Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro is a dark Colorado red with some darker splotches throughout and it has some raised veins. The seams are pretty smooth and the head has a top cap with some raised edges. The band is at the foot and is a creamy yellowish-white and gold and carries the company name and logo along with the line name. There is no identification of the wrapper/sub-line delineation. The aroma from the wrapper is that of very dark chocolate and earth, while the foot brings sweet bread and cedar. The pre-light draw brings stewed fruit, bread, cedar and light earth.

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro

First Third

The cigar begins with rich earth, black pepper and some cedar. At a quarter inch in, the earth loses a fair amount of richness and the cedar increases to right behind the earth. The retrohale is just earth and toasted cedar. At three quarters of an inch in, the black pepper increases a bit. At an inch in, the earth is pretty heavy and really sits on my tongue between draws. At an inch and a quarter, some dark coffee joins the middle of the profile. As the third comes to a close, the heavy earth is up front, with cedar a bit behind, dark coffee in the middle of the profile and black pepper just behind. The strength was slightly above medium.

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro

Second Third

As the second third begins, the coffee and pepper mellow a bit and the earth and cedar become a bit stale. The retrohale remains earth and toasted cedar but has a bit of staleness to it. At an inch in, the dark coffee and pepper become very light and some mild creaminess joins the profile. At an inch and a half in, the toast level of the cedar increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the heavy earth is up front, with the toasted cedar a bit behind. Some creaminess is just behind the middle of the profile with very light amounts of dark coffee and black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to medium-full.

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro

Final Third

As the final third begins, the creaminess increases a bit more and the coffee has departed. At a half inch in, the creaminess increases some more to just behind the toasted cedar. The retrohale is now earth, toasted cedar and some light black pepper. At an inch in, the toasted cedar increases to become even with the earth up front. As the cigar wraps up, the earth and toasted cedar are even up front, with the creaminess just ahead of the middle of the middle of the profile and some black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to just shy of full.

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro

Burn

The burn was wavy throughout, and required a touch-up in the second third to keep things in line. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro

Draw

The draw was a bit snug throughout the smoking experience, but didn’t cause any issues.

Overall

The cigar began with rich earth, black pepper and some cedar. The earth quickly loses much of the richness and the cedar increases to right behind the earth. Later, the black pepper increases a bit. Then, some dark coffee joins in. The second third sees the coffee and pepper mellow and the earth and cedar become a bit stale. Later, the coffee and pepper become very light and some creaminess joins in. The final third sees the creaminess increase throughout. Later, the toasted cedar increases to become even with the earth up front. The Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro had a nice start, with the earth driven profile and nice supporting notes. It took a step down in the second third as some of the supporting notes mellowed and the earth and cedar became a bit stale. It remained at that level the rest of the way. Not a bad offering in this lower priced category, but overall, it’s not a cigar I’d really see myself returning to with any real frequency.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.53

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Rocky Patel The Edge Maduro Toro