Rocky Factory Selects Torpedo

Honduras

I finally succumbed to Rocky. I gotta be honest. I've always been more than a little reluctant to purchase Rakesh "Rocky" Patel's cigars. When his Indian Tabac first came on the market in the late '90s, I bought a couple of boxes, 'cause I thought the marketing was clever. The cigars, however, didn't impress. I think I've still got an unopened full box, almost a decade old. When I inquired about Patel's manufacturing facility, I was duly informed that Rocky contracted for production; that he actually didn't make cigars. He marketed and sold cigars made by others with his brand. Apparently, the cigars in which I didn't find any favor were virtual clones of Astral and Don Tomas from U.S. Cigar. So I've stayed away until recently, after hearing a multitude of glowing reports of Patel's latest creations.

It's pretty clear that Rocky Patel has learned a heck of a lot in the last decade. Recently, with buyer's resistance gone numb, I finally bought a bundle of Rocky Patel Sun Grown Factory Select Torpedos from Famous. (Rumour has it that these were made in Nestor Plasencia's factory.) After delivery, I put them to rest, to stabilize for a couple of weeks.

Last night and this morning, I randomly grabbed a stick from the bundle. The ad copy reads that these are covered with a five year old sun grown wrapper from Ecuador, Rosado in color. I think cigar ad copy and the tooth fairy have 10 points of commonality. (Get the drift?) I don't know if these wrappers are five years or five months old. Rosado? Rosado to me indicates a definite reddish hue. These cigars are deep dark; not maduro deep dark, but the color that you really want sun grown to be.

I don't know what Factory "Select" means. They came in a bundle with no bands; yet they're not advertised as Segundos. The wrappers were applied as cleanly and neatly as any cigar I've smoked over the past 4+ decades. And these cigars were heavy with tobacco, rich delicious, full bodied tobacco.

Down to the nuts, this is a terrific full bodied cigar. Kudos to Patel and whomever actually manufactured this smoke.

- RSteve (Herfers Paradise)