Rocky Patel’s Sun Grown line saw the addition of the Sun Grown Maduro at the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show. The cigar not only switches out the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper for Connecticut Broadleaf, but the entire blend is new to the cigar. Produced in Esteli, Nicaragua at Rocky Patel’s “boutique” TaviCusa factory, the Sun Grown Maduro is rolled in five sizes: Lancero (7 ½ by 38), Robusto (5 by 50), Petite Belicoso (5 ½ by 52), Toro (6 ½ by 52), and Sixty (6 by 60).

You can purchase the Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro from our good friends at Fox Cigar.

THE FACTS

Price: $9.45
Vitola: Trunk-Pressed Toro
Size: 6 ½ by 52
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 30 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Sun Grown Maduro by Rocky Patel is dressed in an extremely dark brown, nearly black wrapper. There are a couple medium-sized veins running the length of the cigar, along with some tooth.

Sweet raisin and chocolate are on the wrapper and a rich mocha aroma comes across on the foot. After cutting the triple cap, I find a firm draw. My palate is greeted by potpourri like spices, chocolate, and cedar. The flavors are rich and a spice is warming my lips and mouth.

FIRST THIRD

The flavors open up completely different than expected with an earthiness, dark red fruit, and black pepper. The black pepper is all flavor and hardly any spice. As the cigar progresses, the dark fruit is up front and center. The retrohale is very smooth and pepper has just a bit more edge as I move it through my nose. A fleeting, syrupy sweetness is appearing every few puffs. A light gray ash is forming and the tooth from the wrapper can be easily seen on it. It is actually easier to see the tooth in the ash than it is on the dark wrapper.

MIDDLE THIRD

As I make my way into the second third of the Sun Grown Maduro, the profile grows in richness and body. The burn, which was even in the first third, is now off track. A quick touch-up is required to get the burn back in-line shortly into this third. A sweet bread and cocoa have joined the mix as the spice heat increases and warms my mouth nicely and the smoke has a fizzy quality. The sweetness is gaining ground and it is a nice compliment to the darker flavors. Before I exit the middle third, a second touch-up is required and the ash is now flaky.

FINAL THIRD

With the last third underway, the dark fruit has evolved to more of grape jelly flavor, while the same earthy core holds strong. There remains just a hint of sweetness and the spice heat has considerably calmed, but the black pepper flavor remains. As the cigars begins to wrap-up, the flavors remain rich and the smoke production is satisfying.

WRAP-UP

As I mentioned, the flavors of the Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro were unexpected, but they were not disappointing. The earth flavor was central to the profile and there was an evolving fruit flavor that begun as a dark red fruit, but ended more like a grape jelly. The sweetness provided a nice contrast to the dark earth flavor and some noticeable changes in the sweetness were noted throughout the cigar. But it was really the richness in the final two thirds that won me over. I did not want this cigar to end. I encountered a few burn issues in one of the cigars, but the other burned perfectly for an hour and thirty minutes. The Sun Grown Maduro Toro is an excellent smoke and one that is worth your hard earned money.

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The Good Stuff: Rocky Patel’s burn was originally only available if you visited Rocky’s own cigar lounge in Naples, Florida. This blend has since, been released into the wild for everyone to enjoy. There is a catch though. The original Burn carried a dark Sumatran wrapper which has since been swapped out for a Honduran leaf resulting and in Honduran – Puro cigar. Burn – Naples comes in 3 sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). They are packaged in 20 count boxes and will run between $7.75 and $8.60 a stick. These samples were sent to me by our friends over at Rocky Patel.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Secret, and Scarce blend of Honduran tobacco
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $7.75
Pairing: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (American IPA 6% ABV)

Prelight: The wrapper on the Burn is a beautiful one, sporting an extremely consistent, milky brown character. The wrapper is slightly toothy with a trace amount of oil and only a few larger veins running the length of the body. The Burn is then finished off with a perfect, round, triple cap. The cigar is polished off with a orange, white, and gold band that simple says “BURN” on the front and carries a small Rocky Patel crest in the back. On the foot of the cigar there is a similar band stating the word “NAPLES, FL”. The cigar is very, very firm to the touch. It’s so firm that I actually fear the cigar may be jam packed and too tight to draw from.

The wrapper on Rocky Patel’s Burn smells like straight up cedar while the foot of the cigar gives off a very oaty, grainy aroma. The cap cut like butter using my double bladed Palio cutter. (Terrible rhyme). The cold draw produced a slightly sweet, cedar filled flavor profile.

