor and it delivers the boldness you would expect from Triqui Traca.”

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)
448: 4 x 48
Price: $8.95

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (7/4/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 8 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Coming in at #10 is the Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 448 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. The story of the Mi Querida Triqui Traca can be traced back to a cigar known as the Mi Querida Firecracker. This is a project that Steve Saka did for New Hampshire-based retailer Two Guys Smoke Shop in 2018. The Mi Querida Firecracker was a 3 1/2 x 50 size featuring a long fuse much like a Firecracker. For that project, Saka released the Mi Querida Firecracker using an alternative blend that was stronger than the Mi Querida that was out at the time, the Mi Querida Blue. With Mi Querida Trique Traca (which is a name that refers to a large firecracker almost resembling a stick of dynamite), Saka worked with that alternate blend and tweaked it to be released in other sizes (minus the long fuse). One of those sizes that was added was a 4 x 48 vitola that was released in 2021.

Like the original Mi Querida Blue, the Triqui Traca consists of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The remainder of the blend consists Nicaraguan binder and a combination of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. There are two notable differentiators with the Triqui Tracker when compared too the  Blue. First, the wrapper of Triqui Traca was switched from the traditional Connecticut Broadleaf Mediums to the rarer No. 1 Dark corona leaves. Second, the filler incorporates what is described as a “high octane ligero” from the Dominican Republic. Production comes from the NACSA factory. The 4 x 48 size is one that has brought Saka success on the Cigar Coop Countdown in the past. In 2018, the Mi Querida Gordita in the Blue Blend finished as #7 Cigar of the Year. Incidentally this isn’t the first time Triqui Traca has landed on the Countdown. In 2020, the 552 size finished at #16.

The Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 delivered a mix of mixed pepper, cocoa, blackberry, and earthThe cigar came in at medium to full strength and medium to full body. As I stated when I assessed this cigar, this small little size was loaded with flavor and it delivers plenty of boldness.

The Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 lands Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust on a Cigar Coop Countdown for an eighth consecutive year. If you have been keeping score at home Nicaragua has been dominating 2022 Countdown. Of the 21 cigars unveiled thus far, the Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 is the 15th to come out of Nicaragua.

 

 

For details of the 2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2022 criteria.

Note: Due to age restrictions, you might have to click on “Watch on YouTube” below.

Photo/Media Credits: Cigar Coop

 

Originally posted on December 30, 2022 @ 7:18 am