Rocky Patel Gold Label Staff Review
I’m smoking Gold Label from the esteemed Rocky Patel portfolio, and I’m about to fire up a 5.5-by-50 box-pressed Robusto to savor one of Rocky’s more recent additions. Rocky launched the Gold Label blend in 2024 with a series of traditional sizes handcrafted at his Tavicusa factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
The cigar bands and boxes Rocky chose for Gold Label reflect the serious upgrades that he’s made to his packaging over the past few years. Gold Label cigars come in gold-and-brown boxes with ornate latticework embossed on the lids and oversized cigar bands that run the entire length of the cigars. Despite the extravagant presentation, Gold Label cigars sell for around $12 to $14 apiece, a far cry from Rocky’s $100 Conviction cigar, the most expensive blend in his portfolio.
Once I slide a fresh Gold Label Robusto from a row of perfectly uniform cigars, hearty aromas of cedar, leather, and moist tobacco emanate from the unlit foot in a delicious bouquet. With a quick pinch test, the cigar appears well-made, showing an oily brown Ecuador Habano wrapper leaf with a seamless complexion. Underneath is a complex recipe of Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos enveloped in a binder of Connecticut Broadleaf and Connecticut Shade leaves. Gold Label promises to be an elaborate smoke, with tobaccos coming from so many different growing regions.
After snipping the cap with my double-blade guillotine, an earthy cold draw offers a woody and sweet taste as I pull air through the barrel of the cigar with ease. The Robusto blossoms with sweet and spicy undertones when I toast the foot of the cigar with my torch lighter, patiently roasting the entire circumference for two minutes. A slightly bitter note of burnt coffee emerges, interrupting the sweetness I perceived in the cold draw. Charred notes of earth, leather, and ash create a drying effect on my palate in the first five minutes. Luckily, it recedes as the cigar progresses.
Once I’m past the first third of the cigar, tasting notes of oak, brown sugar, and pepper balance the initial bitterness of Gold Label, creating a more cohesive profile. Cocoa powder, almond, and baking spices fill out the second half of Rocky Patel Gold Label. I would pair this cigar with Bulleit Bourbon to take the edge off. The caramelly undertones of a medium-proof bourbon would enhance the cigar’s aftertaste, adding a sweet component.
At the halfway mark, I touch up a momentary uneven burn with my lighter. For the most part, the Robusto performs well, leaving a firm white ash behind. By the time I reach the final third of the cigar, forty minutes have passed. Overall, the taste remains earthy and peppery, intensifying in the final stretch. The nub produces a long, smoky aftertaste that’s somewhat nutty, offering sweet traces of dark chocolate, coffee bean, and cherry. I’m satisfied that the cigar’s finish redeems its taste following earlier moments of a stark, dry flavor. After fifty-five minutes, Rocky Patel Gold Label has expired in my ashtray, leaving a lingering fragrance of oak and spice in the room and in my nostrils.
Rocky produces roughly seven million cigars per year at his Tavicusa operation, including A.L.R. and his 96-rated Rocky Patel Sixty, ranked the ‘#2 Cigar of the Year’ for 2022 by Cigar Aficionado. Supposing you’re a fan of the Sixty or the 15th Anniversary, which also has an Ecuador Habano wrapper leaf, order Rocky Patel Gold Label for your humidor and explore another hearty blend from one of today’s biggest names in the business. Start with a few singles before you invest in a box.
