Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro Petit Belicoso

1. April 21st, 2021: The full name of this cigar is Rocky Patel Special Reserve Sun Grown Maduro Petit Belicoso. I had tried a few of the robusto size (5 x 50) most of which were quite rich and complex; so I was eager to try something a little larger. At 5 1/2 x 52, the Petit Belicoso is a little larger, but not significantly.

The cigar I tried today was straight out of the box on the day of arrival. It felt quite moist and a bit squishy, so I wasn't worried about it being too dry. The cigar started out with a blast of pepper, with long finish and the intense, rich aroma which I remember from the robusto. But after an inch, flavour and aroma dissipated, making occasional returns throughout, especially after the second half but nothing in the order of the first inch. It was quite a pleasant hour's smoke. But overall the cigar was a little disappointing having been so good at the outset. 

A close relative to this cigar would be the AJ Fernandez New World Navegante Robusto. Both are a box pressed,  5.5 inch, cigar. Flavour, strength, aroma, construction and burn of the AJ are quite similar to the RP Petit Belicoso. 

Construction: This is a 5.5 x 52 box pressed belicoso with Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler. It is very light in the hand and not solidly packed, as the draw would indicate. Although larger than the robusto, it does not appear to be much larger, taking into account the tapered head.

At the light-up, this was a very tasty morsel with a brilliant aroma. Sadly, that didn't last.

Draw: A very easy draw with no resistance whatsoever, indicating a very loosely packed cigar. 

Burn: Almost perfect burn. No need for touch-up.

Flavour: At best, a deep, spicy, maduro flavour. At the other end of the spectrum, a medium bodied, pleasant earthy, flavour; but quite likely, suffering from under-packing (or not enough humidor time as evidenced by the fact that later in the year I had a couple of similarly lightweight cigars which performed brilliantly).

Body: Full body at the outset but waning to medium

Strength: A kick of strength at the outset but that diminished to a moderate strength, picking up from time to time throughout.

Finish: Impressive long finish upon lighting, but dissipating towards the middle, with the need for three or four good puffs to get a decent quota of flavour and body. Later samples did not dissipate, revealing the full potential of this blend.

Aroma: A very rich, earthy, barnyard dry aroma. One of my children said it smelled like dirt, the other, 'horseshit'. 'Earthy' and 'barnyard' would be good euphemisms.

During the first inch aroma was exquisite. It was rich and intense in a way that I can't describe. Dissipation of aroma was quite a disappointment. Later samples were consistently good.

Ash: The ash was light, as you'd expect, considering the modest packing of the cigar. But it clung well for as long as 25 minutes.

Consistency: The first sample was not consistent in anything except draw and burn which were consistently easy and straight. The cigar opened up with strength, complexity, flavour, body and finish, but these all faded away by the middle, returning from time to time, but never with the intensity of the outset. Later samples were consistently delicious to the nub. 

Time smoke: 68 minutes to the nub.

Overall: Disappointing only because it started out so good. However, I'm prepared to suspend judgement due to the fact that the box had just arrived. Some cigars are great out of the box. Others need time to revivify or mellow.

2. May 29th, 2021: I selected a cigar from the box that had a little weight and firmness. It was not bad; medium everything - flavour, body strength. Flavour was much more consistent than the previous cigar. Dry aroma was sweet and grassy. Aroma while smoking was good with occasional wafts of very good, rich and complex.

This cigar very much resembled the AJ Fernandez New World Naveganate robusto in several ways: earthy maduro flavour with a touch of pepper here and there, very easy draw with voluminous smoke output and very even burn. I would prefer the AJ version as it is a little wider ring gauge. But overall, quite satisfying. 75 minutes.

3. July 7th, 2021: Another dud. The cigar felt light in the hand and the box press was misshapen. Burn was even and draw was easy. Smoke production was fine. But flavour and body were lacking throughout. Smoke time was a mere 50 minutes, only two thirds of the previous sample. My guess is that this box was produced by a neophyte and quality control was lacking. The misshapen cigars should have been removed from the batch. Oh well! Verdict: not satisfying. 

