Rocky Patel's 16 year old Lady!!!
Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto 5.5 x 50
Wrapper: 16 year old Honduran
Binder: 5 to 7 year old Honduran
Filler: 5 to 7 year old Honduran
Price per stick $6.90
Cigar Aficionado Rating of 92
Robb Report “best of the best"
In the past, I have heard a lot of talk about the Rocky Patel vintage series. I have already smoked the 92 vintage cigar so I knew what to expect from the famed cigar maker, but I had not smoked the 90 vintage yet, so that is the review today: The 1990 vintage Rocky Patel Robusto. One thing I have learned in my career in smoking cigars is that ratings really don’t matter. I have smoked cigars that haven’t been ranked that I love and I have smoked cigars that have been ranked supremely high and I have thought them only average.
This begs the question is a ratings system all that reputable. Ratings are merely one persons opinion on a certain cigar. In theory, you can rate everything about a cigar in a good way, but still not like the cigar. The construction, the burn, the aged tobacco, you name it, if it is good stuff, any fool can tell that. The problem comes down to what you would choose and for me, sorry to say, I wouldn’t choose this cigar.
Now, I know there are a ton of people that swear by this cigar. For good reasons it has received a 92 from CA. There are many people that buy these cigars buy the truck load, but I am not one of them. I think Rocky Patel’s edge series is a much better tasting cigar in my opinion. But saying all of the above, I can see how this 1990 vintage got its high marks.
I smoked this cigar outside with a steady 15 to 20 mph wind on a balmy 70 degree morning here in the south. The burn was excellent all the way down. Even in all that wind, the burn stayed steady and true the entire time. The draw on the cigar was perfect. I could never complain about that. The construction on the cigar was great. The cigar had just the right amount of tobacco and was wrapped perfectly. It burned slow and smooth. A lovely brownish color 16 year old wrapper adorned this aged puro which gave it a ton of character.
The 1990 vintage is a mild to medium mild cigar that is mellow all the way. Since the tobaccos inside have been aged for so long, there is never any trace of harshness or ammonia. The cigar on every single rating list was superb, but this is the catch, at least for me: I just didn’t like it that much.
It seems strange, even for me, that I can give a good review of a cigar and still not like it. The taste of this cigar wasn’t very distinct to me. Looking at my cigar preferences, I tend not to like Honduran tobacco for some reason. I do like the Edge series from RP, but in general, Honduran tobacco is not for me. It just has a different taste to me that doesn’t suit my palette. In all respects, this is a superb cigar that deserves a high rating, but for me, I would choose a Flor De Oliva Gold Torpedo any day.
If you are new to the cigar world, this would be a great cigar for you. This is about the best that Honduras has to offer. It is a beautiful smoke that will give you a lot of pleasure if your taste run’s toward Honduran tobacco. This one will set up back around $7.00 a stick so take your time and enjoy it on the weekend!
If you have a suggestion or comment you would like to make please send me an e-mail to
I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. You can take a look at one of my favorite cigars at www.olordelcibao.com.
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