Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary Toro

In 2004, Rocky Patel decided to launch a value-priced cigar that wouldn’t have any cigar bands, and would be packaged in 100-count crates. The cigar was dubbed The Edge and it became a huge hit for Patel’s Rocky Patel Premium Cigars company. Today the brand has now extended to eight different lines. The cigars now have footer bands, are available in more traditional size boxes, and come in different wrapper options. In 2022, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars decided to commemorate 20 years of The Edge brand with a special line known as The Edge 20th Anniversary. If you do the math, this cigar was released on the 18th anniversary of when the Edge made its debut in the market, but company owner Rocky Patel decided to mark the milestone of when he started working on The Edge project – which was 2002. Today we take a look at The Edge 20th Anniversary in the Toro size.

With the addition of The Edge 20th Anniversary, The Edge brand now has eight different blends – making it the most of any Rocky Patel brand:

Rocky Patel Edge Corojo
Rocky Patel Edge Maduro
Rocky Patel Edge Sumatra
Rocky Patel Edge Connecticut
Rocky Patel Edge Candela
Rocky Patel Edge Habano
Rocky Patel Edge A-10
Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary

Of the eight releases, the Edge 20th Anniversary is one of two anniversary cigars in the brand. The other is The Edge A-10 which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the brand. While one can argue The Edge 20th Anniversary is two years two early, the A-10 was released in 2015 – making it one year too late. One other thing The Edge 20th and A-10 have in common is that both are more premium releases in the portfolio.

Without further ado, let’s turn our attention back to the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Edge 20th Anniversary features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, but in this case, the wrapper has been aged ten years. Rocky says that over the years, blue mold forced many farmers in Ecuador to start growing the hybrid Habano 2000 wrapper, but the Edge 20th Anniversary uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper from the original seeds. Rocky Patel has also said when he initially blended what became The Edge, he worked with a Sumatra wrapper, and thus wanted to pay homage to that tobacco leaf.

The rest of the blend consists of a Honduran binder, and fillers from Honduras, and Panama. This cigar is produced at the El Paraiso factory in Danlí, Honduras.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra (Aged ten years)
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran, Panamanian
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: El Paraiso

Vitolas Offered

The Edge 20th Anniversary is offered in three sizes – each presented in 20-count traditional boxes. This is intended to be a regular production line by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars.

Robusto: 5 1/2 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Sixty: 6 x 60

Appearance

The Edge 20th Anniversary Toro’s Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper had a strong dark cinnamon tint to it. There was a very light sheen of oil on the surface. Upon closer examination, some mottling could also be seen on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper looked quite pristine. This was a smooth wrapper with very thin veins, and the wrapper seams were well hidden.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap from the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of wood, earth, and cherry notes. I judged this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro, toast up the footer, and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro opened up with notes of classic wood, cherry cream, red pepper, and earth. During the early phases of the first third, the cherry-cream notes became primary. Midway through the middle third, the wood notes displaced the cherry-cream notes. At the same time, some natural tobacco notes emerged at the forefront. By the end of the first third, the natural tobacco and wood notes were at the forefront. The cherry-cream, earth, and pepper notes were secondary. There was an additional layer of wood and pepper on the retro-hale. At times the pepper had some sharpness on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro saw some earth notes emerge in the forefront with the wood and natural tobacco. The cherry-cream notes greatly diminished, and by the end of the second third, these notes had dissipated. There still were some pepper notes present in the background, which now increased. At the same time, the cigar developed an underlying harshness.

By the final third, the underlying harshness that had emerged was quite dominant in the forefront. The earth, natural tobacco, and wood notes were also quite muddled. The spice from the pepper was also not enjoyable. As the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro, it finished with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

While the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro maintained a straight burn path and had a relatively straight burn line, this cigar did need frequent touch-ups to do so. The amount of touch-ups needed was more than I would prefer. The resulting ash was silver-gray and on the firm side. The burn rate and burn temperature both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary

Draw

The draw to the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro was on the open side but wasn’t a loose draw. Normally I prefer a little more in the way of resistance on the draw. In the end, there were no adverse effects on the overall cigar experience.

Strength and Body

The Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro started out with medium strength and medium to full-bodied flavors. There was a slight increase in intensity in both attributes, but in the end, The Edge 20th Anniversary Toro stayed in the medium strength, medium to full-bodied range.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a significant edge throughout the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The packaging for the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary really pops. The red, silver and gold color scheme really looks nice. While I do like the packaging, it’s disappointing that there really isn’t a connection to the original Edge packaging. While the Rocky Patel Edge A-10 had more elegant packaging, this cigar still used footer bands reminiscent of the Edge line. Don’t get me wrong, this packaging really looks nice – I just wanted to see a connection to the rest of the Edge line.

Packaging of the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro might have been a textbook case of a tale of two cigars. The flavors started out fantastic – and were quite enjoyable. By the midway point, the cigar took a major turn south and became unbalanced with bitter and harsh notes. This was quite disappointing, considering how well this cigar started out. In the end, the second half of this cigar didn’t deliver flavorwise, and that affects the final score. Coming in at 86 points, the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary Toro simply didn’t do enough for me to recommend it.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Natural Tobacco, Earth, Cherry-Cream, Red Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Fair