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| Rocky Patel Platinum |
For the past couple of years, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has gone into the IPCPR with plenty of “what’s new” for cigar enthusiasts. The Rocky Patel Platinum was a new line that was one of several cigars that made its debut at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show. This cigar added a box-pressed oscuro into the Rocky Patel portfolio. From the name the cigar is intended to be a more premium offering in the company portfolio and also carried one of the higher price points at $10.00 and beyond. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Rocky Patel Platinum. I thought 2013 was a very good year with releases like the Rocky Patel II-XXVI, Bold from Nish Patel, Nimmy D, and the Rocky Patel Royale. While I thought the Rocky Patel Platinum was a good cigar, I did find it came up a little short against some good competition within the Rocky Patel portfolio.
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has moved in a direction to become more vertically integrated. The Rocky Patel Platinum showcases this as it is made at the company’s Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. and it uses tobaccos grown from company’s farms in Nicaragua.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Rocky Patel Platinum and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
The wrapper is an 8th priming Habano Oscuro from Ecuador. An Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro is nothing new for Rocky Patel. The Rocky Patel Fifty was introduced uses a wrapper of similar origin
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Oscuro
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Nicaraguan
A box-pressed Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro is nothing new for Rocky Patel. The Rocky Patel Fifty was introduced uses a wrapper of similar origin.
Vitolas Available
The Rocky Patel Platinum was launched in three sizes. As mentioned this is a box-press line. The company keeps the ring gauges in the “middle range” as each are 50 or 52 ring gauges. The sizes mirror what was released for the Rocky Patel Fifty.
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 50
Toto: 6 1/2 x 52
Torpedo: 6 1/8 x 52
Appearance
For this smoking experience, I went with the robusto size. The Rocky Patel Platinum’s oscuro wrapper has a classic dark espresso bean color to it. Upon closer examination, some darker marbling can be seen on the wrapper. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on this wrapper, so it added a little bit of ruggedness. There were no significant visible veins or visible wrapper seams.
The band to the Rocky Patel Platinum as one would expect has a platinum colored background. The gold circular “RP” logo appears in the center. To the left and rift of the logo is the text “ROCKY” and “PATEL” both in black font. There is a portion of the lower part of the band that drapes a bit lower at the center of the band. It contains the text “PLATINUM” on that portion – also in black font.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to lighting up my Rocky Patel Platinum Robusto, I went with a straight cut to begin things. This is usually my cut of choice on a cigar. Once I clipped the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw provided some notes of coffee, earth, and black pepper. Overall, I was pleased with the Platinum’s pre-light draw. At this point I was ready to light up my Rocky Patel Platinum and see what the smoking phase had in store.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Rocky Patel Platinum picked up where the pre-light draw left off as it delivered notes of coffee and black pepper. The pepper could easily be detected on the retro-hale. I did not pick up a dominant flavor in the first few minutes. By the middle of the first third, the flavor profile expanded as I picked up a prune-like sweetness in the forefront. The other notes were in the background and some hay notes entered the equation.
The second this continued to with the notes of prune sweetness. The pepper still was pretty close to being a primary flavor. Meanwhile the coffee and hay notes were provided more of a complementary flavor combination from the background.
In the last third, there was a slight pepper increase and this moved things on par with the prune notes. I found the end of the cigar to have a slight harsh note to it. At the same time the cigar produced a nice nub – firm to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
Overall I though the Rocky Patel Platinum in the robusto burned quite nicely. The burn line tended to meander a bit from time to time, and it did require some touch-ups, but the cigar was never in danger of tunneling or canoeing. The resulting ash was mostly firm. It had a nice light gray color (that complemented the band nicely) along with some darker streaks in it. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.
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| Burn of the Rocky Patel Platinum |
I found the draw to the Rocky Patel Platinum to be low maintenance. It was not too loose and not too tight – making for an enjoyable smoking experience.
Strength and Body
I did find the Rocky Patel Platinum had a little bit of a kick to it, but this was not an overpowering strength. The nicotine level was just high enough to qualify this as a medium to full strength cigar in my book. The flavors had some depth and robustness – and definitely weighed on my pallet. I assessed the Platinum as having just enough body to make this a full-bodied smoke. In terms of strength versus body, I definitely found with the Rocky Patel Platinum, the body had the edge.
Final Thoughts
When I first smoked the Rocky Patel Platinum late last year, I was a little indifferent about it. I had sampled it in the Toro, and was somewhat disappointed. This year, I revisited the cigar again in the Robusto format and was much more surprised. I enjoyed the sweetness that this cigar delivered. As I mentioned this cigar is up against some solid competition of Rocky Patel releases from 2013, and I think it comes up a little short. This by no means makes this a bad cigar. While price is no It’s a cigar I’d gear toward a more experienced cigar enthusiast as I felt it still had some kick to it. As for myself, while it wasn’t my first choice for a Rocky Patel, it is still one I would give a try for again. It’s still a cigar that I’d encourage trying one of and seeing for yourself.
Summary
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Low
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 2.5 – Try One
Score: 86
References
Price: $10.00
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 89, Episode 76
Stogie Feed: Rocky Patel Platinum Robusto, Rocky Patel Platinum Toro
