Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Toro Corojo (6.5x52)

It's not that I'm not smoking them, trust me, I've been enjoying more than my fair share of good cigars recently, I've been busy and although that is a great excuse to use in explaining why I haven't been posting my reviews - the bottom line is I've not made the time necessary to get posted my notes and thoughts on the cigars I've been smoking.  The funny thing is when I click into my pending posts, I've got about half a dozen reviews started that need to be finished, but heck, rather than work on those I'll run with this one and get my thoughts up and placed out there for your review and consideration.

The Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Toro Corojo (6.5x52) (RPOWR) is the subject of today's conversation.  For those who read when I post, you'll remember a prior review of a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Torpedo Maduro that really wasn't that glowing a recommendation to run out and buy that cigar.  I stated in that review I wouldn't be spending my hard earned money to purchase that cigar again, so in fairness of full disclosure I did spend my money to buy this cigar, however it was a part of a sampler pack of cigars that I wanted to try, so by default this cigar made it into my humidor.

And I'm glad it did.  This RPOWR was a solid smoke and I really enjoyed it.  Certainly not my favorite cigar ever, but it smoked really well and was very enjoyable.  I paired this cigar with a sweet red wine that I think went the distance to really enhance the flavor profile of the RPOWR.  Upon lighting the cigar, initial draw was on the strong side of the spectrum, there really was a heavy pepper on the draw.  

To the cigars defense, I was using a simple butane lighter, and against my normal lighting protocol (due to a breeze that refused to let the lighter stay lit), I drew on the cigar with flame on it to get it lit correctly, so by default the cigar was "hot" from the onset.  As soon as some ash was formed, the cigar did cool down, and at that point the heavy pepper really settled down, and a very nice raisin essence with some tea leaves on the finish was evident in the smoke.  

The wine I was drinking did suggest some sweetness to the smoke, however with the glass of wine out of the equation, I don't think there was any sweetness present, however the suggestion of raisin and tea made the cigar enjoyable.

As the evening continued and the cigar matured into the second and third phase, the strength of it got stronger.  Having finished the first bottle of wine we had opened, a less sweet red Pinot Noir was opened, and it offered up a different tasting perspective of the RPOWR.  Make no mistake, the RPOWR was gaining strength with me starting to feel a little light headed from the cigar.

The finish graduated from the tea leaves to a much stronger spicy pepper, I'd call it almost borderline cayenne in strength, and as a result I found myself drinking more wine.  More wine, ever stronger cigar equals very light headed me, and with about 2 inches left I tossed the cigar into the fire pit and just sat and watched the fire burn for about 10 minutes.  I really had a decent buzz going on, and I just needed to sit and let it pass.

I don't know about you, but my buzz runs a very specific course, slight nausea followed by extreme thirst followed by hunger - so I did what my body was telling me to do, drink a lot of water and then consume some food.

Here's the deal, would I smoke this cigar again - Yes.  But, I say yes because as we speak I have one sitting in my humidor, again having been part of the sampler pack I bought.  Last night I had a chance to enjoy a cigar while the kids ran around the backyard, but the RPOWR was not the cigar I selected.  I think I'm going to save that for an evening that has a BIG dinner on the front end, this is a big cigar that deserves to be enjoyed after a big dinner.

On this one here, I'm not going to suggest running out and buying it, but neither am I going to discourage you from buying and smoking either.  I'm on the fence with this one, if you like what I had to write and want to give it a go, go for it.  If you pass it by for other selections, I'm good with as well.  Perhaps the RPOWR is a paradox, good enough to be smoked and enjoyed, but not great enough to be at the top of your "to smoke" list.

I'm always interested to hear what you have to say, so check in below in the comments and let me know your thoughts on this or any other cigar you may have enjoyed.

Until we smoke again...