BlankMindBlog

I stopped by Aroma’s Cigar Bar last week on Thursday morning after some bank business to quickly pick up a couple more Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robustos to review. Since I had reviewed them last month before the move and lost the review notes I thought it only fair to smoke a couple of more!

Now Aroma’s is an upscale cigar bar and requires appropriate dress, as the sign on the door warns, I thought that that early in the morning I could get away with jean shorts and a pull over shirt.

I made it to the humidor and was selecting my cigars, when I felt a presence behind me. The manager on duty had some how appeared without any notable noise, behind me and was scrutinizing my presence there. He asked if he could help me and I replied that I was picking up a few Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robustos to enjoy later. I could tell from his scowl that I was not welcome to stay and made my way to the cashier. I rarely use Aroma’s due to their high prices and snobbish atmosphere but in this case they are the only local tobacco store that has the RP 1990’s in stock. I doubt that I will grace them with my presence in the future.

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto has a dark brown Honduran Broadleaf wrapper which glistens in the light due to the amount of oils present. This robusto is box pressed and measures 5 1/2” in length with a 50 size ring gauge. The wrapper has a negligible tobacco aroma that really surprised me, I thought it would have a more pronounced aroma. It appeared to be of a high quality construction with a tight feel and few veins.

On the initial light up the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto had a definite spicy flair and a nice even draw. I used a small punch to pierce the cap and the cigar handled the flame from my Colibri lighter very well and began to burn evenly. The spiciness lasted for about 1 1/2” and was mostly replaced with a heavy chocolate mellowness. As I continued to smoke the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto the flavor changed from chocolate to a mild leather taste. It finished with a mixture of leather and chocolate, with the spice not returning at all.

As the cigar burned it exhibited an uneven burn and the ashes began to turn flakey, to the point that my lap looked as if I had a bad case of dandruff. I had to correct only once for the uneven burn only because it self corrected about four times during the smoke.

The smoke volume was heavy and rich. I think the neighbors must have thought that I had a small fire on the patio with all the smoke billowing from under the eaves.

Overall the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto was a great smoke with regard to its flavor, however, with a price of $8.00 per stick I expect a better handling cigar, tighter ashes and better burn. I will probably add this stick to my humidor by the boxful, from an online source that doesn’t require appropriate dress and a better price point value.