First Smoke: The Burn starts off with a nice splash of black pepper which quickly faded into a very, very sweet tobacco and cedar profile with some vanilla and musk underneath. The draw is slightly tight, but not even close to bothersome. After a puff or two I can get the desired amount of smoke in my mouth. The smoke seems very thin, and dissipates very quickly. There isn’t even much stationary smoke coming from the cigar as it sits in my ashtray. The burnline is a bit wavy leaving behind a very flaky, bright white ash. The ash held on for a little under an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The pepper is completely gone as I reach the second third of Rocky Patel’s Burn. The sweetness in this cigar is pretty intense, and not something Rocky has been known for. Boy do I wish I he was cause it really ads another layer to the blend. The cedar is still there, just not as strong while the vanilla and musk remain in the profile. The draw is still a bit tight, but nothing too bad, while the burnline has completely corrected itself and is now burning razor sharp and dead even. The retrohale is really smooth, as it coats my nasal passage with some really strong cedar and sweetness. I am feeling no nicotine at all at this point.

Finish: Rocky Patel’s Burn finished exactly as the first, and the second third. Sweet, sweet tobacco, cedar, vanilla, and musk. This is a great mixup, but I really with that it would have had a bit more dimension and changed up a bit more than it did. I am happy to report there was no real harshness until the final inch. Outside of that, the cigar finished nice and smooth with no nicotine kick, no touch-ups, and no relights.

Overview: This was one of the better blends I have had from Rocky Patel. The Burn carries some great flavors with an overall enjoyable sweet experience. My main gripes had to be the lack of change ups, and the tight draw. It was manageable, but on both samples I received I had to give a few extra puffs to really get it going. Would I buy it again? More than likely. Would I buy a box? This wasn’t really my cup of tea so I’d have to decline on that one. I do, however, think this is a perfect cigar for those of you who really like to kick back, and enjoy some great, consistent flavors in your smoke. The Burn really showcases how balanced an experience can be.

Pairing: With summer just around the corner, expect a lot more IPA’s sneaking their way into our reviews. I have never been one for IPA’s but I have discovered over the last year that it’s only the really piney, young tasting ones that get me. Ever since I discovered Imperial and Double IPA’s which tend to lack these flavors I have been addicted to them. One of the breweries that is known for its IPAs is Dogfish Head and their 60 Minute IPA can be found in just about any grocery, convenience, or beer store here in El Paso, Texas. The 60 Minute IPA is an American style IPA coming in at a modest 6% ABV which is brewed at the infamous Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware. This beer starts off very, very crisp with some great citrus and finishing with just a light pine and bitterness to it. One note is that the 60 minute IPA is named after the brewing process in which the brew is soft-boiled for 60 minutes as 60 hop additions incur. IPA’s are really tough to find the right pairing for as they tend to overpower your everyday cigar. I have noticed that the sweet, milder cigars really make for a great pairing with the bitterness and citrus from the beer. The Burn is a perfect example of that as the extra vanilla flavor from the cigar mixed with the hoppiness from the beer really clashed to create a nice, floral experience.

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Today’s review comes courtesy of Lou B. who you can find in the comments section every now and then. I met Lou at a herf a little while back and he’s been holding some awesome Cigar-B-Cue’s where we eat, smoke, drink and talk. At the last little gathering, Lou handed me a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and said that I had to try it and squeeze in a review if possible. We chatted a little about how my history with most Rocky Patel sticks is a little shaky but I would give it a shot.

So here I am today about to light up this cigar. I have had a few Vintage 1990’s a while ago but it’s been a rather long time so other than a few notes I made for myself I don’t have much to go on. I actually decided to ignore my old notes and go at this one blindly!

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 is the oldest cigar in his vintage line. This particular blend is made with Maduro Broadleaf wrapper dating back to 1990. So the wrapper on these cigars is near 12 Years old and apparently the filler is at least 5 years old before being rolled. That makes for a very well aged cigar right out of the box so let’s hope it has the smoothness you would expect on such a well aged smoke.

It seems that the Vintage 1990 line is also available in a wide variety of vitolas that come boxed in quantities of 20. I even stumbled upon some being sold as bundles so you can save a few dollars there too. The vitola Lou gifted me with happens to be their Churchill which also has a box-pressed look to it. The cigar also seems a lot smaller than the claimed 48 ring gauge, possibly due to the pressing. I’d say this cigar is almost around 42 or 44 ring gauge from a quick glance.

Now this cigar also has quite the reputation which can sometimes hinder a cigar. It’s been given a 92 rating by Cigar Aficionado and even been named to the Top 25 Cigars of the year twice. So this sets the bar fairly high when you read something like that before lighting up. But regardless of that, I’m going into this review with a clear mind and hoping for a good smoke. This one’s for you Lou!

