Rocky Patel Nording

Overall Score

1 review for Rocky Patel Nording

  1. Ed

    Rocky Patel Nording

    Rocky PatelOrigin : Honduras
    Format : Toro Grande
    Size : 6 x 58
    Wrapper : Costa Rican Maduro
    Binder : Mexican
    Filler : Honduran / Nicaraguan
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~$91.95 for a box of 20

    Rocky Patel delivers a private reserve cigar great to honor one of the world’s best pipemakers (Erik Nording). I had three in my humidor which were given to me by a close friend of mine, and I had enjoyed all three tremendously. I smoked the last one in order to write this review. The cigar (when available) can be found in four vitolas: a Robusto (5.5 x 52); a Torpedo (5 X 54); a Toro (6.5 X 52); and the subject of today’s review, the Toro Grande, a 6 x 58 masterpiece.

    I looked in several websites to track down who carries it and how much are they running, but it was difficult to find a retailer that had them in stock. Most of them were listed as “Backorder.”

    Appearance : [rating:5/5]
    This cigar features a dark-chocolate maduro wrapper. Coming out of the cellophane wrapper, one can tell that this was a well-constructed cigar. Only one medium-sized vein was observed. The cigar had a nice oily sheen to it.

    The cigar has one major band with the word “Nording” written in copper color and two rams butting heads above “Nording.” The band also had three very nice stripes of black, copper, with the third being a black stripe.

    There is a secondary band with the name “Rocky Patel” written on the band.

    Construction : [rating:5/5]
    No soft spots were detected in the cigar, and the cigar felt very firm to the touch. This vitola of the Nording seem to be double capped.

    The bands were easily removed from the cigar.

    The cigar fit very nicely in my hand, and it was very comfortable during the smoke.

    The burn was very even for the entire smoke; I was able to get about an inch of charcoal grey ash before, unfortunately, it fell in my lap.

    Flavor : [rating:5/5]
    The wrapper and the foot had a very earthy and barnyard smell to it. Once the cigar was cut with a Palio cutter, the pre-light draw had a honey and sweet taste to it. The draw was very good for such a solid cigar. The cigar had a spicy taste to it prior to lighting it up, and the spicy taste seem to last for a few minutes before dissipating.

    After lighting the cigar, the initial draw and retrohale had a roasted nut and roasted coffee taste. These were very pleasant. About an inch into the cigar, some leather notes were present. It had a nice, long finish, which got even longer for the second half of the cigar.

    The cigar’s smoke was very abundant which rose very quickly.

    All throughout the cigar, all flavors were very balanced and very pleasant. The cigar was definitely a medium body, very pleasant full flavor cigar.

    Value : [rating:5/5]
    Since the cigar was given to me by a friend, it was definitely of great value for such a quality smoke. However, at around $92.00 for a box of 20, it is an incredible value. The Toro Grande was a good 1.5 hr smoke, so if this is factored into the value of the cigar, it is a great stick. This is priced very appropriately.

    As it was noted before, most of the websites where the cigar seemed available showed the cigar as “backordered,” so it may be difficult to find this cigar.

    Overall Rating : [rating:5/5]
    It was an absolute joy to smoke this Rocky Patel Nording Toro Grande. From the quality point of view, there were no flaws identified in all three cigars that I smoked. This is a high quality cigar which, to me, would be a good one to teach a new cigar smoker a good flavor profile. It would also be a good cigar to introduce someone how to retrohale as it is very pleasant in the nasal passages.

    If one can find a box, a sampler, or a single cigar, I would encourage that people buy it and enjoy it.

    [sz]rocky patel nording[/sz]

    Helpful?
    0 0
    • Adam

      My review of the Rocky Patel Nording

      For those of you who are not into Pipe Smoking, you may have never heard of Eric Nording before. Eric Nording is a famous pipe maker that makes world renowned pipes that demand top dollar. While at dinner with Rocky Patel, Eric asked Rocky to make a cigar for him. They smoked what was to be released as a regular Rocky Patel cigar, and after a few cocktails, Eric Nording convinced Rocky to give him the cigar that they were smoking. And now here we have the Nording by Rocky Patel.