4. September 30th, 2021: What a surprise. This little cigar was strong, rich and flavourful until about the second half, a vast improvement on the previous numbers which did not sustain the body and flavour. It was lightly packed and draw was without resistance, but there was so much punch in each draw and finish was so long that I merely sipped at it for the first third. The first inch lasted about half an hour. Aroma was deep and rich. The cigar was strong. I could feel my head swinging, but it seemed quite balanced, given the long finish, obviating the need to puff much.

The second half was a little less tasty. Flavour dwindled to a less complex blend and finish became dirty. But it was still as strong as the first half, resulting in a rather tipsy conclusion. The cigar lasted nearly 80 minutes. It required a single touch up. Verdict: very satisfying. If I could get a box of this quality I would be happy to buy one. As it is, there seems to be no consistency in the box. 

5. November 12th, 2021: Another delicious sample. The cigar felt light in the hand but it lasted more than 90 minutes, due, in part, to its very long, satisfying finish, which allowed for generous intervals between puffs. Flavour was a deep, rich, well-aged, dark roast maduro, with excellent complexity. Aroma was smooth and fragrant. But the winning quality was the lingering aftertaste which was rich and complex. Burn was perfect. Unlike the first cigar reviewed on this page, this cigar was consistently good to the nub. Strength was minimal and while at times perceptible, it did not cause discomfort.

This was the second success with this blend in a row, after a string of duds. Could this be due to ageing? The cigars have been sitting in one of my humidors for six months. I now regret disposing of half of the box to a friend. Never mind. I still have a handful left and, with luck, they will come back on the market some time soon.

Overall, this was a very satisfying little cigar which again proves the rule that size does not always correlate to smoking time. Looking forward to the next one.

Deep, rich, mature, maduro flavour with perfect burn and easy draw. Despite its modest size, the cigar lasted more than 90 minutes, thank, in part, to a rich and lasting aftertaste.

6. January 20th, 2022. This was a mediocre cigar. Flavour was a little thin. It was a pleasant puff, but the lingering aftertaste of the previous sample did not repeat itself here. There was no apparent strength. Body was medium, if that. I didn't time the cigar. At best, pleasant. At worst, considering the jackpots of the previous two from the box, disappointing.

7. May 30th, 2022: Also mediocre. It was lightly packed, which might explain its lack of flavour. Flavour came and went. When it was good, it was complex and rich. But inconsistency let the cigar down. Towards the final third flavour was thin, as with the previous cigar. Aroma was barely discernible. Compared to The Edge Maduro, it was much richer and more complex, but compared to the AJ Fernandez New World Navegante, which I smoked a few days prior, the cigar is less consistent. The AJ is much richer and consistently good. This cigar managed 80 minutes, which is very good for a robusto size. Pleasant, but not satisfying. 

At the half hour mark, the cigar was quite impressive: slow burning and quite tasty. But flavour soon dissipated to a less complex offering.

Tatuaje Fausto FT153 Toro

6x50 Ecuadorian Wrapper, Nicaraguan binder/filler. This is a powerful Esteli cigar, characterized by a prominent ligero flavour. At its best, it is a rich and complex delight. At its worst, it can be a bit bitter and tarry.

1. January 13th, 2021 I didn't make a review of the first sample from the box. So, I'll start the detailed review with the second dip into the box of twenty five. See below.

2. March 10th, 2021

Construction: Exquisite construction, smooth, seamless, shiny wrapper.

Draw: Easy draw

Burn: Perfect burn, no touch up required. Ash held on for more than an inch but crumbled a little towards the end. 

Flavour: Deep, rich Nicaraguan Esteli flavours: dark roasted coffee, but marred by a little ammonia bitterness. Needs ageing; I might take a few out of the box and out of their cellophane and put them in the humidor to expedite the process.

Body: Full body throughout.

Strength: Medium strength. Nothing overwhelming.

Finish: Good long finish.

Aroma: Excellent, complex aroma with a little sweetness added to the complexity.

