The History of Rocky Patel Cigars

September 22, 2023

Rocky Patel Cigars offer an excellent portfolio of more than 100 cigar lines and carries a name known for consistency and construction, great looks, and unforgettable unique flavor.

The founder, Rakesh ‘Rocky’ Patel, was born in India in 1961 but lived and worked in LA as a Lawyer for the entertainment industry.

While working as a lawyer, he met celebrity cigar smokers Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gene Hackman. Rocky had never been around cigars before, and was instantly drawn in once introduced to the art of smoking a cigar.

Rocky was described as an entrepreneur and had explored various investment opportunities. In the early days of the cigar boom, he began to focus on one of his most successful projects, marking the beginning of Rocky Patel cigars.

An introduction to Rocky Patel

Rocky Patel is a unique brand founded in 1995 during the US cigar boom. They offer several premium cigar lines that have been grown and manufactured by a true artist of the cigar craft.

All Rocky Patel cigars are part of an eight-chapter process. Each premium cigar begins in the nursery, separating the tobacco seeds into thousands of pods.

The tobacco plants are then carefully relocated to the fields and separated to be either sun-grown or shade-grown.

The tobacco plants then spend 100 days in the hot sun before being to the curing barns to hang as part of the curing process.

Once forty days pass, the tobacco plants will transition from green to yellow and then to brown.

The tobacco then goes to the factory for sorting. After curing and before fermentation, every single leaf must be classified as a wrapper, binder, or filler. They are then transported to the rolling room.

The art of rolling the Rocky Patel cigars begins, and the construction of the filler, binder, and wrapper begins to take shape. Once carefully constructed, the cigars head to the quality control room, judged individually on color consistency, veins, soft spots, and ring gauge. Any cigar that falls short of perfection is classified as a factory select or second.

With this intense quality control process and the leaves being monitored every step of the way, you can be certain that Rocky Patel is one of the best premium cigar brands out there.

The beginning of Rocky Patel Cigars

When Rocky Patel started crafting cigars, it wasn’t under his own name.

Rocky used the name Indian Tabac, after the Indian motorcycle brand, and debuted the brand in 1996 at a trade show. Customers crowded around his booth to purchase these new, brightly packaged cigars, which was a hit with retailers.

Rocky’s ideology had always been that companies were responsible for creating fresh ideas in every industry. When he launched Indian Tabac, the packaging was bold, and the cigars carried full flavors to create an unforgettable smoke.

The success of Indian Tabac as a premium cigar brand was achieved by pushing it into the market and visiting retailers.

After years of growth, Rocky created a new line of cigars and focused less on Indian Tabac. This new line was a risk at the time, with the brand performing well, but Rocky decided to change Indian Tabac to a discounted ‘catalog’ or online brand.

Eventually, in 2015, the brand was discontinued, but it was an incredible learning curve for Rocky and the building blocks for Rocky Patel cigars as we know them today.

Setting roots in Honduras

In 2003, after years of steady growth, Rocky Patel rebranded his cigar business from Indian Tabac to Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, fully putting himself into the brand.

He began investing in his cigar business by buying a factory and a patch of land in Honduras. This planted the seed for business growth in the region.

Rocky produced a couple of cigars from when he started blending. Some were sold and discarded, and they were early-stage experiments to find what truly worked.

Now, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars are known for the unique once-in-a-lifetime experience that they offer their customers. He hosts trips to his estate on the island of Honduras for a limited few at a time so consumers can see the dedication and passion packed into every cigar for themselves.

The legacy lines of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars

Rocky Patel focuses on production when he isn’t traveling the world, continuously speaking to customers around the globe to ensure he’s aware of what the market desires.

His original take on first-hand market research has allowed him to sway cigars to be much more complex than the linear cigar line many other brands produce.

Many brands produce some excellent complex cigars, but they are inconsistent in taste, in Mr. Patels’ opinion. Rocky Patel has an extensive range of cigars available on the market, with over 100 different lines and sizes formats, and this doesn’t include private labels.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1990

Country of Origin: Honduras

Wrapper: Honduras

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Dominican Republic / Nicaragua

Length: 5

Ring: 60

Strength: Mellow – Medium

Smoke Time: 40 minutes

Rocky Patel Vintage is a delicious mellow to medium-bodied smoke that provides exceptionally smooth flavors with every puff. When taking a draw on this delightful stogie, you can expect notes of chocolate, spice, nuts, cocoa, and cedar. Hand-rolled to perfection and aged for 12 years over long filler tobaccos sourced from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. This Rocky Patel Vintage is not one you want to miss — order a box from JR today and indulge in this vintage smoke.

Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6

Ring: 60

Strength: Medium – Full

Smoke Time: 35 minutes

The Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro is the latest in line offered by Rocky Patel. This dark, delicious choice is a full-bodied smoke that will have Maduro lovers begging for more. It’s a premium cigar that carries a rich and well-balanced flavor offering, reflected in its flawless construction and smooth burn. Enjoy delicious notes of coffee, sweet spice, dark chocolate, and caramel notes carrying hints of sweetness when you light this stick.

Rocky Patel Quarter Century

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: San Andrés Mexican

Binder: Honduras

Filler: Honduras / Nicaragua

Length: 6

Ring: 60

Strength: Full

Smoke Time: 1 hour

A celebratory smoke for Rocky Patel’s 25 years in business, the Rocky Patel Quarter Century smoke is part of the highly anticipated celebration line. The finest smoking experience to date as a big 6 x 60 stick cloaked in a San Andrés Mexican wrapper. Not only this, the Quarter Century features the finest 10 years aged tobacco that Nicaragua has to offer. This celebratory smoke burns exceptional flavors of earth, leather, red pepper, caramel, and coca. It’s a true declaration of the most respected cigar makers, and is not a smoke you want to miss out on.

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