Rocky Patel XXth Anniversary Lancero

Overall Score

1 review for Rocky Patel XXth Anniversary Lancero

  1. Beneluxor

    Origin : HondurasRocky Patel
    Format : Lanceros
    Size : 7 1/2″ x 38 ring gauge (190mm x 15.08mm)
    Origin : Honduras
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~ € 11.00 / $ 13.50each

    Draw : [rating:4/6]
    Burn : [rating:4/6]
    Flavours : [rating:2/6]
    Aroma : [rating:4/6]
    strength : [rating:2/6]

    The Rocky Patel Twentieth Anniversary Natural Lancero, is a well-rolled, easy-smoking long panetela, offering some interesting cycling of flavours as it starts, but in this sample tending toward incipient harshness and some dryness on the palate, as well as some flavour loss in the finish.

    A mostly Honduran cigar with some Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler, this is a regular production stick, tho launched in 2015 with its ‘XX – Twentieth’ band, to commemorate Rocky Patel’s 20th anniversary in the cigar business. Rocky Patel’s 10th and 15th anniversary cigar marques remain active in the line-up as well. The word ‘Natural’ on the band on the cigar’s foot, is to distinguish from the company’s separate Twentieth Anniversary Maduro cigar line with different vitolas.

    In the early 1990s Rocky Patel had been an entertainment lawyer amid the glamour of southern California USA, but caught the cigar bug and started the family cigar business, first as Indian Tabac and now under his own name.

    Rocky Patel is today a noted, often-praised brand, especially in the USA market, its headquarters in Florida there. Along with his younger brother and cousin, Rocky Patel’s key people include Hamlet Paredes, a former star cigar roller for Cuba’s Partagás, who used to tour the world for Habanos giving cigar-rolling exhibitions.

    Rocky Patel deserves credit for meeting the special challenge of successfully rolling this premium ultra-long panetela vitola, requiring special skills beyond that of the ordinary torcedor. And also for boldly putting this stick on offer, whilst other companies cancel some of their slender long cigars, e.g., Davidoff having recently cancelled its 3000 (33 x 178mm), its No 1 (39 x 190), and its Millenium Lancero (40 x 184).

    Tasting

    Handling this stick it was a little too soft below the band, a hint of the flavour loss I would experience in the final third. Mostly nice-looking, tho a touch of vein and a too-contrasting cigar cap, but with a premium pigtail on the top.

    Initial aroma at the smoking end was that of fruit pie, or a warm breakfast tart, which indeed turned out to be some of the flavours in the cigar. First inhale was rather nice, a touch of sweetness, and some sense of dimensionality tickling the front of the nose and the back of the palate.

    Quite smoky tho, at the beginning and at some later points. Draw was easy throughout, really too easy. Tho the cigar burned slowly, it was clearly delicate inside the stick, and harshness was induced too rapidly when you wanted a quick follow-up taste.

    The first third had some nice, tho not strong flavours, and some interesting flavour cycling. There was toast, hay, bits of fruit and sweetness, the appealing fruit-pie-like combination, and for a while one was entertained not knowing what would be dominant in the next puff. Some cedar and woodiness entered a bit later too. But there was also the start of some dryness in the mouth, a hint of difficulties to come.

    The second third continued the rolling flavours, but now with harsh moments starting to appear, a bit of a charcoal sense, along with the increasingly fading tastes. Purging helped – tho making quite a smoke-fest – and after a purge and a good pause, one could taste the fruit pie and other good tastes again a bit. It was a bit funny, just as I thought I was getting very displeased with the cigar, the flavour would come back.

    The final third began with one of the cigar’s best bursts of flavours, but then they just faded away, and various purging and pausing efforts couldn’t quite bring the taste level back. The cigar grew flat and at points bitter or a bit harsh, with much dryness induced in the mouth, till I said farewell.

    Another disappointment with the cigar is that it was really too mild, given what I would like to experience in smoking a long pricey stick for an hour. There was only slight strength to it, it was overall a mild Honduran, despite the Nicaraguan filler seeking to charge it up a bit.

    What I wound up thinking about as I finished the cigar, is that it was an incompletely developed stick, despite the strong points in some of its tastes and easy draw. Rocky Patel is perhaps trying to do too much for a niche family company – their website cigar brand page lists no fewer than 47 Rocky Patel cigar marques from which to choose. Other USA-based cigar companies also sometimes have a high number of brands.

    By way of comparison, Habanos has a total of 27 brands for all of Cuba, many of them ages old, and the Davidoff-named line has about 13 brands for its diversity.

    Despite the sweet notes in the Rocky Patel XXth Lancero – an element which usually tends to win me over – I found myself thinking wistfully that, for the same price, I can have a Habanos La Gloria Cubana Médaille d’Or No 4 (32 x 152mm), with even more sweetness, and less downside despite the Cuban stick’s draw problems.

    By way of a full 7-inch-plus Lancero, one can recommend at significantly greater price, from Cuba the great original Cohiba Lancero (38 x 190) or the Trinidad Fundadores (40 x 190). And a gem still out there in remaining stock at some of the Davidoff shops, tho discontinued, the Davidoff Millennium Lancero (40 x 184).

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Cigar Region Honduras
Filler Nicaragua, Honduras
Wrapper Honduras
Binder Honduras
Length 7 1/2
Ring Gauge 38
Vitola Panetela
Construction Hand Made