Consistency: Started with a little bitter spiciness, but settled down nicely after a centimetre or so.

Time smoke: 85 minutes

Overall: Quite satisfying, but bitterness was a detraction.

3. April 19th, 2021: Started out smooth, ended bitter. It was a solid, heavy, cigar with a shiny wrapper and beautiful construction. Dry aroma was exquisitely fragrant and spicy. Draw throughout was perfect, giving no resistance. Burn was wavy but self-correcting, requiring no touch-up. One relight was necessary. But that could have been my neglect. 

This cigar started with a complex, smooth, full bodied, rich and delicious flavour and deep, rich, aroma. None of the ammonia bitterness of the previous cigar was present until the second half, by which time complexity gave way to bitterness. By the final third, bitterness was quite pronounced. 

Overall, it was still very enjoyable and answered the need for a full bodied cigar. Strength was also on the high side, but not intolerably. Ambient evening temperature was around 29 degrees Celsius, which makes nicotine strength slightly uncomfortable. 110 minutes was quite an impressive timing for a 6 x 50.

A few more months should even out the asperity. The rule seems to be that ammonia-bitterness subsides into complexity with time. Let's see what another month or two delivers.

4. May 17th, 2021: This cigar emitted a deep, rich, spicy pre-light aroma. I ran it under my nose several times before lighting up, delighted by the musty scent. 

The cigar started off spicy and mellowed out a bit, as do nearly all strong Nicaraguan cigars. Flavour was intense throughout. There was a little tarriness marring the palate, but no appreciable bitterness. 

The cigar was full bodied with good strength, a little overwhelming towards the end, but ambient temperature is around 30 degrees (Celsius) now, and heat does not conduce to nicotine strength. 

This is clearly a ligero-heavy cigar. It compares to the Rocky Patel Super Ligero, which, when it comes to getting a fine example, are hit and miss: when they're good, they're as good as the Tatuaje Fausto. But the Fausto would score higher points more frequently. 

Aroma was rich and excellent. I rate aroma highly. It deserves at least as many points as flavour, although I've given up on awarding points. This cigar had a deep, rich and complex aroma.

In summary, a balanced, full bodied, strong cigar, justifying its premium price by the current specimen, if they were all like this one. 80 minutes.

5. July 17th, 2021: Very solid feel in the hand pre-light. Dark oily wrapper. Rich and spicy pre-light aroma. 

The cigar started with a blast of tarry pepper. It was almost disgusting. But flavour soon mellowed to a very refined, full body, Esteli flavour: dark chocolate, espresso, moderate pepper, slight sweetness, excellent, rich and complex aroma. Perfect burn, easy draw.

Esteli is difficult if it's not matured. It can be bitter and unpleasant. I had a couple of experiences with bitterness in March and April with the Fausto. But this cigar, today, was right on the complex and balanced mark. Strength only overwhelmed for a few minutes towards the middle. Otherwise, it was not too strong. (The evening was cooler than those of previous samples, so that might account for the difference.) Very satisfying. 100 minutes.

6. September 8th, 2021: Dark, oily wrapper with a sweet, floral prelight aroma. The cigar began with a burst of pepper that lasted for the first centimetre. It then mellowed out to the dominant dark roast flavour with a balanced sprinkle of pepper. At around the start of the second third, the dark roast transformed to burnt toast momentarily before toning back to dark roast. Full body and long finish. Medium strength throughout despite the intensity of flavour. Burn almost perfect: one touch-up required. Draw easy. 105 minutes. Satisfying.

7. December 14th, 2021: After 11 months resting in its box, the cigar was quite mellow, but had a dirty aftertaste. The cellophane wrapper had a yellow tint, which suggested that the cigar had aged. 

Flavour was rich, dark, and sweet with a strong pepper component and a hint of burnt toast. Body was full throughout. The aroma was complex and intense. Finish was long but a bit tarry, with a dirty aftertaste.