      Appearance & Construction: The Nording Torpedo is a short torpedo coming in at 5×54. The wrapper is a nice milk chocolate color with a good amount of oil to it. There are very small veins on the wrapper and the seam lines are barely noticeable. Very nice construction.

      Smoking Characteristics: The Nording by Rocky Patel has a nice draw that produces a good amount of smoke. The burn is wavy but tends to correct itself as I smoke. The ash is solid and compact although it is chunking in appearance.

      Flavor: The Nording starts off with creamy notes of earth, nuts and a slight citrusy sweetness. In the second third, the cigar offers notes off coffee a bit of cocoa. On another note, the aroma of this cigar is fantastic. Usually I don’t comment much on the aroma of the cigar but this cigar is one you might be able to smoke in front of the wife, just maybe.

      Final Thoughts: The Nording by Rocky Patel is a good cigar; nothing that will blow you away but a good solid smoke with a good amount of complexity, especially when you consider price. If you haven’t had the pleasure of trying one of the Nording cigars, I recommend you do so; a nice medium bodied cigar awaits you.

      Cigar Rating: Good

    • Zen Cigar

      My Review of the Rocky Patel Nording Toro (plain white band)

      I think I got this a while ago when I heard that Rocky Patel made this for Nording, whom I believe is a pipe tobacco company (anyone remeber the success of the Peterson cigar? Yikes!)

      Starts off strong with a lot of muddled flavors on the palate, common to me in most Maduros. I think I pick up roasted nuts and leather.

      Rocky Patel Nording

      The draw is easy, but the burn is crooked. This points out a good discussion point. The trend in the industry is to go big – big strength and big ring gauge. But I notice that big ring gauge cigars often burn poorly. It’s almost like the Cubans know what they are talking about (most habanos are smaller than 52 ring gauge – only recently, Altadis-I’m talking to you, have they gone with some bigger cigar vitolas).

      Back to the cigar. Nothing special, but not unbearable.

      Rating: 81 (B-)

    • DB

      Here’s proof he’s reblending it –

      Old Nording – Nicaraguan filler, Mexican binder and Costa Rican maduro wrapper.

      New Nording – Nicaraguan wrapper and binder with Nicaraguan and Dominican filler

      Darn rocky patel…

    • DB

      I really enjoy the super toro, which is an often overlooked smoke. I bought and smoked this new silver band Nording and it is not the same blend. Tastes suspiciously similar to a RP 1961. I didn’t care for it at all, and the draw was way too tight. I would never buy this silver band crap again. It pisses me off that Patel would screw with a great line. If he changes the blend entirely I believe I will cease purchasing any of his smokes. My friend also agreed that the taste is different. The wrappers are clearly not the same. Don’t tell me this is the same blend, it’s not and this new Nording monstrosity is worthless. Next time I’ll tell you how I really feel…

    • Dale

      I’ve had a lot of the “white” band Nordings (6 x 58 Toros) – they are very good (not 5 stars across the board IMO), but I too am wondering about the new label and if the blend has changed?

    • DJ

      I recog that it’s a ‘gar, but I wunner if they shoulda maybe put a lil pipe ‘baccy in there….

    • Grammaton

      One of my favorites, but I’ve also only seen the plain white band.

    • Ed

      – Chris

      When I was doing some research for the review, I came across the two bands. I wanted to email the RP folks, but there is no email address. I have posted this question to a cigar forum, so I hope to have an answer for you soon. Good question!

      – Ed

    • Chris (aka BeaverC32)

      Is this the same blend as the Nording with the plain white band? I’ve never seen the Nording with the band shown in your picture.

    • DJ

      Nice review. Nording pipes are awesome!

Add a review
Cigar Region Honduras
Filler Honduras, Nicaragua
Wrapper Costa Rican Maduro
Binder Mexico
Length 5 1/2
Ring Gauge 52
Vitola Robusto
Construction Hand Made