Rocky Patel Havana Corojo Toro

Just moved into my new apartment for this year at school and had a wonderful PSD#4 yesterday to celebrate. Now it's review time, by request, for the Rocky Patel Havana Corojo. This beast was a gift from a good BOTL and best friend. He enjoyed it and was eager to see what I thought. Looks like a nice smoke, with a lighter colored, mildly leathery wrapper and flawless construction. This thing is huge, at 6x60 and has a fantastic pre-light draw.

Pre-light - Draw is very easy, though not bad, and it has a pleasant, though faint, aroma. Enjoying this in my local B&M with a cup of water. Cut is a Xikar and light is a torch.

First Third - The first few draws gave clouds of smoke that would rival special ops smoke bombs. The distinct corojo flavor hits me right away, with a tad bit of harshness which quickly dissipated. I am in awe at the robust flavor- consisting of coffee, wood, and a tad bit of leather- and the huge clouds of smoke from the beautiful draw. I was thinking this would be another of RP's newer blends that would further the "stretched thin" theory about his company, but I was completely wrong. No question about that. The flavor is more full than I expected, though it could not pass for anything more than medium in body. Barely 3/4 of an inch in, I got blasted with a rich, black coffee flavor, another pleasant surprise! Ash and burn are not perfect, but defiantly decent. No need to relight or even touch up yet.

Second Third - Burn and draw continue to be great, as the flavors lean more towards the nutty and woody side, still with the coffee flavor. Sweetness has snuck in and I am continuing to adore this stick. The ash was about an inch and a half before I dropped it, showing good construction, though it was not particularly tight or smooth. The rich flavors of this cigar would go perfect with a cup of coffee... damn this place for not having coffee lol.

Third Third - The flavors have stayed pretty consistent, though with complex twists every half inch or so. The rich coffee is back and a toastyness has joined the party, every minute being more enjoyable than the last. The clouds of smoke are still coming and the stick shows no signs of heat. Though not as full as I normally smoke, this stick is definatly going to be a usual in my humi (if I can find it!). A little harshness showed up towards the last couple inches of this cigar, but I am still very much loving it. The nub got a but hot but that's just the nature of the beast (regarding nubs).

Conclusion and Score - This cigar was a huge surprise to me. RP has created a mildly complex, very rich, flavorful stick with a fantastic draw. The wood, nut, and coffee notes were quite enjoyable and I had a hard time putting it down. I rarely smoke 60 gauge cigars so this was a nice switch for me, and I have only good things to say about the whole experience. For a rating, I would have to give this an 88. A very good everyday kind of cigar (if you have at least an hour), and a perfect stick for those who love thick clouds of smoke. Aging would probably give little to no improvement to the Havana Corojo, so don't feel bad about smoking them fresh. Overall, it was a very solid smoke that hit all the points on the aficionado checklist.