Month: June 2021

Rocky Patel is a brand that persists in the hearts and minds of cigar consumers through sheer force of will. While other fledgling brands faltered and came to an abrupt demise towards the end of the 1990’s cigar boom, Rocky Patel’s brand sustained itself through the large volume of cigar production and advertisements. Rocky Patel’s brand greatly benefitted from the opening of cigar lounges, such as BURN. Now, Rocky is counted among the legends of the cigar industry. The Rocky Patel portfolio features numerous cigar brands from Nicaragua and Honduras, but one of the most successful Rocky Patel brands is The Edge. Warning its consumers to beware of imitations on the cigar band, The Edge marks itself as an exquisite smoke and one of the finest regular production cigars on the market.

The Edge Connecticut Robusto is a 5.5”x50 Parejo Robusto-sized cigar produced by Rocky Patel El Paraiso in Honduras. The cigar features an immaculate Connecticut shade wrapper. The box of twenty showed much consistency in terms of wrapper color and quality. The binder and filler tobaccos are Honduran. The cigar lit evenly and smoothly with slight canoeing towards the second third of the cigar. This cigar is notable for the long ash structure it maintains. The cigar tasting notes include toasted wheat, honey, cinnamon, cedar, and a slight aftertaste of white pepper. The cigar flavor was consistent and pleasing throughout the smoking duration of an hour and fifteen minutes. The cigar’s profile is mild to medium and is approachable for the smoking novice and the cigar aficionado. Rocky Patel’s website suggests this cigar as the perfect golf course cigar. Similarly, this cigar is recommended for its quality and value. At $129.60 for a box of twenty, Rocky’s value cannot be beaten. It is because of this quality and value that Rocky Patel has persisted in the cigar industry.

Perdomo traces the roots of its company history to the work of Silvio Perdomo in Cuba. In 1992, Nicholas Perdomo, Jr. revitalized his family’s cigarmaking legacy by starting Tabacalera Perdomo out of his home in Miami, Florida. The company now boasts several popular brands, such as the Estate Seleccion, the 10^th Anniversary Blend, and Lot 23.

         Lot 23 is one of Nicaragua’s best-selling premium value cigar brands and comes in three wrapper varieties (Connecticut, Sungrown, and Maduro). Beginning in 2000, Lot 23 cigars are made from carefully cultivated Nicaraguan tobaccos on Perdomo farmland. The Lot 23 Connecticut Toro is remarkable for its exquisite Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper as well as its value at $147.90 for a box of 24.

         The Lot 23 Connecticut Toro is a 6×50 parejo cigar with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper and Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar lit evenly but suffered from slight canoeing throughout the first two-thirds of the cigar. However, the taste of the cigar was quite consistent with tasting notes of cedar, grasses, toasted wheat, baking spices, white pepper, and honey. The Nicaraguan binder and filler provided the cigar with some bite to cut through the rich, creamy shade wrapper. Overall, the cigar was pleasant to smoke and represents a good showcase of the Perdomo brand. Although Perdomo is a fledgling member of the American cigar industry, its brand history, and cigar portfolio mark it as a veteran in terms of sophistication and quality. The Lot 23 cigar brand is excellent flavor and value. If you are interested in a good premium value cigar from Nicaragua, look into the Perdomo Lot 23.