Rocky Patel Vintage 1990

One need only look at the handsome, box-pressed 1990 to know this is one special smoke. And August, 2009 may turn out to be the luckiest month of the year for club members. It’s not unusual for us to feature a cigar from Cigar Aficionado’s Top 50 cigar list but this is likely the first time we’ve opted to ship two Top 50s in the same month. In addition to the Olivia ‘O’ Maduro we’re also featuring Rocky Patel’s Vintage 1990 which—in addition to making the list—received a ’93’ rating. Rocky Patel’s Vintage Series is blazing hot in the cigar world for good reason. As it is with the Olivia ‘O,’ the key to the medium-bodied Vintage 1990’s stellar success is its wrapper. It’s a tantalizing, oily broadleaf wrapper from Honduras. Aged a minimum of fourteen years, the gorgeous, all-natural wrapper is older than the company that makes it, Indian Tabac. The Vintage ‘90 drapes a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan Ligero that is nothing short of masterful: complex and smooth, with layer after layer of deep flavor. The binder is Mexican. Expect a sweet, deceptively strong, intense cigar that never overwhelms the palate despite its firm spiciness. The long, peppery finish ends this complex smoke with a tasty, sweet note. 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. They recently left their fabrication area in Danli, Honduras in favor of a modern production area in San Martos, Honduras. And the owner of the production area is none other than the legendary cigar plantation baron Nestor Placencia. This cigar—called a “masterpiece,” by some—deserves a V.S.O.P. (as in “very superior old pale”) cognac. Courvoisier or Hennessey come to mind.