Rocky Patel Cargo Torpedo

Time was running out on an auction site. I had already picked up two, five packs and wanted a third to save on the shipping cost when I stumbled upon these at $5.00 with two minutes to go. Since they were Rocky Patel's I figured I couldn't go wrong so I pulled the trigger without even reading the description and two minutes later they were mine. The next day I went back to the auction site to browse around again and saw another five pack. This time I did read the description and to my surprise they were of Cuban-sandwich construction. I was a bit disappointed to read this but figured that since I started this site to review cigars that deliver the best bang-for-your-buck, they would fit right in. Once they arrived I could see that the construction on these sticks were top notch so I tucked them away in my daily smoke humidor so they could rest for a couple weeks.

After two weeks I figured it was time to pull one out and give it a spin, to my surprise this is what I found...

Quick Details

• Cigar Size: 6.1 x 52 Torpedo
• Origin:  Nicaragua
• Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Price: $2.50 ea. or $49.99 in bundles of 20 online

Construction: Once I pulled the cigar from the cellophane and had a chance to give it a good once over, I found that the construction of this cigar was top-notch! It contained only a few small veins in the wrapper and it was packed firm, but  not hard, the entire length. The aroma coming from the cigar was heavy to toast and once the end was clipped the free flowing cold draw had a nice toast flavor.

Smoking experience: After the end was toasted and lit the first flavor note was a nice even toast flavor. That was quickly followed by flavor notes of sweet tree fruit and then a splash of black pepper appeared. About the mid point the flavor shifted to oak mixed with a nice earthiness. In the final third the toast and tree fruit came back giving this medium body cigar a nice finish. The burn was not perfect, but it never needed correction.

Overall: This was a great tasting medium body cigar. Sure it's a budget stick and is not perfect but it had a nice burn, great flavor and good price point. I won't pass up a deal on these again!

Appearance and construction: 18
Flavor: 18
Smoking characteristics: 18
Overall experience: 18
Purchased Price: 19

Rated: 91

If you've tried these. let me know what you think!