Rocky Patel White Label Staff Review
I’ve smoked plenty of Rocky Patel cigars before, and today I’m smoking a top-shelf blend, Rocky Patel White Label in a traditional 5-by-50 Robusto. I’ve known Rocky as long as I’ve been in the cigar business, and I had the pleasure of hanging out with him when he visited Holt’s for our annual Rocky Patel event at the end of last year.
Rocky is a busy fellow. He travels all over the country meeting with retailers and customers and visiting the chain of Rocky Patel Burn lounges he opened over the past ten years. He’s always focused on his business, growing his audience of cigar lovers, and creating as many new and innovative products as his cigar factories can crank out.
When Rocky developed his White Label line, he wasn’t interested in releasing a run-of-the-mill cigar. He wanted to do something opulent that would stand out. He was also focused on blending a creamy and elegant smoke with a lighter Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf. Let’s find out if White Label cigars rise to the occasion.
This higher-end blend from Rocky leaves a noticeable impression the second I lay my eyes on it. The cigars are dressed in glossy white-and-rose-gold cigar bands and boxes that shimmer with reflective detail. A pearlescent white ribbon surrounds the foot of each cigar, and the Connecticut Shade wrappers look pristine across the entire top row of a freshly opened box of Robustos. Under the wrapper, Rocky chose vintage Nicaraguan and Honduran long-filler tobaccos to complete the recipe for White Label cigars.
When I clip the cap and roll the cigar around in my mouth, I get a nice impression of nuts and cedar with a silky texture and a hint of sweetness in the cold draw. Air freely passes through my White Label Robusto in every puff, but there’s enough resistance that you can tell the cigar is filled perfectly.
After toasting the foot of the Robusto for a few moments, creamy and malty notes of pepper, cedar, and cappuccino begin to mingle. A moderate blast of spice overwhelms my taste buds but only for a moment before White Label settles into a balanced profile of cashew, walnut, and coffee bean notes. It’s clear Rocky blended a cigar that’s distinct from his typically earthier and spicier releases, like Decade and Sixty.
After twenty minutes, a razor-sharp ash that’s over an inch long covers the foot. This is a very well-made, balanced cigar. White Label reminds me of a more complex version of Rocky Patel Velvet Edition or Vintage 1999 cigars, both of which are also finished in blond Connecticut-seed wrappers. Notes of almond and nougat take shape while a toasty undercurrent of vanilla bean and crème brûlée carries the White Label Robusto into its final third after I remove the band.
This is a medium-bodied smoke overall, but I wouldn’t be afraid to fire one up earlier in the day. Newer cigar lovers who are exploring the Rocky Patel portfolio might find White Label a little pricey at over twenty bucks apiece, but connoisseurs who want to taste a top-shelf blend from Rocky will be impressed. I would pair this cigar with tequila or a gin cocktail.
After fifty minutes, Rocky Patel White label concludes with an intense swell of cedar, nuts, and spice while a luscious bouquet fills the room. Add this premium to your next order when you want to upgrade the Rocky rotation in your humidor, or you want to impress a fellow Rocky fan with a nice gift.
