Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009

The Rocky Patel Seasonal Collection line was a series of limited run cigars that were
meant to coincide with each of the four seasons.  The blend was almost meant to coincide with the spirit of the
season. After 2009 the series was discontinued, but the great news is that it recently has been resurrected with the release of the Rocky Patel Winter Collection 2012.   That being said, today we will explore an older release from this series – the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009.  This is often one of the forgotten blends from this series, yet it is one that is actually is a pretty good smoke.

As mentioned these cigars are pretty difficult to come by these days.   You might get lucky and come across one as I recently did.   Let’s take a closer look at the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Colorado Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

The blend of the Autumn Collection 2009 is different from the Autumn Collection 2008.  The 2008 version featured a Connecticut Shade wrapper.

Vitolas Available

The Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 was available in three vitolas:

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 52

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I smoked the Autumn Collection 2009 Robusto. The Habano Colorado Maduro wrapper is striking.  Being that it is Colorado Maduro, it actually is a cross between the reddish tint that Colorado wrappers usually have – and milk chocolate that maduro wrappers have.  The Autumn Collection 2009 has a slightly toothy feel to it.  It has two orange and silver bands.  The first band has the  Rocky Patel logo on it.  The second band is under the first and says Autumn Collection 2009.   It is worth noting that Patel been on the record stating that orange is his favorite color.

The aroma on the foot definitely had what I have heard referred as a “barnyard” aroma.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For my Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 Robusto, I placed a straight cut into the cap.  I proceeded with the pre-light draw.  The dry draw notes provided a mix of cedar sweetness and spice.   I was also able to detect some leather and chocolate on the pre-light draw.  This was a very nice start to the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009.  I immediately proceeded to toast the foot of the cigar and commence the smoking experience.

Flavor Profile

I’ve always mentioned that the flavor of Rocky Patel’s Seasonal collection fits in with the particular season – in this case Autumn.  The initial notes of the Autumn Collection 2009 gave me notes of cedar sweetness and nut – definitely an autumn-like taste.  There was also some spice on the after-draw.   I was soon able to distinguish the nuts as walnut flavored.  As I the smoke progressed through the first half, the spice on the after-draw dissipated and the cedar sweetness faded.   This flavor profile would hold for the majority of the smoking experience.

As the smoke of the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection moved toward the last third, the cedar sweetness that was present early on re-emerged and joined the walnut and spice.  I was also surprised to detect notes cinnamon and coffee toward the end.  For a cigar that I did not consider complex early on, it actually picked up toward in the final third.  These flavors held until the finish.  The finish was very smooth.  The nub was a little soft, but cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The burn of my Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 did require multiple touch-ups.  While the touch-ups did the trick, the amount of touch-ups I had to do prevented this from achieving an “excellent” on the burn scale.  At the same time, the burn temperature and burn rate were ideal.  There were no issues with the draw – the Autumn Collection 2009 was a very easy cigar to smoke.

Strength and Body

The Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 is not going to overwhelm you with nicotine.   This is your classic cigar that falls into the medium strength zone.  As for the flavor notes, they have some nice depth.   This allows for this smoke to be assessed as medium to full-bodied.   The amount of strength is perfect for the Autumn Collection 2009 in that it does not overwhelm the flavors – allowing for a nice balance between the strength and body.

Final Thoughts

There are a couple of intangible qualities with the Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 that were appealing.  First of all, the flavors really do fit in with the theme of the autumn season. Secondly, the complexity and smoothness on the finish of this cigar work in its favor.  While there may be some technical things about the cigar (like the burn) where this cigar didn’t score as high as it could of, it still does leave a memorable experience in my book.  This is a great cigar for a novice cigar enthusiast to enjoy – especially if one is looking to gravitate to a medium strength/medium to full-bodied cigar. Experienced enthusiasts will appreciate some of the unique flavors and complexity toward the end of this cigar.   If I can find more of these, I will certainly pick them up.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 90

Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Elite Cigar Cafe in Addison, Texas