I smoked this cigar a day after smoking the AJ Fernandez New World Short Churchill, which is similar in many respects.. The latter was far more balanced. Both cigars were similar in body, flavour and aroma. However, the AJ Short Churchill was much more balanced with a cleaner aftertaste. 

Overall, quite satisfying. But marred by tarry, dirty, burnt toast qualities.

8. July 23rd, 2022: After seven months the cellophane wrapper had the brown stain of ageing. 

The cigar lit and drew easily and burned perfectly. During the first half, flavour was smooth, full bodied and quite balanced. I was priding myself on letting the cigars age. Then, at around the half way point, the dirty, tarry, burnt toast bitterness of previous cigars appeared and remained for the whole of the second half. Strength was a bit more than comfortable as well. 

Might need a bit more time to age if there's any hope for consistency: the first half was very satisfying but the second half was not. 85 minutes.

Alec Bradley Black Market Special Perfecto

 1. April 10th, 2021: This is a solid cigar in a solid box:

Here is a short description from fumar.ch

"..a Jamastran tobacco insert from Honduras and long filler tobacco leaves from Panama, with a Sumatra [Equadorian] binder and with a well-aged, dark brown Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper."

Construction: It's 6 1/4 inches (or three quarters?) by 54; quite a big cigar with a weighty feel, very smooth construction, beautiful mottled dark brown, oily, Jalapa wrapper.

Draw: started out as though it was plugged but after the first half inch, draw became easy with just the right amount of resistance.

Burn: Impeccable, razor sharp, burn. I haven't seen such a burn for many cigars. It was quite impressive.

Flavour: The first inch was extremely tasty. I've read that the perfecto vitola can begin with an intense blast of flavour, due to the greater ratio of wrapper and binder to filler in the pointed head of the cigar. This appeared to be the case in this cigar. After that, flavour was still rich and delectable, but mildly bitter, although not overwhelming. The bitterness became intense towards the middle and then dissipated. Despite the bitterness, flavour was quite complex and pleasurable with rich dark coffee and perhaps a hint of pepper. One of the reviewers, Richard L, of Thompsoncigar.com described it thus:

Alec Bradley Black Market Perfecto Review 05/16/2018 | Back Yard | Tea 5.0/5.0 Smell: Chocolate mocha. Cold Draw: Spicy mocha First impression: Sweetness and very white pepper. Retro-hale spicy cinnamon cedar sugar, watery mouth. 1/3: This cigar is strong, can knock you off. Taste medium to full body, closer to medium body. Very sweet, oily, pepper. Very smooth. Retro-hale citrus cedar vanilla. Pepper dies down. 2/3: Creamy sweet dark chocolate with pepper on the background. Very pleasant taste. It's a very strong cigar (not the taste), even I have to intake some real can sugar to dodge it. 3/3: Even more smotther than before! Creamy dark mocha chocolate sweetness with sweet cedar retro-hale. Beatifully made. Perfecto, very interesting size, extremely easy to light up. Good draw. Cool smoke. Great burn. Medium amount of smoke. Nice looking white ash. Extremely nice sweet tobacco flavor with dark mocha creamy note. This cigar is great!
 

I didn't find it so strong. Nor did I find the flavour sweet. As I mentioned, I found it more on the bitter side, but not unpleasantly so. Storage for six months to a year might well improve the flavour. Let's see if I can last that long.

Body: Full body throughout. I was impressed by the body: flavour was packed with the smallest puff.

Strength: Quite strong but not overwhelming. I would say, just enough strength to balance the flavour.

Finish: Long, satisfying finish.

Aroma: Dry aroma, curiously, mild peppermint; a light, pleasant aroma but not remarkable. 

Consistency: Apart from the intense bitterness in the middle, and the smooth flavour blast at the beginning, quite consistent flavour, burn and, after the initial plug, draw.

Time smoke: 90 minutes

Overall: Quite enjoyable down to the nub. Well balanced strength and flavour. Even the bitterness was not so bitter as to be unpleasant. 

The ash was beautifully layered. It was remarkably consistent and tenacious. It really didn't want to become dislodged.

