Rocky Patel Corojo Especial Robusto
Size: 5 x 50
Tobacco: Nicaragua
Price: $2.00-$2.75

I dropped Kedron off at a birthday party this afternoon, then had about an hour to grab a pint of Yuengling at Fox & the Hound. I chose a new Rocky Patel offering, the Corojo Especial, for the occasion. I got this cigar free from a Rocky Patel rep on the last day of my trip to Illinois last year. In fact, I aged it exactly 366 days before lighting it up today.

This cigar was one of three initial releases from Rocky Patel's new Esteli factory Tabacalera Villa Cuba in 2009. The flagship cigar, Patel Bros, was a disappointment (see my June 2010 review) and so my expectations for this bundled cigar were not high.

But in fact, I was pleasantly surprised. The corojo wrapper was a deep shade of red-brown, with a lot of tooth, gloss, and oils. Prelight aroma was strong with notes of leather. The cigar itself had a unique flavor--it reminded me of a juicy rare steak heavily charred on the outside. Medium body, but lots of flavor. It lasted about an hour. The ash was tight and white. The aftertaste was full but not very strong.

The only negative was a tight draw that didn't really open up until the half-way mark.

But overall, this was a good cigar, certainly better than some of Rocky's higher priced brands.