Rocky Patel Nicarao
The only reason I knew this was a Rocky Patel was because of a label in the shop humidor. From what I could gather, the Nicarao brand was bought out by Rocky Patel. At one time these cigars were made in Nicaragua, but are now rolled in Honduras. Enough meaningless babble that no one cares about… I paired with water and bring to you my thoughts of the Rocky Patel Nicarao.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: 4 – $5.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
This cigar had a nice looking wrapper with no visible flaws and minimal veins. The smell of the wrapper reminded me of a barn and the poo smell that comes with it. The foot had a more mild earthy and peppery smell. The pre-light draw was perfect, and had a simple earthy/tobacco taste.
The burn required no corrections, and any waviness straightened itself out quickly. The ash was firm, holding on for over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third began with a peppery and earthy punch. The volume of smoke was plentiful and enjoyable. The punch of pepper started to calm down as time passed. The core taste was a smooth earthiness. Behind that was an unidentified sweet flavor.
The second third opened up a little, and the body crept further up into the medium range. The earthy flavors switched places with the sweet flavors. The peppery zing persisted when passing the smoke through the sinus. I started to detect a grassy flavor that was so faint that I really had to pay attention or I’d miss it.
The last third crept into the full bodied range. This was was the most enjoyable part of the cigar for me. The sweet flavors would become mocha-ish, and revert to something I couldn’t identify. Again, the earthy flavor was there, but it remained in the background. That strange but good grassy flavor continued to make an appearance every now and then. To wrap things up, that common Nicaraguan pepper took on a small kick. I like…
Conclusion:
I wasn’t wowed by this cigar, but I did enjoy it. It had no bad qualities, and it helped me really unwind after a long day of work. The simple flavor profile was good and did challenge me from time to time. Any Rocky Patel fan should give it a try.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cigar Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Nicolas Juban January 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Little mistake about Nicarao cigars.
Nicarao has never been bought by Rocky Patel. Patel just bought the name and some tobacco leaves from Nicarao for the US Market, and the Nicarao made by Patel and the one you can find in Europe are not the same. The brand exists on its own in Europe and Asia. It was created by a Belgian called Didier Houvenaghel, he is one of the few non-cuban who studied at the Cigar University in Cuba (can’t remember the exact name). He is originally a engineer in agriculture and then specialized in tobacco. he even wrote a book about cigars (very technical and detailed book… a gold mine of informations about how to grow tobacco)
So this Nicarao just has the name, but it’s not the real thing. The real Nicarao cigars have one of the best price/quality/pleasure rate you can find… If you come to france or Belgium, get one.. they have a green ring.