Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Churchill (7 x 48)

Video review HERE.

This cigar was supplied by CigarsDirect.com.

(from the CigarsDirect.com site)

Rocky Patel is a forward-thinking guy with a clear understanding of the past. These two important perspectives were joined with tremendous success in the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Cigars, the first label from Patel’s self-named company. The quality that these cigars are now renowned for begins with the wrapper, a broadleaf Maduro that was harvested back in 1990, a wonderful vintage in regards to flavor. They sheathe these sticks deliciously with a leaf that is as nice in the hand as it is on the nose and taste buds. The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Churchill at 7 inches with a 48 ring gauge showcases the rich flavor blend.

This is a very dark brown cigar that is beautiful to look at. It looks like a large piece of chocolate. It is box pressed and quite dense. You continue to see the dark tobacco from the foot view.

The test draw was effortless. After lighting the cigar the initial flavors were coffee, dark chocolate, and some sweetness. At this early point it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what the sweetness is coming from so I'll let it sit for a minute to let the flavors develope.

After a few minutes the cigar settled down into one of dark chocolate, cedar, and some grapefruit citrus on the tail end of the spice. The pepper was below average at the outset. The finish was one of a cream vanilla but it was light. No lingering pepper at this point. The cigar produced a ton of smoke!

It was a bit of a challenge to get the cigar to burn evenly but that is to be expected with a box pressed cigar. The flavors now are sweet cedar, vanilla, grapefruit citrus and all the while they are surrounded with dark chocolate. The dark chocolate actually transfers over to the finish somewhat but the main finish flavors are a creamy vanilla, or cream with a touch of lingering pepper. The pepper is still below average on the initial spice.

About 3 inches in the burn has pretty much evened out. The only difference in the flavors is the cedar notes have a little richness in them; nothing over the top but there is some richness there. The vanilla finish has a little more depth to it. Other than that the cigar has no other changes at this point.

At the bands there are not many changes. The richness on the cedar are very nice. The vanilla notes have disappeared but the grapefruit citrus notes are still on the end of the spice. The finish is still one of a creamy vanilla. The pepper has improved up to the average point. The cigar is burning very evenly at this point.

At the end of the cigar it finished up with nice cedar notes with some richness. The grapefruit citrus notes were decreased at the end and there were some coffee notes. The dark chocolate notes continued to be very strong. The finish was one of a creamy vanilla. The pepper was average from the modpoint on and it had some lingering on the finish. I enjoyed the cigar but the cedar could have been a little richer. This would make a great after dinner cigar with coffee.

Score: 88