Rocky Patel Royal Vintage Churchill

Rocky Patel and partner Phil Zanghi founded the Indian Tabac Cigar Company in 1995 and the phenomenal success their smokes have gained in the premium market is astonishing, a testament to their dedication to producing super-premium class cigars. Rakesh (Rocky) Patel quickly made the contacts necessary to produce cigars of the highest quality. Their cultivation areas are located in the beautiful Jamastran Valley of Honduras and the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua. With a slew of outstanding ratings peaking at the 93-point mark, the Vintage series is highly celebrated; in fact, it's considered one of the most notable and memorable cigar blends ever created. As if that weren't enough, Rocky recently added a limited, one-time production extension to the series, the Royal Vintage. This purple-banded beauty is handcrafted with dark, oily, very well-aged Ecuadorian Sumatra wrappers. This thick, oily wrapper leaf--with its lovely reddish hue--cloaks a vintage mixture of long-leaf tobaccos from both Nicaragua and Honduras. Expect a medium-to-full body smoke filled with a rich array of elegant flavors including notes of espresso, earth and spices. Our preference on this one is to savor this mellow stogie solo but if you want a beverage with your stick, this one is worthy of a V.S.O.P. cognac.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it's rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world. The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.