I listened throughout to a podcast with Megyn Kelly, Alan Dershowitz and two other lawyers, analysing evidence, so far, for the prosecution in the George Floyd case. Being a lawyer myself, I appreciated the weighing of evidence. Dershowitz made the observation that the most important issue for a criminal defence is the decision whether or not to put the accused on the stand. One of the other lawyers said that it would be futile to put the accused on the stand. "What could he possibly add that you couldn't get from other witnesses?" he asked. "What questions would you ask him?" This question met with blank silence. It will be interesting to see what happens.

2. May 24th, 2021: A pleasant 90 minutes on the seashore listening to Kelly and Dershowitz again, this time on the Israel/Hamas conflict. The perfecto is a lovely vitola. It fits well in the hand. It's easy on to draw. Flavour was a pleasant but nothing special black coffee hue - just lacking that depth of complexity to make it great, but satisfying enough to puff on for an hour and a half while listening to the debate. There was no pronounced bitterness; although bitterness is within the coffee-flavour profile of the cigar.

The podcast was a debate between Alan Dershowitz, Jew, and Shadi Hamid, Palestinian. Megyn Kelly made a fine umpire. Surprising was how much the Jew and the Palestinian agreed upon. Both came across as sincere commenters. Hamid, however, fell short in one specific: he criticized Israel for civilian Palestinian deaths; but when Dershowitz ask him, "What would you do differently if you were Israel and your population were being terrorized by a group that doesn't care about civilians?" Hamid didn't answer the question.

3. September 6th, 2021: Much the same dark flavour profile as those above: a magnificent blast of flavour in the first half inch, dissipating to a dark roast, espresso, flavour, slightly sour aftertaste and occasional sweetness. 

Burn was not razor-sharp, but adequate. Draw was easy enough. 

The outstanding aspect of this cigar was a deep, rich, dark, complex, aroma. 

The cigar was a little on the dry side despite its oily texture. Although other cigars in the same humidor were moist and spongy, this one felt bone dry. A couple of cracks appeared in the wrapper after both the half hour and the hour mark, but flavour and burn were not compromised. Quite satisfying. 90 minutes.

A beautiful oily wrapper

4. June 1st, 2024: Sour and lacking in complexity. Pleasant puff at best. 

Rocky Patel Decade Torpedo

April 7th, 2021: I had smoked quite a few of these cigars before starting this blog. This one was the last in my humidor. I had previously found them of mixed quality: some were excellent: rich and complex, others suffering from the usual Rocky Patel ammonia bitterness, others with flavour fading off in the middle. 

It had been about six months since I had tried one, and this one was quite pleasant. The closest cousin would be the Fifty Toro. Both have similar deep rich flavour and both have revealed similar defects over the course of several samples although the last Fifty Toro I tried was consistently good: excellent deep flavour, smooth and no bitterness. 

The Decade Torpedo started off with a deep rich blast of flavour and the usual pepper which quickly died down. It was smooth and easy to draw throughout 85 minutes, with excellent smoke output, and occasional spurts of intense aroma. Flavour faded out in the last couple of inches to nothing much at all. Overall it was quite satisfying. Would I buy another box? I started out thinking, 'Oh yes!' But towards the end, "Probably not". 

Here are the specifications from Neptunecigar.com

My analysis:

Construction: Excellent, smooth, box pressed torpedo

Draw: Perfectly easy draw; not a bit of resistance yet excellent smoke output

Burn: Wavy but no touch up required.

Flavour: Started out quite rich and complex, resembling the Fifty Toro, developed a bit of pepper, but flavour dissipated in the final inch or two. By the nub there was nothing much.

Body: Medium to full - but more medium

Strength: moderate

Finish: medium - a bit lacking

Aroma: good and occasionally excellent, but not consistent

Consistency: Flavour and aroma were not consistent. The end was a rather empty disappointment. Burn and draw were consistent throughout.

Time smoke: 85 minutes

Overall: It was quite satisfying. I would smoke it again but can't see myself ordering a box. The last Fifty Toro was similar in flavour and more consistent.