This is my first fully-photographed review. Please forgive the slightly blurry photographs - I don't have the best camera here, and it really can't take a worthwhile photograph up close, so all of the photos are basically me stretching my arm out in front of me as far as I can, and bringing the camera back as far as possible.
So on with the review...
Vudu by Rocky Patel, in Robusto (5 x 50)
Pre-light thoughts: So the couple of Rocky Patel cigars I've had thus far haven't been too impressive. BUT, this is the first time I've tried a blend by his new protege A. Castro, who is apparently the next "big thing" in cigar blenders.
This cigar comes with a very dark, almost black Mexican maduro wrapper. Inside is a blend of Nicaraguan long fillers, surrounded with a Nicaraguan binder.
The aroma off the unlit cigar is quite nice and fairly typical of most maduro cigars - chocolate mixed with a hearty, sweet tobacco.
The cap came off almost effortlessly, and left no cracking or peeling of the wrapper at all...
A pre-light draw gives, again, fairly typical maduro flavours of chocolate and sweet tobacco.
First third: This cigar lit up like a dream, and the first 5 draws gave a big blast of pepper and spice. I've actually never had a cigar with this much of a spice kick - it tingles the tongue, giving the same sensation as, well, almost like burning your tongue.
It's burning straight and smooth so far...
After the pepper and spice receded, it turned into a great, rich flavour of black coffee. While I'm not a black coffee drinker (cafe con leche for me, please!) this flavour in the smoke is delectable.
Here I am enjoying it...
Second third: After about an inch and a half, the coffee died down and was replaced with more rich, dark flavours of chocolate and a spicey sweetness on the finish.
A retrohale was VERY spicey, giving that "burning your tongue" sensation on the inside of the nose.
Just prior to this inch-and-a-half mark, I came to a bit of a problem. I decided to take the band off and it ripped a small chunk the wrapper. However, I am not attributing this to any construction issues, or the horrible, sinful act of gluing the band to the wrapper.
What seems to have happened was one of the inner corners of the band got itself wedged into the seem of the wrapper, and it tore a bit when I removed it.
The construction of the cigar is good enough that there is no smoke seeping out of this break (as I have seen happen before). It's just an aesthetic blemish at this point.
Final third: The chocolate and sweet spiciness receded again once I got into the final third, and the cigar went back to its initial deep peppery spice flavour.
The torn wrapper has now begun to cause bigger problems, as it's tearing up and down the length of the cigar. I can hold it together with my fingers, and it's not causing any issues with the actual burn, but still, it's a pain in the ass.
The spiciness remained right 'til the very satisfying ending. The strength of the cigar also picked up in this final inch, giving it a real nice kick. This baby wants to leave its mark on you for sure.
Final thoughts: I really, REALLY enjoyed this cigar.
Wrapper tear aside, the construction and burn were near flawless. While the burn line was not razor sharp, it remained relatively straight, self-correcting any minor dips. No touch-ups were ever required.
For a $4 cigar, I was also taken aback by the number of transitions of complex flavours. There was never a level of "oh, it's just chocolate" or "it's just pepper" - they always came in well thought-out pairs.
This was a great cigar, and a great value.
I recommend people try this out, even if your opinions and experiences with Rocky Patel haven't been the highest in the past.
Smoking time: 1 hour
So on with the review...
Vudu by Rocky Patel, in Robusto (5 x 50)
Pre-light thoughts: So the couple of Rocky Patel cigars I've had thus far haven't been too impressive. BUT, this is the first time I've tried a blend by his new protege A. Castro, who is apparently the next "big thing" in cigar blenders.
This cigar comes with a very dark, almost black Mexican maduro wrapper. Inside is a blend of Nicaraguan long fillers, surrounded with a Nicaraguan binder.
The aroma off the unlit cigar is quite nice and fairly typical of most maduro cigars - chocolate mixed with a hearty, sweet tobacco.
The cap came off almost effortlessly, and left no cracking or peeling of the wrapper at all...
A pre-light draw gives, again, fairly typical maduro flavours of chocolate and sweet tobacco.
First third: This cigar lit up like a dream, and the first 5 draws gave a big blast of pepper and spice. I've actually never had a cigar with this much of a spice kick - it tingles the tongue, giving the same sensation as, well, almost like burning your tongue.
It's burning straight and smooth so far...
After the pepper and spice receded, it turned into a great, rich flavour of black coffee. While I'm not a black coffee drinker (cafe con leche for me, please!) this flavour in the smoke is delectable.
Here I am enjoying it...
Second third: After about an inch and a half, the coffee died down and was replaced with more rich, dark flavours of chocolate and a spicey sweetness on the finish.
A retrohale was VERY spicey, giving that "burning your tongue" sensation on the inside of the nose.
Just prior to this inch-and-a-half mark, I came to a bit of a problem. I decided to take the band off and it ripped a small chunk the wrapper. However, I am not attributing this to any construction issues, or the horrible, sinful act of gluing the band to the wrapper.
What seems to have happened was one of the inner corners of the band got itself wedged into the seem of the wrapper, and it tore a bit when I removed it.
The construction of the cigar is good enough that there is no smoke seeping out of this break (as I have seen happen before). It's just an aesthetic blemish at this point.
Final third: The chocolate and sweet spiciness receded again once I got into the final third, and the cigar went back to its initial deep peppery spice flavour.
The torn wrapper has now begun to cause bigger problems, as it's tearing up and down the length of the cigar. I can hold it together with my fingers, and it's not causing any issues with the actual burn, but still, it's a pain in the ass.
The spiciness remained right 'til the very satisfying ending. The strength of the cigar also picked up in this final inch, giving it a real nice kick. This baby wants to leave its mark on you for sure.
Final thoughts: I really, REALLY enjoyed this cigar.
Wrapper tear aside, the construction and burn were near flawless. While the burn line was not razor sharp, it remained relatively straight, self-correcting any minor dips. No touch-ups were ever required.
For a $4 cigar, I was also taken aback by the number of transitions of complex flavours. There was never a level of "oh, it's just chocolate" or "it's just pepper" - they always came in well thought-out pairs.
This was a great cigar, and a great value.
I recommend people try this out, even if your opinions and experiences with Rocky Patel haven't been the highest in the past.
Smoking time: 1 hour
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