Cigar: Rocky Patel Vintage 1990
Drink: Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2011
Vitola: Churchill (7 x 48)
Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Price: About $8.00
Burn Time: Just short of 2 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar is velvety smooth and has the color of milk chocolate bar, it’s actually quite appealing to look at
• There are some veins and seams running along it’s length but none of them look large enough to pose any problems
• The vitola on this cigar is pretty interesting, but despite that the single cap looks to be expertly applied and clean
• The foot follows in the same ‘footsteps’ (cheesy pun, I know…lol) and is very well packed
• That also links into the fairly firm feel of the whole cigar, there is a tiny give when squeezed but not much, I think I’ll blame that on the box pressing process
• The cap clipped off nice and easy but left me with a bit of a tight draw, hoping that doesn’t continue and it opens up soon
• Glad to report that the draw opened up nicely within the first inch

Burn:
• The toasting was easy and fairly even, getting me off to a good start easily
• I usually get some funky burn lines on box pressed cigars but through the first couple inches this one is flawless
• Not much to report here, as I get to the halfway mark I’m still moving along flawlessly
• Still more nothing to report, lol. No wavy lines, no canoes, no tunnels, just the way I like it!

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of resting smoke coming off this cigar, could be a little too much if I were in an enclosed room
• Even with a tight draw, I’m still picking up a fairly good amount of smoke from each puff
• The ash on this cigar is a nice even tone of light gray and is keeping itself fairly clean and tight
• Got to just about an inch before the ash fell off
• Next ash got to about an inch again before I tapped it off cause it was looking ready to fall
• Seemed to get a pretty consistent 1 inch ash on these that stayed clean

Tasting Notes:
• Running the cigar under my nose gives an easily noticeable aroma of coffee, but mostly of cedar. It’s light and pleasant, not overpowering
• The foot does away with the coffee but does carry the aroma of cedar and maybe a little bit of greenery
• I get the same greenery and cedar flavor as I take a pre-light draw after clipping the cap. Also an odd liquor type of flavor, almost like infused but you can tell it isn’t, interesting to see if that will carry into the smoking experience
• Initial flavors are mostly woodsy and earthy notes, maybe with a hint of coffee in there
• The coffee flavors are developing a bit as the cigar burns, still very mellow but they are there, maybe with a bit of cocoa too
• The start of this cigar as been fairly mild for the most part, maybe just approaching medium and the retrohale has almost no bite but gives a smooth cedar and coffee finish
• The liquor flavor I was getting is making slight appearances here and there, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but it’s keeping the experience interesting. It’s sort of sweet and mixed with the coffee flavors I guess my closest comparison would be Kahlua or something similar
• The whole cigar seems to be quite well balanced to me, I’m getting a good variety of flavors that keep changing up on me and keeping me interested, none of them are overpowering the others
• The array of flavors has stayed the same through to the last third but the fact that they keep taking turns being the dominant one has kept me interested and enjoying the whole cigar so far
• Flavors got a little more intense near the nub, but no harshness or bitterness so I got to enjoy it to the very end

Final Thoughts:
So I have to admit I came into this cigar with some hesitation due to my past experiences with Rocky Patel sticks. I’ve had a few good ones, but most were not in my flavor profile. Even with Lou’s claims of how much he enjoyed this I was a little worried. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed this cigar! I wouldn’t put it into my top 10 but I would keep it on regular rotation as a reliable mild/medium bodied stick if I can find it on sale or maybe in the bundles. It had an interesting set of flavors that were very well balanced and it burned superbly. I don’t really have anything negative to say. If there was one critique I could make it’s that the flavors were not very pronounced. They were there, but you really had to sit and concentrate to pick up on them. Maybe this is due to their extended aging? I’m not too sure… You could easily enjoy it’s smoothness without paying attention, but if the flavor were a little more intense, this might have been a top 10 contender for me.

Pairings:
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the Innis & Gunn Brewery and everything I’ve tried from them to date. Their Oak Aged Beers are simply the best I’ve been able to find so far with a sweet caramely smoothness. Every year they also come out with a Winter Seasonal, and as I mentioned in my last review, I’m a bit of a sucker for Winter Seasonals. So I had to get this, their Winter Beer 2011! The crappy part is that it’s only available in a Sampler pack here. Although I really enjoy their other beers in the sampler, it comes with a glass. I think I’m up to 5 or 6 Innis & Gunn glasses now because I keep buying the sampler packs they have for their seasonal beers… lol. But enough about my ranting, this beer keeps to my expectations for this brewery and brings a TON of flavor to the table. Along with the classic Oaky notes, you can pick up some citrus, vanilla, toffee and the signature caramel smoothness. All of their beers seem to pair best with a good mild or medium bodied cigar, so it fit very well in with the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. Other good pairing would be a similar beer like a blonde or amber, and possibly a nice cup of coffee.

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