Rocky Patel Mulligans Snowman Staff Review
It wasn’t all that long ago that folks were supersizing their fries and shopping for Hummers. If you possess a ravenous appetite for gargantuan cigars, behold the Rocky Patel Mulligans Snowman I’m smoking today! It’s not a stage prop, friends. It’s a legit 6-by-80 cigar, bursting with value and completely handcrafted from one-hundred percent premium long-filler tobaccos, and I’m going to smoke all four hours of it.
You see, over ten years ago Rocky Patel launched his golf-themed Mulligans franchise at Holt’s as a permanent home for the prolific overflow of groundbreaking new cigars and side projects he simply hasn’t got time to distribute on his own. Because Rocky Patel Mulligans cigars come in bundles, they’re lauded for their unassailable value. And it’s only fitting that one of the fattest Rocky Patel cigars ever created is a Mulligan – The Snowman.
There was a time when 80-ring cigars would fit in better at a circus sideshow, but they’re becoming commonplace in retail shops today. There’s a contingent of aficionados who prefer the feel of a tailpipe in their mouths, and that’s not a market Rocky cares to ignore. He blends the Snowman from an oily Cuban-seed wrapper leaf, grown in Ecuador, and a chunky core of premium Dominican long-filler tobaccos matured for maximum smoothness. The Snowman comes in chunky bundles of 10 cigars for under eighty bucks. For the price, Rocky crams more tobacco into the Snowman than nearly any other cigar on the market.
Make sure you use a big ring cigar cutter, like the Xikar X8, to cut the cap on a Rocky Patel Mulligans Snowman. Grab a hatchet if you don’t know how to cut a fat cigar. The Snowman exudes a woody bouquet of fresh tobacco and leather from its extra-wide foot when the cellophane comes off. The cold draw is peppery, earthy, and sweet, and you might need to coat your lips with Vaseline to get them to fit over the head at first.
Lighting up takes time too. Don’t think bending over a bonfire is the way to go. Gas up your torch, toast the foot slowly, and know that you might have to go through a tank of butane before you achieve complete ignition. The wait is worth it, friends. Copious clouds of creamy, white smoke pour out of the Snowman, like a chimney on a roof in January, once the foot of the cigar is fully engulfed by a red-orange cherry. Tasting notes of leather, coffee bean, and figs parade over my taste buds while the cigar’s woody and leathery aroma perfumes the air.
As the Snowman progresses, I’m most impressed by its construction. I’ve smoke other colossal cigars that develop with a flaky, meandering burn. The Snowman, however, performs with the precision of an Indy car. After forty minutes of smoking, a stable ash continues to insulate the foot, even after I’ve tapped it off a few times, while the draw remains cool and succulent.
Sweet and woody flavors unfold with hints of dried cherry, soy sauce, and pepper. The foundation stays leathery and straightforward throughout the middle hour, and don’t expect to finish a Snowman fast. There’s way too much tobacco. Tasting the nuances of a cigar this size requires the patience of a monk. But you’ll get rewarded. I promise. I’m over two hours in by the time I’ve got the bands off. I can handle the nicotine, though, because I’ve paced myself. The finish is intense but not overpowering. Cigars this thick maintain a cooler draw right up until the end.
The Snowman is tasty but not an easy cigar to smoke unless you’ve a sling to put it in. You might need two hands if your hands are small, and your jaw will undoubtedly tire before the end. Regardless, the flavor and aroma are impeccable. The Snowman is purely a premium smoke from Rocky Patel and one of the best big cigars to smoke today. I wholly endorse it with a 92-point rating and encourage you to order a bundle ASAP, despite the fact it will take up most of the spare space in your coolerdor.
Until next time, long ashes to you!
