“Overall, I found this to be one of the standout cigars released by the company (Rocky Patel Premium Cigars) in 2015 and a blend that shines in lancero size.”

Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran (Jamastran Valley), Nicaragua (Jalapa, Esteli)
Country of Origin: Honduras (El Paraiso)
Lancero: 7 x 38
Review: Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary Lancero
Brand Appearances on Countdown: 4 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015)

Coming in at #28 is Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary Lancero by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars. As the name indicates, this is a line that commemorates Rocky Patel’s 20 years in the cigar business.  Much of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars’ production has come out of Honduras over the past twenty years. Therefore, it was only natural that the Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary come out of the company’s El Paraiso factory Honduras. The blend features Honduran tobacco for the wrapper and binder. The filler is a combination of both Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco. There are five vitolas in the line. While the line is mostly box-pressed, the lancero is a classic 7 x 38 rounded offering.

The Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary delivers what I have come to call “classic Rocky Patel” flavors of cocoa, nut, and while pepper. There is a nice citrus / orange flavor which has a touch of additional sweetness. With the lancero format, I found the sweetness level to be dialed back a little from the box-pressed sizes – this allowed the complexity of the blend to shine.  The flavors started out medium-bodied before progressing to medium to full in the second half.  This is balanced by a medium level of strength.

We’ve focused on our theme “size matters”.  While lanceros don’t always translate to the best representation of the blend, with the Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary, it works beautifully. The  larger box-pressed sizes should also not be overlooked as this is a solid line from top to bottom.

For details of the 2015 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our December 2015 Editor’s Corner.