Rocky Patel Cigars Grand Reserve in Review

lo-fi & lovely

Rocky Patel Cigars Grand Reserve in Review

WRAPPER: Undisclosed
BINDER: Undisclosed
FILLER: Undisclosed

FORMAT: "Sixty" Gordo 660
ORIGIN: Honduras
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:

Cedar/citrus | Floral/fruitiness | Spiced chestnut

First, there's a big front of white peppercorn that settles into black pepper flake rather quickly. Then a cedar shows in an alive if not lively fashion, on the heels of that is a big citrus zest accompaniment. The notes are interestingly married. And there are two more instances of matrimony. A floral fruitiness chugs atop the clay-earthen sunlit bottom. Think under-ripened melon and chamomile with a surprising edge to it. In the in-between is a chestnut note, not roasting but spiced brightly-glaringly with saffron and curry powder. Zippy? Tastes like catching a glare off chrome trim.

All the listed partnerships are delineated and with a great distance twixt. Hooray, structure! A separate yeasty-herbal tanginess occupies the spaces like the first sunny day of the year occupies the eyes. Soaring notes but not uncomfortably-so, just high not deep, and nuances build upwards. Complexities are nice but in a kind of aggressive way. A weird mix of truculent and mellow. A sharply focused gaze out a window blankly. Not super-balanced, way citrus. At the mid-point, milk chocolate and suede come lightly-cautiously in. For all the shiny clamor, the finish is decidedly thinned out to a salty lemon-orange. A bit of minerality.

Draws excellently gate-to-wire. Burns on a wobbly line. Ash grows dense and clings well to a markedly quite-wide mascara-line. That width serves as a visual sign of the youth felt on the palate. A seam gets a tick loose before the mid-point but is fine on the other side of said point. Smoke out-put is moderate and then some, with an aroma of floral suede and culminating room-note of additional pale toasted grain. Rolled impressively solid. Sorta performs like it doesn't know that. Flighty and a bit jarringly-so. Fidgety. High-strung.

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

::: very :::