My first review – Rocky Patel Decade Emporer

This is my first official review of a premium cigar. Let me give a little background of myself first. I was born a poor black child in Ohio. After a few decades, and given my first cigar by my dad, I eventually realized that I am a white nerd/geek/dork. I joined the Army moved to Texas. My wife bought me my first humidor, loaded with cigars. Over the next 15 years or so, I have come to settle into a few of my favorite smokes, many of which I will come to review here.
Now, onto a few of the inescapable environmental factors under which I will conduct my reviews. Being a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, I am able to get a lot of Cubans and non-Cubans that I was not able to before now. I’ve also come to be very comfortable with smoking mostly the larger ring gauges of cigars, 60 and above. My first tobacconist advised me to try and get the sticks that fit my hands and, seeing as how I have uncommonly large hands, the larger ring gauges seemed to fit me better.
I will only be smoking and reviewing these cigars in a large concrete bunker that is the only designated smoking area of the airbase at which I am working, so please forgive some of the pictures if they have the only background I have at the present time: billions and billions of small rocks, and a concrete wall. I also cannot pair any of these cigars with a traditional adult beverage, only bottled water. Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, let’s get to it!

Rocky Patel 10th Anniversary Decade
Medium to full bodied; smooth, rich & complex with full rich flavors consisting of dark spice, black cherry, roasted coffee with a light dose of pepper. A well balanced cigar with a long full finish with a lingering sweetness.
The Forty-Six 4 1/2×46
Lonsdale 6 1/2×44
Robusto 5×50
Toro 6 1/2×52
Torpedo 6 1/2×52
The Emperor 6×60
Tubo 6 1/2×52

Wrappers Ecuadorian/Sumatra
Binders Secret
Fillers Secret

I wanted my first review to be from the Rocky Patel label. After reading and seeing so many interviews of him intimating how difficult it was to break into a business that was already established, and finally succeeding in such a short time, I felt a certain kinship with him, given that I am leaving the only profession I have known for over 30 years, and entering a brand new one.

Rocky Patel has said that after ten years of breaking into the cigar business, dealing with all the trials of getting the right tobaccos, making the right deals, getting the right torcedors, and overcoming all the other hurdles it took to being the new guy on the block, he finally came up with the right blend to commemorate the past decade with Indian Tabac.

And what a decade it has been. After coming out with his Indian Tabac Super Fuerte, his first successful trial at blending a full bodied cigar, he felt confident enough to put his own name on his cigar. Then, after such greats as the entire Edge line, the Sungrown line, and the two massive successes of the Vintage 1990 & 1992 blends, the Renaissance and the entire line of private labels, he finally felt he had come up with the best blend on which to put the Decade label. Apparently, the cigar world felt just as strongly about it as well. The torpedo Decade received a 95 rating from Cigar Insider; one of the highest ratings ever, given the fact that such a relatively short time was given till its inception. In truth, the cigar took twelve years to come out, but Mr. Patel wanted the extra time to make sure he had the right blend to call the Decade.

Upon first look at the Emporer, you can’t help but notice how deep the rich brown wrapper leaf is, smooth and veiny. It’s a solid roll, but not too hard to prevent the perfect draw, which it obviously does have. The outer wrapper smells of perfect grassy, barnyard aroma, rich leather, reminding me of a mahogany bookcase. The filler smells a little like smoked ribs and roasting coffee beans.

The initial cut was perfect. The cap stuck to the blade, possibly from a little overhumidifying. Initial lighting was very good, at first the taste was of sweet vanilla beans and cacao nibs. The draw was almost perfect with barely a little tightness. The first few inches had a taste that reminded me of the great smoked T-bone steak, and just a hint of an oatmeal raisin cookie. The burn was just a little uneven, but not surprisingly it worked itself out. The draw was consistent, easily allowing enough smoke to fill your mouth and give you the proper amount of its intended taste, but not too much as to be sucking through a straw. The first ash fell off unnoticed by me at about an inch and a half to 2 inches.

The middle two inches was what really did it for me. All the subtle nuances coming together, being heated enough to bring out the very best that an RP could give you. Smoking this part of the cigar was a real pleasure, bringing thoughts to mind of the tobacco barns where the leaves are fermented, the tables where they are brought together for the final roll. This was truly one of the better cigars I have smoked; every part of it bringing nothing but pleasure. The wrapper ash was grayish white, the binder and outer filler ash were black, and the inner filler ash was pure gray. I was so wrapped up in the visuals and tasting nuggets that I barely noticed the second ash falling off at just over two inches.

Unfortunately, given the climate I was forced to be in while reviewing, the head kept flaking off just a little, and finally gave way to the extremely low temperature and unraveled on me. If I had had another of these fine sticks, I definitely would have sparked it up. Like an old friend, I was sad to see it go. I will make sure to get a box of these on my next order, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this to any fellow cigar smoker, warning them to be prepared for one of the best smokes you will have in a long time.