Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto is on the darker side of medium brown and has some marbling to it. There are some slightly raised veins present and the seams are easily visible as they are also slightly raised. The head is finished with an expertly applied triple cap. The cigar has two bands, with the primary being metallic burnt orange and white and carrying the company name, logo and line name. The foot band is an orange ribbon. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of sweet hay and pipe tobacco while the foot brings wood and a light stone fruit sweetness. The pre-light draw is light wood and nice prune sweetness.

Pre-light Experience

The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto comes finished with a natural brown wrapper that is old in appearance. It has this old wooden furniture coloring to it and it is a little coarse in texture. There are small to medium sized veins present throughout and I would classify the cigar as being light Maduro in coloring. The cigar has an aroma of tobacco, earth, chocolate and soft spices on the foot, and the wrapper is giving off similar aromas with some manure qualities.

Pre-light Experience

The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto has an orange ribbon foot band along with a bronze and white primary band. The UPC is placed on the cellophane in a way that it remains intact when the cellophane is opened. The wrapper on the cigar is dark chocolate colored, and smooth throughout. Aromas from the cigar included intense barnyard, cedar, and sweet prune from the foot.

Pre-light Experience

The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto has a Colorado Claro wrapper shade. The wrapper itself is a shade lighter than most Mexican San Andrés. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head with a deep layered cap. The aromas from the wrapper is namely cedar. Aromas from the foot tell baking spices, cedar and nuts. Cold draw yields dry wood and a hint of baking spices.

First Third

The cigar begins with smoky wood and black pepper. The retrohale has the black pepper zing up front and then some lightly musty wood becomes present. At an inch in, the fullness of the profile increases for all components. As the third comes to a close, the smoky wood remains up front with the black pepper moving to be slightly behind. The strength in this third was right at medium.

First Third

The first third opens up by delivering some sharp spice notes and it has some sweetness as well. There are some earth, coffee and cocoa qualities as well, but it goes back to that sharp spice on the finish. I would classify the cigar as being medium in strength and body, and the same for flavors.

First Third

Cedar and powdered cocoa open the first third, with cedar leading into the post draw. Rich baking spices quickly join the retrohale. As the cigar settles in, graham cracker joins as well. By the halfway point of the first third, sweet cedar takes up the middle of the flavor profile.

First Third

The first third has a medium light body and medium strength. I’m a bit taken back by how light the body is, especially given a wrapper that should show at least a medium body. Flavors consist of some lightly roasted nuts, baking spices and minerals. Retrohaling gives a powerful red pepper spice along with cedar. The finish has a faint bitter char and lasting baking spices.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the smoky wood remains up front while the black pepper is moving a bit further into the background. At a half inch in, the black pepper is now quite light. The retrohale is just smoky wood. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper is completely gone. As the third comes to a close, the smoky wood gains a slight char. The strength remains at medium.

Second Third

I am in the second third of the cigar now and find that it is delivering a profile that is very similar to that of the first. I am getting those sweet spice notes, but the spice is not as sharp as it was the first third. The tobacco notes have faded leaving a finish of coffee and cocoa powder, and there is a touch of lemon citrus present as well. Like before, the cigar is medium in strength, flavors and body.

Second Third

Sweet cedar is the primary flavor going into the second third. Lingering cedar still remains on the post draw. As the cigar settles in, graham cracker returns to the retrohale. In the bottom half, some earthiness joins in on the post draw.

Second Third

The second third now has a proper medium body (same medium strength). The flavor shifts to something that is more earth driven with cedar and minerals being the front runners. The finish also has a greater bitter char and spicier baking spice.

Final Third

The final third continues with the smoky and lightly charred wood profile. The retrohale remains smoky wood. The cigar wraps up with the same smoky and lightly charred wood. The strength in this third remained at medium.

Final Third

Similar to the second third, the cigar finishes by delivering a nice sweet spice profile with touches of lemon citrus. I am getting those cocoa and coffee flavors as well and it is a smooth finish. It is not overly complex, but fairly enjoyable. Like the first and second third, the cigar is medium in terms of flavors, body and strength.

Final Third

An earth and cedar combination lead into the last third. Some mild cocoa settles into the retrohale. No other evolutions through the remainder of the review experience.

Final Third

Nothing new to say. It’s still medium strength and body with plenty of earth in minerals, cedar and baking spices. The bitter char and spicy baking spices still rule the finish.

Burn

The burn was a bit wavy in the first third and then straight the rest of the way. It did go out once near the end of the first third and required a re-light. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Burn

The burn was good throughout the cigar. There were times when the burn line was little off and the cigar needed touch-ups, but overall it smoked well and presented no problems.

Burn

The burn performed very well. An uneven burn did develop in the first third requiring a touch-up. For the remainder of the cigar, the burn was straight.

Burn

Burn performance was overall very good. The cigar just needed a couple touch-ups to get the burn line on track.

Draw

The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

The cigar began with smoky wood and black pepper. The second third saw the black pepper lighten up until it departed and a light char joined near the end. The final third saw the smoky and lightly charred wood maintain throughout. Construction was great aside from a re-light and strength was medium the whole way. The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto was pretty basic in it’s flavor profile. Aside from smoking this during a slow smoking competition, I wouldn’t see anyone really sitting down with this to just enjoy the flavor. Not saying the flavor profile was bad, it was just so basic that a profile like this could be found in any number of cigars at a much lower price. This isn’t something I see myself returning to.

Draw

The draw was solid on the cigar, but I found it to be a little loose. Some would say it was perfect, but I like a tighter draw.

Overall

I was not really impressed with the Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto and found it to be a classic Rocky Patel offering. There was a lack in complexity and little if any transitioning from start to finish. The core flavors were solid, but it was missing components to make the blend pop. The construction was good, same with the draw, but that’s not going to help the cigar achieve greatness. I don’t know anything about the Cigar Smoking World Championship, but if it is a grand event then I am not sure why this cigar is being showcased.

Draw

The draw had some resistance to it, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches. In the case of a cigar intentionally designed for slow smoking you probably want the cigar to have a resistant draw.

Overall

The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto was a fairly average flavor profile overall, with the most interesting components coming in the first third. Notes of cedar, powdered cocoa, baking spices and graham cracker. For a cigar that is built around slow smoking, I found the smoking time to be a stretch to make the 1 hour and 30 minute mark. I found that surprising given that I can take a random Robusto off the shelf, and stretch it sometimes as far as 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Draw

The draw was slightly snug even cutting a bit deeper into the head. But overall, a non-issue.

Overall

Nothing technically wrong with this cigar. The cigar drew and burned fine, no unpleasant under-fermented notes. The Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto was just an average tasting experience with a heavy handed earthiness in mainly minerals, cedar and baking spices with a bitter char finish. There’s a good amount of good Mexican San Andrés out in the market and this isn’t one of them. Happy to smoke it again but will not be my first tier of choice to reach for.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.55

Cost/Point

$1.76

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.25

Cost/Point

$1.86

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.67

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$1.77

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Robusto