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Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 x 50

Pre Light

The Rocky Patel Private Cellar has a very dark almost black maduro wrapper with a few small veins running through it.  The wrapper has two purple and silver bands wrapped around it.  The aroma coming off the cold wrapper is of cocoa and pepper with the same flavors coming off of the cold draw.  The cigar is well packed and has a nice weight to it with a good in hand feel.

1^st Third

The cigar opens with a pepper blast quickly followed by a rich cocoa.  There isn’t much smoke coming off of the draws but the cigar is still burning cool and even.

2^nd Third

The pepper has really dissipated in the middle portion of the cigar.  The cocoa is the focal point this far and is joined with a light grassy undertone.  I’m still not getting much smoke off of the draw and burn line is starting to get a little wavy.

Final Third

It’s the last inch of the cigar and the cocoa is still going strong.  The pepper kicked back up in the final third and is greeted with flavors of coffee which is really blending well with the cocoa.  The cigar needed a few touch ups but nothing major.

Overall

I enjoyed the Private Cellar.  I don’t really smoke a lot of Rocky Patel cigars anymore which I haven’t realized till now.  I use to enjoy the Decade and the 15^th anniversary cigar so this was a little bit of a wake-up call.  The flavors were right up my alley and besides the small hiccup in the construction it was very enjoyable.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Bone Crusher

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 ¼ x 55

The Bone Crusher starts with a light pepper along with notes of coffee.  Later on I get notes of earth and a slight leather after taste.  The smoke was heavy with a nice room aroma.

Crystal Baller

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Toro 5 ¾ x 56

The Crystal Baller starts off with a more mild pepper flavor and with some sweet cocoa.  The other flavors I get later on were wood and light floral taste.  The smoke was light and airy but was still plentiful with every draw.

Skull Breaker

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Natural

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Belicoso 5 ¼ x 52

The Skull Breaker has notes of cocoa and pepper on the first third and towards the middle flavors of earth, leather and a kick of spice at the end.  The construction was good with a nice draw and lots of creamy white smoke.

Tramp Stamp

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: Robusto 5 ¼ x 48

The pepper was again up front in this one and was mixed in with notes of cocoa.  Notes of dry grass and a light fruity flavor to go along with the cocoa rounded out the rest of the cigar.

Overall

I enjoyed the entire line and the construction was perfect on every smoke.  Coming from the My Father factory I figured there was going to be that pepper kick on the line but the rest of the cigars were flavorful and all stood out on their own.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Wrapper: Mexican

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 5 ½ x 54

Pre Light

The Mexican wrapper on this cigar has a marbled brown wrapper with a slight oil sheen on it.  The cigar has double bands like the original Mi Amor but the colors on the second band on inverted.  The cigar has a peppery barnyard  aroma on the wrapper.  After doing a punch cut to the head of the cigar a nice open draw is revealed.  I get a sweet peppery taste off the cold draw.

1^st Third

The cigar opens with a very light pepper on the palette and then gives way to notes of chocolate and earth.  The draw is perfect giving off lots of creamy smoke with every puff.

2^nd Third

The pepper has disappeared in the middle portion of the smoke but the flavors of chocolate and earth are still the focal point.  As I reach the middle of the cigar the chocolate flavor turns into more of a chocolate covered cherry flavor.

Final Third

The flavors stayed the same the rest of the way forward and all the way down to the end the cigar but out massive amounts of white smoke.

Overall

I enjoyed the original line of this cigar a little better than this one but I still enjoyed it.  The flavors were good and construction was flawless.  I like most stuff coming out of the La Aroma de Cuba lately and this one is no different.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Wrapper: Candela

Binder: Sumatra

Filler: Panama, Honduran

Size: 6×50

Pre Light

Well I guess we all knew this was coming.  Today was St. Patrick’s Day and what else would I smoke today?  The Filthy Hooligan has a slight oily sheen on the wrapper with only one large vein running down the one side of the cigar.  The wrapper has a grassy and pepper aroma to it and I get the same smells off the foot.  I did a punch cut on this cigar and it opened up a nice and easy draw.  The flavors on the cold draw are grass, cream and wood.

1^st Third

The cigar didn’t open up with much pepper like I was thinking it was with the aroma I was getting off the cold wrapper.  The one side of the cigar seems to be burning a little faster than the other but not to out of control.  The cigar is putting off lots of smoke and is burning cool.  I’m getting a creamy flavor along with a dry grass.

2^nd Third

The middle portion of the cigar starts off with a light wood flavor to go along with the creamy flavors from the first third.  The cigar is still burning unevenly and when I went to remove some ash I noticed that the center of the cigar is hard as a rock and bright orange.  We’ll have to see what happens with this.

Final Third

The grassy flavors start to show again along with some pepper in the final third.  The problem with the burning didn’t really affect the cigar.  I still burned unevenly and needed to be touched up a few times but nothing major.

Overall

I didn’t necessarily love the cigar nor did I hate it. To me it was just an average smoke.  I have to be honest the only time I smoke candela cigars is on St. Patrick’s Day so I don’t really have a lot of experience with them to judge it against other candela cigars.  I’ll have to give more a try to see how the measure up against each other.  But if you can find a few give them a try and let me know what you think.

Keep em burnin’

Griff

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut

Binder: Unknown

Filler: Unknown

Size: Toro

Pre Light

The Suave has a smooth looking wrapper with a very light oil sheen on it.  There are no large veins on the wrapper and it is a milk chocolate shade of brown.  The cold wrapper has a light hay and pepper aroma to it and the foot smells like dry grass and pepper.  The band is pretty basic with a white background and black trim and text.  After a punch cut I open up a nice open draw with a dry peppery taste.

1^st Third

With first few draws get a light pepper zing on my tongue.  After the opening pepper I start to pick up a dry grass flavor along with a nutty aftertaste.  The smoke is creamy and white giving off a really nice room aroma.

2^nd Third

The pepper has almost disappeared with the flavors of creamy coffee and nuts coming into the forefront.  The cigar is still putting out lots of smoke and the burn is sharp and cool.

Final Third

The pepper reared its head again in the final inch or so but wasn’t as strong as the beginning of the cigar.  The coffee and nuts seemed to have some staying power with this cigar.  Cigar burned straight through with no relights or touchups.

Overall

I enjoyed this cigar a lot.  The flavors and body to me are perfect for a morning smoke.  The construction was perfect and didn’t have any issues throughout the entire smoking experience.  Gary has really been on the mark with all of his releases these past couple years and can’t wait to see what he has in store for the future.

Keep em burnin’

Griff